Some old straights

[Neep]

I bought these three straight razors years and years ago. But I know very little about them. I do know that Joseph Rodgers made great blades!

Nope, I have never sharpened them or used them either. Erm... .... my toes curl even when I watch the YouTube videos of how to do it properly. Yup. Chicken.

So, one for the experts. What do I have?
I already know you are going to tell me to try one.
But which one is the best to renovate?

#1. Joseph Rodgers with a bone handle

A tiny nick out of the bone at the tip, and some loss of bone at the hinge end. On this side only. The other side is fine. Brass rivets.

Some staining to the steel. Very little pitting. (Looks worse in the photo than it really is). An uneven bevel on this side, tapering down to almost no bevel.

Edit: 6/8

#2. Joseph Rodgers with an ebony handle, and with a case.

The ebony has scratches, but nothing too deep. But initials "JR" lightly scratched into one of the scales. Steel rivets.

A couple of extremely light pits. Very little staining.

"Ground in Sheffield" on the other side of the tang.

Edit: Probably originally 5/8, but in reality it is 1/16" to 3/32" less than that

#3. C S Bailey Bristol. Chipped black bakelite(?) scales

Quite a lot of pitting and some rusting. The steel has a different look to it than the others. (stainless?). Hollow ground, but you can see striations. Steel rivets. In some ways, it is quite crude.

Edit: 5/8. Almost a wedge, but there is a slight hollow in the grind.

Certainly the least appealing of the three.

So. What do you reckon, and what can you tell me about them?

Rod

 

[Arrowhead]

All three look quite elderly, mid 19th century going by the styles. You're right to identify Rodgers as a good name, and happily there's a lot of information available on the web. This pdf is well worth downloading, for instance.

All three could do with some tlc. Taking them in order, the bone scaled Rodgers is my favourite; it's well worn and needs some reshaping to even up the bevel but should have plenty of life left. The second Rodgers has had its day due to toe heavy honing, and it's well into the stabiliser as well so this is not a shaver. The Bailey looks awfully close to a genuine wedge, and going by the stumpy little tail I'd say it's the eldest of the three and the most interesting. The heavy pitting just gives it character and I certainly wouldn't consider trying to remove it completely. By the look of things the corrosion hasn't affected the edge too badly, so there's a fair to middling chance that the blade will support a decent shaving edge.

I don't know if you fancy having a go at shaving with a straight, but if you do the first Rodgers is the best prospect and well worth the effort of a full restoration. The Bailey would be a nice addition to a collection, but it's a bit borderline for shaving purposes - I'd probably hone it and see what happens before proceeding. Neil would be able to do a superb restoration job on those two; I wouldn't bother with the ebony scaled one at all.

With a bit of luck Neil will be along soon to give you the historical background and a more informed guess on dating.

 

[Neep]

Thanks.

That link to Joseph Rodgers didn't work for me, but I did find the book here
http://straightrazorplace.com/srpwiki/images/d/d4/The_History_of_Joseph_Rodgers_and_Sons.pdf

Interesting to read what you say about the ebony handled one. It has a nice even bevel and to my uneducated eye it looks the best of the three. The bevel on it is much narrower than the one on the bone one though. It also shaves wet hairs from the back of my hand with the very lightest touch. The ebony handled one also has a filed pattern on the top and bottom of the tang, which I took to be a sign of extra quality?

What does "well into the stabiliser" mean?
Edit: Ah! got it after starting to read Neil's article. Yes, it is honed into the stabiliser, and the bevel is very small because it has been honed too much into the hollow of the grind. I understand now.

Thanks
Rod

 

[Mikael]

I would agree with Andy on this: the top Rodgers is most likely the top razor of the three. The other Rodgers looks like it has a heavy toe (either by wrong honing technique or by extensive wear). I think the top Rodgers is the eldest, approx. mid 19th century, the other two prob around the 20th centrury turn.

The Bailey sure looks interesting, but the horn Rodgers would prob be the keeper, for me.

 

[Neep]

the horn Rodgers would prob be the keeper, for me.

Hmmm. I had incorrectly guessed that it was ebony, but on very close inspection of the edges of the scales it is horn.
?? Or do you mean that the one I thought was bone is horn?

Rod

 

[Mikael]

the horn Rodgers would prob be the keeper, for me.

Hmmm. I had incorrectly guessed that it was ebony, but on very close inspection of the edges of the scales it is horn.

Rod

I´m sorry to add to the confusion, instead of helping. You could be right re the Rodgers with the black scales being horn, but I meant the blond bone Rodgers. The middle razor looks like it has extensive wear (it´s hard to tell by pictures) and prob the one I would be least interested in, of these three.

 

[FrenchBlade]

Agree with the above sentiments, first one seems like the best one to go for, if you're only doing one, that's the one to do.

Max