How about some not-so-straight razors?

[Ray S]

As was the case when the supply of pocket knives dried up in the area I was living at the time and I began to collect straight razors to feed my addiction( "I can quit.....any time....if I have to....")so it was when there became a paucity of straight razors I began to find and collect other types of razors.
First it was corn razors. In case you are not familiar with what they are corn razors are miniaturized versions of straight razors(for the most part;there are variations)whose sole purpose was the removal of corns and bunions from one's feet.Thankfully this dangerous process wasn't very popular for very long and they gradually turned to other (and safer)means of doing that task.
Next came early style so-called,"safety" razors. The earliest types were usually short straight razor -style blades with a handle that clamped on at 90 degrees to the blade edge. Some of these employed a form of guard over the blade edge to control the angle of attack. Probably the most famous of these is the "Rolls Razor" which consisted of a metal case housing the razor handle and blade along with a 2 sided sharpening stone that automatically flipped the blade over to get both sides as it was dragged back and forth across the stone.
It was a bit of an improvement over a straight razor as it allowed slightly better control of the blade angle but it could still slice you pretty badly if you were careless. Later types employed a guard and were slightly safer but still left a lot to be desired.
Gillette then introduced the double edged blade that was quite flexible and allowed a bit of adjustment within the handle.It also allowed twice the number of shaves without sharpening the blade.There were a number of companies besides Gillette that offered tools to re-sharpen these blades although they encouraged you to buy new ones rather than re-use old ones.
The re-use of old blades also led to the introduction of various types of craft and utility knives that used old razor blades but that is another chapter as are the sharpening tools.
A lot of the earlier razors required that you use their specific blades;going so far as to make them incompatible with other razors. The Valet company used blades with their name punched out of the blade and using the letter edges to hold the blade in.Other companies used various other tactics. As most of these companies eventually went out of business and Gillette prospered it became the standard to make blades(and razors)compatible with Gillette products.
The two other main types of razors emerging were the single edge razor with replaceable blade and the "injector" type which used a small single edge blade that was housed in the tool that was used to install(inject)the blade into the razor handle.Probably the most popular of these was made by Schick although there were several other variations on this style.
One of the more notable models was the,"Stick Schick" which was introduced about the time 4-speed transmissions were becoming popular in American cars;often referred to as "stick shifts". They featured a reproduction of a 4 speed shift knob on the handle.
Anyway I'm starting to drift a bit. For this post I will confine myself to just posting corn razors(and a few knives).Later installments will show some of the razors and related equipment. Hope you enjoy this post and feel free to post any that you may own.

[cody6268]

Neat ones.  I have one straight razor, an old Clauss with ivory celluloid handles and a nickel silver deer inlay that was my great grandfathers.   


Do they still make "Injector" style handles?  I see the Schick injector blades in every grocery store here, but no handle next to them.

[Ray S]

Neat ones.  I have one straight razor, an old Clauss with ivory celluloid handles and a nickel silver deer inlay that was my great grandfathers.   


Do they still make "Injector" style handles?  I see the Schick injector blades in every grocery store here, but no handle next to them.

I think I have a Clauss in my collection as well;nice razors. I also have a couple of Clauss pocket knives and an old aluminum handled bread knife that sees constant use in my wife's kitchen.I buy all my bread unsliced.
Not sure about injector razor handles still being sold but I see them at antique shops every now and then. Shouldn't be too hard to find one.
Back to posting:
First pic is a few corn knives along with some regular straight razors. The knife on the extreme right is not a corn knife(even though the blade is similar)but an old ivory handled grafting knife.
Second pic is a group of double edged safety razors including one with an extra long handle and next to it the tiniest one I have ever seen.
Third pic is a close up of the tiny razor.I believe these were made around 1940 and targeted women for use in shaving their legs.
Last pic is a Valet razor showing their specialized blades.