On 2010-03-23, John wrote:
On Tue, 23 Mar 2010 00:10:55 -0500, Don Foreman
wrote:

My dad had a hand-cranked blue-blade stropping machine. He got dozens
of shaves from a blue blade. This was just after WW II when some
commodities (razor blades, nails) were still in short supply


I had a Rolls Razor - looked like a chunk of straight razor blade with
a handle on it. It came in a case with a strop on one side and a home
on the other. British made and I used it for years.

I've still got two -- one complete and one with one missing
part, the formed spring around the rolling shaft which sets the honing
and stropping tension and keeps the blade properly oriented during the
honing and stropping..

You did not mention that not only did this include the strop and
the hone, but the frame in which the blade was stored was designed to
move the blade edge leading along the hone, and edge trailing along the
strop. The hone and the strop were each mounted in a cover which went
on *only* the proper side of the case, so you could not wind up pushing
the blade into the strop.

The handle stored between the loops of the hone/strop actuator
handle when it was all packaged.

It is still good -- but I'm no longer a good test, as even a
blue blade would have lasted now about 28 years or so -- it has been
that long since I last shaved. :-)

Enjoy,
DoN.

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