Unusual Durham Duplex handle

[TobyC]

@pjgh, please come to the front desk.

A while back I was going to bid on this just for the handle but I didn't watch it properly and it got away from me. Has anyone seen one like this before?





Here it is next to a normal one.

 

[pjgh]

Spiral knurl! That's a new one on me!

Cue the folks on the shop-floor at Durhum Duplex tutting at the new Stores Manager for ordering the wrong knurling while the Production Controller is pointing at his watch muttering, "time is money, men!" ... and so they fitted the spiral knurling and ran a few miles of rod through it before replacing with the usual knurling once the Stores Man had been given his orders.

No, that's an interesting twist (ha!) ... I love how vintage that we must have seen a thousand times keeps giving us surprises decade after decade. These Durhams really were damn good razors with the period blades, which do still hone up. I know I sent you a small number of modern pathology blades (which I trust made it through various customs), but they're nothing like the old blades.

 

[TobyC]

Spiral knurl! That's a new one on me!

Cue the folks on the shop-floor at Durhum Duplex tutting at the new Stores Manager for ordering the wrong knurling while the Production Controller is pointing at his watch muttering, "time is money, men!" ... and so they fitted the spiral knurling and ran a few miles of rod through it before replacing with the usual knurling once the Stores Man had been given his orders.

No, that's an interesting twist (ha!) ... I love how vintage that we must have seen a thousand times keeps giving us surprises decade after decade. These Durhams really were damn good razors with the period blades, which do still hone up. I know I sent you a small number of modern pathology blades (which I trust made it through various customs), but they're nothing like the old blades.

I wish I could have gotten that handle, doubt if I'll ever see another.

I tried the pathology blades, that's a pretty rough shaving experience, but I may try stropping one to see what happens. Thank you for sending them, I feel obligated to do something with them. Have you compared them to the carpet cutting blades? I have 100 of those to play around with as well.

 

[pjgh]

The pathology blades are a lot better than the carpet blades, that's for sure. Yes, rough ... for a few shaves. They're stainless rather than what I presume were carbon for the original blades and that I think makes the difference. The original blades can go on for scores of shaves with little more than a stropping. I don't think there's a specific faceting for these blades like there is for the GEMs.

Yeah, give one of the pathology blades a good stropping and see if it softens up a tad.

 

[TobyC]

I had three original blades but they were rusted badly, so I just ditched them, definitely of the carbon steel variety.