2000 year old Roman razor

[Doc Dan]

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/2000-ye ... r-auction/

I thought this was pretty cool, so I thought I'd share.

[RustyIron]

Shaving with an iron razor sounds... unpleasant.
I wonder what that tips the BESS scale at?
1.2 kg?

[Ramonade]

Before rust it must've been pretty thin. Maybe it used to cut for a full shave before needing a lot of care ?

[James Y]

Interesting article, thanks for posting it here.

I also find it interesting that the edge bevel is still there, even if it isn't truly sharp anymore. Amazing, actually, considering how old it is.

Jim

[SpyderEdgeForever]

I am so happy you posted this. I love the history of knives and tools. Romans had various types of steel. The best were imported iron and steel from Noricum which included Austria and Slovenia, and from Spain and Italy. They also imported wootz steel from India through the Silk Road trade route.
Various local smiths also produced blades and armor but quality varied.

Allegedly the ancient Assyrians and Syriac people favored curved and upswept blades, ehat would later be called scimitars.

Their philosophy of blade combat mimicked the way animal claws work, and Romans favored straight stabbing blades, but used curved blades, too.

Ancient Britain was a major source of tin for bronze and it is claimed that some Greek ships got up there. However, the whole British iron and coal and Sheffield steel did not become big until the industrial age in the 1700s and later.

As Google tells us:

"Ancient Britain, specifically the regions of Cornwall and Devon in the southwest, was a major source of tin for bronze production during the Bronze Age. This tin was a crucial, and rare, component of the alloy and was traded across Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean, even to regions as far away as Israel. Recent scientific analysis of isotopes in ancient tin ingots has provided the first concrete evidence of this long-distance trade. "

Did you all know that ancient China made some of the best steel and swords? Infact it is claimed that Roman emperors paid much gold to have Chinese cast and forged steel razors and dagger and sword blades sent to them.

Chinese people invented paper, steel, gun powder and more. I have a book on sword history that says Chinese sword smiths would demonstrate blade quality by slicing rocks like we slice cheese.

[SpyderEdgeForever]

Interesting article, thanks for posting it here.

I also find it interesting that the edge bevel is still there, even if it isn't truly sharp anymore. Amazing, actually, considering how old it is.

Jim

I can imagine a slightly larger, more robust version being used as an emergency combat weapon.

[Bolster]

Neat find! And would make a great ute knife, too!

[Bolster]

Shaving with an iron razor sounds... unpleasant.
I wonder what that tips the BESS scale at?
1.2 kg?

Yeah, but back then, they were REAL men.

[RustyIron]

Yeah, but back then, they were REAL men.

Indeed. Even the manliest among them walked around in togas to relieve the rash caused by manscaping with iron razors. It's said that every iron razor sold came with a free amphora of soothing calendula water.

[Bolster]

Indeed. Even the manliest among them walked around in togas to relieve the rash caused by manscaping with iron razors. It's said that every iron razor sold came with a free amphora of soothing calendula water.

And you don't even want to know how the women "kept house!"