Frame back razors

I was wondering if the frame back razor had a spocific reason for its design?

I think it saved steel and it made honing easier because all that extra meat isn't there. Sort of a stopgap between wedges and hollows. Some you can swap out the blade. FWIW, they shave GREAT and it is well worth seeking one out.

There is one school of thought that says they were a cheaper way to manufacture razors, using the "good" steel just for the blade and lesser quality for the, "frame".

The other school of thought is that in fact it takes much more craftsmanship to make a frameback razor, that they usually had more ornate designs using different metals, scales, jimps, thumbnotches, etchings, and frequently came anywhere from two blades to a full seven day set.

Personally, I've seen examples of both...

Framebacks can be made sharper because they can use a steel for the blade that would not be appropriate for the frame. Something harder but more breakable.
fontenille made a frameback in Damascus steel that is truly hard to beat. The lecoultre is another great example.

totorlekiller said:

Framebacks can be made sharper because they can use a steel for the blade that would not be appropriate for the frame. Something harder but more breakable.
fontenille made a frameback in Damascus steel that is truly hard to beat. The lecoultre is another great example.

Click to expand...

Agreed, have managed to collect the TI #69 and #19 and Le Grelot framebacks, and missed out on a gorgeous Jaques Lecoultre 7 Day set awhile ago, but found this one with two blades. Love the framebacks....

I think that it was a way of getting a thin blade before the process of thin hollow grinding was developed.

Honing a razor with a few blades should be a nightmare. I don't believe that there was a tape to cover a spine at the time of manufacture. They probably developed different way to hone all blades at once.

Even that I have two or three framebacks with extra blades, I never even thought to hone them.

A lot of Japanese western type straight razors are framebacks most likely because of different metal used for the spine and for the blade.

Just a guess, easier to produce. Getting a thin piece of metal is easier than getting a hollow done.

Phrank said:

There is one school of thought that says they were a cheaper way to manufacture razors, using the "good" steel just for the blade and lesser quality for the, "frame"

Click to expand...

My understanding is that this is the case for earlier Japanese stuff. Swedish steel for the edge and crap local steel for the rest.

Would be an interesting business model for a modern version. Imagining: one frame and your choice of blade (size, thickness, point, etc..) and the ability to switch it up.