‘CUT THROAT’ RAZOR

The type properly referred to as straight razors, which reached their design zenith in the early 1900’s, have changed (to the untutored eye) very little since the late 1700’s. Yet in reality they have changed a good deal – including the very steel they are made from. Handles (or, more properly, scales) have undergone changes in design and composition too. The differences are subtle yet significant
The straight razor may be a simple tool but that doesn’t mean to say it’s crude. Far from it. The modern (1950-ish onward) straight razor is a distillation of design that has been evolving since about 1600. That’s a long time.

Round points are generally favoured in Europe generally over other point types.
Square points are also called spike points (especially in the USA) and are less favoured in Europe.
Dreadnought points are also called notch points although strictly speaking this is not true – a Dreadnought point may be seen as above (it resembles the prow of a WW1 ‘dreadnought’ battleship) and also with a semi-circular ‘Sheffield notch’ cut out of the blade point. This was largely a cosmetic effect.
Several other point styles are made, including oblique and Spanish. However, the three above are most common, with the dreadnought generally being found on older razors (say pre-1900)