What do you think?
c. 1780's ~VERY EARLY~ Unusual Antique STRAIGHT RAZOR - eBay (item 360312115571 end time Oct-30-10 17:00:22 PDT)
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I am nowhere near an expert, not even a novice in dating razors but it looks quite early to me and has two major signs I'd look for. Almost no tail, and no step up from blade to tang. I believe the snubbed tail lasted into the late 1800's but my memory could be wrong and the stepped blade/tang was much earlier than that. I'd be interested in what the scales are made of looks like a possible real tortise shell which I think looks quite nice but again only guessing
If it is a fake, it's much better than the Chinese/Colonial razors that keep showing up on eBay.
I doubt it's from the 1780s, but that's just gut reaction. I would guess early to mid 1800s but your best bet is if someone can recognize the crown insignia and can place it to a particular manufacturer.
Logo looks like Wolf with a paw print to me.
Thanks so far.
It's old, but how old is debatable many of the clues are not there any longer...
The tail is broken away. I think from the pics
The MM is worn away
The original blade contour is unknown from wear
The scales and washers do not look quite as old as the razor, but I am not positive of that...
IMHO 1780 hmmmmmm
1800-1830 yeah more likely
I hope that helps but take it with a grain of salt
JMS, Neil Miller, and Mannah might help you even more
Glen, you came to the same conclusion I did but you sure sounded a lot more knowledgeable doing it!
It's possible it's a John Shepherd (trademark, Crown and wolf)
If so, that would dated it from 1770-1795.
Just a guess.
I'd guess it's somewhere early 1800's
That razor is in pretty rough condition , but I do believe it to date to the late 1700's - 1810 . The shape of the scales , the large pin washers , and stubbed tail , lead me to believe this .
Certainly looks all-original - if you enlarge the photo the scales have ridges/layers so they are either horn made to look like tortoiseshell or the real deal and the mark on the tang appears to be a crown. Earlier razors tended to go straight on into the bevel from the underside of the tang, but this one looks like it might once have had some sort of slight demarcation point between the two - the honing over the years has removed any reliable evidence, though.
I don't think it is John Shepherd - the crown is probably a sovereigns mark and - just by way of conjecture - it could "W" and "R" on either side of the makers initials, signifying King William IV, who took the throne in 1830.
Interesting razor!
Regards,
Neil
Here is a post that may shed a little light on it.
By the looks of the ebay razor it is a Shepherd
http://straightrazorpalace.com/razor...-shepherd.html
Excellent post! That seems to be introvertible proof that it is indeed a John shepherd, like you previously stated. I take my hat off to you!Quote:
Originally Posted by MileMarker60
Regards,
Neil
PS: the date still seems a bit questionable as there was a John Shepherd, razor manufacturer, listed at Hollis Croft in Baines Gazetteer of Sheffield for 1822. Joseph Elliots were at Hollis Croft too, and there is an instance of a silver/cutlery marking of "wolf under a crown" (no pic, unfortunately) attributed to Elliots at one time - although this may have been a typo, it poses an interesting possibility that Elliots owned the mark for a while (they owned many other makers marks).
Everything about it points to ~1790, IMO.
Lummus identifies John Shepherd's dating as 1770-1795. He even has a picture of a Shepherd in his Article from 1922, also with the Crown & WOLF
http://www.adrian.edu/%7Ebmaggard/741.JPG
1780 is an adress perhaps?:shrug:
Thanks for the info, y'all.
I think I'll let this one go, but find a better condition Wolf down the line.
Further to my post #12 above, I found a picture of a razor with Joseph Elliot marked on the tang and the Shepherd 'WOLF' under a crown trademark on the blade. So - it wasn't a typo and it appears that Lummus had not come across this example, which leaves the date debatable.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...87/wolf-01.jpg
There are more pictures of this razor in the SRP razor clubs forum under 'silver steel'.
Regards,
Neil
I have a few old ones - in fact I just posted one on the bay -
a good rule of thumb is if there is no tang, it is pre 1800. That razor has real tortoise shell scales, and if they are in good shape, I would hold on to them. The blades are easy to find, nice scales are not. The razor I put up has just the faintest showing of the beginning of a tang which is the next step and brings the date closer to 1800. The blade from this thread has a bit of a tail nub which I have never seen. It's usually either no tail or a monkey nub which is just a bit bigger. But just the fact that these razors could have been used by the revolutionary army (1775 to 1783) here has always amazed me. Whenever I see one of these razors, I look for names and a date scratched onto the scales. Could you imagine fighting in that war? Ok... I got carried away. I love old razors :)
hier is a Shephard from me. Original restored...A grest Razor
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