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I'm new here and to the Straight Razor community, I was hoping to find out a little bit of background on my razor. I would like to at least know what model or style it is and a possibility of the era it's from. Also any recommendations on shaving and restoring this gem would be greatly appreciated.
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Industrial WorcesterBy Charles Grenfill Washburn, 1917
J. R. Torrey & Co. manufactures razor strops and dressing-cases, and are situated at the corner of Piedmont and Chandler Streets. The business was begun in a very small way in 1858 by J. R. Torrey, with eight employees. In 1885 his son, Lewis H. Torrey, was admitted to partnership. The business has increased until the product is known the world over.
The J. R. Torrey Razor Company was incorporated in 1880. Joseph Turner, a practical razor maker from Sheffield, England, was president, and J. R. Torrey, treasurer. The original factory was erected in 1882 and doubled in floor space in 1905. Upon the death of Joseph Turner, in 1907, his oldest son, William Turner, was made president of the company.
This company was the first to successfully manufacture razors in the United States, and has introduced many improvements in processes, special machinery, and the vulcanized rubber handle. This is the only factory in the country exclusively occupied in the manufacture of razors. There are about one hundred and fifty operatives.
The story of Mr. Turner, found in the History of Worcester, was very interesting...
JOSEPH TURNER. President of the J. R. Torrey Razor Company was born in Sheffield. England. 1838 and died in Worcester, February 25, 1907, a son of James Turner. His father died when he was a mere lad and his schooling was cut short, having to begin work at the age of eight years to help his mother support the family. In the factory of Wade & Butcher, manufacturers of razors, well-known throughout the world, he learned his trade, Afterward he was employed in the manufacture of cutlery of various kinds in the other shops of Sheffield and he won the reputation of being one of the most skillful in his craft in a city famous for its production of the finest steel goods and noted for the superiority of its workmen in the manufacture of cutlery.
For a period of twenty-five years he worked at his trade in his native city, and then in 1870, came to this country under contract with Heinisch & Sons, manufacturer of shears at Newark, New Jersey, as foreman of a razor manufacturing plant they were about to establish. He had charge of the erection and installation of machinery in the new building and was superintendent of the razor-making department until he resigned in 1872. This firm was a pioneer in the razor business in this country, and for the period Mr. Turner was with this concern he had to give personal instruction to the mechanics in his employ, teaching them the art of making razors. The field seemed promising for more concerns of this kind, and he engaged in business as partner in the firm of Turner & Cowlisliaw and began to manufacture razors at Meriden, Connecticut, under the firm name of Turner & Cowlishaw Razor Manufacturing Company. From the beginning the new firm produced a high quality of razors and found a ready market for all the product. From time to time the facilities of the firm were enlarged and the business extended rapidly. To the work of the factory Mr. Turner gave his personal attention, instructing his men, improving machinery and methods. In 1876 he bought out his partner and became the sole owner of the business.
From the beginning, one of the largest customers of Mr. Turner was the J. R. Torrey Company of Worcester, manufacturers of razor strops, and in 1880 a consolidation of the two plants was arranged between Mr. Torrey and Mr. Turner. The business was brought from Meriden to Worcester and continued under the name of the J. R. Torrey Razor Company, a corporation under Massachusetts laws, with Mr. Turner, president, and Mr. Torrey, treasurer. The combination of the razor and razor strop business greatly stimulated both concerns. For more than a quarter of century Mr. Turner was at the head of the company, devoting all his ability and energy to the management, extension and up building of its business. He had both mechanical skill and business sagacity, and with the strong support of his associate made rapid headway.
The Torrey razor, as it came to be known, was soon the most popular make in this country, and it has held its place to the present time. This concern has been for years the largest in the world among the companies manufacturing razors exclusively. In the blade department he was always specially interested and he devised many improvements in the apparatus used in manufacturing the product, in the tempering and finishing of the blades and patented many devices and improvements relating to the manufacture of razors.
Those shoulderless Torrey’s are some of my favorite, great shavers but boy is that steel hard.