Thread: Ode to the Texas Shumate

So as per my SOTD thread today, my face razor was a Texas Shumate. Dating many razors boils down to a lot of guessing sometimes but in the case of this one, it can be narrowed down pretty accurately. You see the Shumate Razor Company was based in Austin, Texas from 1900-1904, it then moved to St. Louis. So since my Shumate has Austin, Texas engraved on the shank, it can be logically deducted that this razor is AT LEAST 107 years old.

Ignoring the fact that this razor still performs as good (if not better) than it did on day one of its life, (wouldn't it be great if people could do that?). I started wondering about how many shaves this razor had delivered and all the things it had seen come and go. So here's some quick factoids from 1904:

• The distress signal CQD was established in January 1904 (two years later it would become SOS)
• Henry Ford sets a new land speed record of 91.37 miles an hour in January 1904
• In February 1904, the Russo-Japanese War begins and the U.S. buys the Panama Canal Zone for $10 million
• In April of 1904 Longacre Square, in Mid Town Manhattan is renamed Times Square
• Work begun on the Panama Canal and Cy Young pitched the first perfect game in the modern era of baseball in May 1904
• In July, the Third Modern Olympic Games began in St. Louis MO and the Trans-Siberian Railroad was completed
• In October, the first underground line of the New York City subway opened
• Theodore Roosevelt was elected to a second term as President in November 1904
• December 31st 1904, first New Years Celebration in Times Square

Suffice to say this razor has seen a lot of things come and go.

Nice story.
Ain't it interesting with vintage things. They come from another time and place, almost from another world, and still they perform well when taken care of. They were made before times of throw away culture. I'm not saying times were better back then but at least some things were.