Thread: 8/8 Wm. Stenton & Son, ca. 1846-1860

Originally Posted by sharptonn

Nice job! So 'Again Superior' is the New York Stenton, IIRC. Are the scales Bakelite or horn??

Hey Tom...your 'recall' is correct. It is the Stenton from NY city, though whether it was the Cliff Street address, the Maiden Lane address or the two stores he opened on Platt Street and Pearl Street in 1857 it's hard to tell. It could be a merchandised private label 'F. Fenney' or 'C.T. Bingham' or it could be a blade manufactured by Stenton himself.

Zak would probably know for sure as he has done some extensive research on the Stenton family.

The scales are Bakelite, and although I really like the look of them, they are not the original scales, and will probably be replaced shortly with the correct and original pressed blond horn scales inscribed "The American Gentleman's Razor".

Her's some pics of the razor BEFORE I restored it:

Originally Posted by Phrank

Good observation Thaeris - Wolfpack has engaged my services to help him find some nice razors, it's been tough, but he takes to the learning well.....

...Phrank is like a 'uber-upscale' by appointment only private shopping consultant in New York city. HE DOES fine work and has quite an eye for the unique.

A hearty heart-felt Thanks goes out to my dear friend Phrank!

Originally Posted by Voidmonster

I'm looking forward to seeing that this weekend!

You shall my friend...and with a new set of clothes to boot!

I don't care if you buy new cloths and boots but I would love to see the finish up close. I am sure it is amazing as usual :<0)

That turned out GREAT!
AWESOME job!!!

Originally Posted by 10Pups

I don't care if you buy new cloths and boots but I would love to see the finish up close. I am sure it is amazing as usual :<0)

Thanks Pups! I appreciate it...see you this weekend. But with my 'normal' jeans and Hawaiian shirt...

Thanks to you too Ed...

Very nice work once again, really like the finish on the blade, Enjoy!

So your having a pinning party this week-end?

Wow beautiful beast. Scales look great.

Oh, Tom, Stenton was a character and a half.

As far as I can tell, all the razors marked STENTON are the same guy.

He got his start (supposedly) working a grocer's warehouse, then hooked up with Greaves in the late 1700's. He left there in the early 1800's to work for the Sanderson brothers as a warehouse manager, then moved to Wostenholm in early 1830's. He supposedly helped little Georgie get his American operations up and running, but personality conflicts sent him packing after just a few years.

Then he moved to America with his son, Robert, and the two of them took over a cutlery factory in NYC that used prison labor from Sing Sing (formerly a file manufacturer, if memory serves -- and that's all I've got to go on because I can't find the documentation to back up this prison labor part of the story). In any event, it was in NYC that he started using the AGAIN SUPERIOR stamp.

His son married local and got in good with the Vanderbilts. The Vanderbilts, in turn, provided Robert with all sorts of wonderful financial advice that completely ruined them.

William died in 1863, and his son went off to live on the street in San Francisco where he died of pneumonia. His wife Louisa however, continued to live in their mansion in what would later become the Bronx with their daughter Alice.

In 1906, Alice was murdered on the steps of the by-then-ramshackle mansion by Louisa's attorney.

It gets weird from there!

Originally Posted by nicknbleeding

Wow beautiful beast. Scales look great.

Yeah! Am liking the old Bakelite these days!