Circa 1896 'Case Brothers', Little Valley , NY...Shoulderless/Barber's Notch

This is a real beauty, and a pretty rare one I believe: A circa 1896-1897 'Case Brothers', Little Valley, NY, marked "TESTED XX" on the back of the tang. From what I could find out the razors marked with this are pretty definitively from the 1896-1897 time frame, from right around the time the factory moved from Gowanda, NY to Little Valley, NY.

It's a shoulder-less 6/8 wedge with a Barber's Notch. Finished in a two-tone with polished tang and spine and polished crocus satin finish on the blade face, and polished original scales. Incredible steel...true state of the art American manufactured razor. Superb shaver!


Hope you like it...

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Fantastic,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,:tu

Very nice, those two tone polishing jobs are starting to get to me.

Bob

The Force is strong, and these razors gleam with your Jedi powers! :D

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Originally Posted by Hirlau

Fantastic,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,:tu

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Thanks Hirlau!

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Originally Posted by BobH

Very nice, those two tone polishing jobs are starting to get to me.

Bob

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:rofl2: ...Thanks Bob! I really like 'em myself...

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Originally Posted by Phrank

The Force is strong, and these razors gleam with your Jedi powers! :D

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:rofl2: You're cracking me up Andrew! Thanks my friend!

That's a gem! Beautiful workmanship, sir.
I really like the TESTED XX on the shank.

yeah the tested xx stamped on top just up's the appeal , it 's a beauty !

Damn, Mike, that is nice.

That Little Valley must have been an interesting county, back in the heyday if you could just walk from one Razor Company to another to see all the razor & stone production.

Love that two tone finish and the pinning. Are you making your own collars? Very nice work.

Marty

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Originally Posted by Leatherstockiings

That's a gem! Beautiful workmanship, sir.
I really like the TESTED XX on the shank.

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Thank you John! It's good to always hear from you on my work. I really appreciate it!

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Originally Posted by Bazz

yeah the tested xx stamped on top just up's the appeal , it 's a beauty !

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Thanks Bazz...I don't really know the meaning of TESTED XX but it is pretty cool!

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Originally Posted by Euclid440

Damn, Mike, that is nice.

That Little Valley must have been an interesting county, back in the heyday if you could just walk from one Razor Company to another to see all the razor & stone production.

Love that two tone finish and the pinning. Are you making your own collars? Very nice work.

Marty

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Thanks so much Marty! I agree...thei really put out some top quality razors from there. It really would be cool to take a time machine back about 100+ years and just tour around those factories. To answer your question...YES, I am making my own collars.

Appreciate you Marty!

Excellent, Mike! A real eye-popping jaw-dropper, there! :dropjaw:

Man, I think you outdid yourself this time! That one is definitely a keeper! :)

Recently acquired a shoulder-less M. J. Higgins really cheap that is my guinea pig to practice this satin finish thing. Sure is tough to accomplish a smooth, even finish and seeing your awesome work makes me want to perfect it even more!! Once I get an acceptable result on the Higgins I have this awesome Mappin Brothers shoulder-less I want to try it on.

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Originally Posted by sharptonn

Excellent, Mike! A real eye-popping jaw-dropper, there! :dropjaw:

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Thanks Tom! I know you like some 'Americana' like I do.

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Originally Posted by NewellVW

Man, I think you outdid yourself this time! That one is definitely a keeper! :)

Recently acquired a shoulder-less M. J. Higgins really cheap that is my guinea pig to practice this satin finish thing. Sure is tough to accomplish a smooth, even finish and seeing your awesome work makes me want to perfect it even more!! Once I get an acceptable result on the Higgins I have this awesome Mappin Brothers shoulder-less I want to try it on.

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Thanks Newell!

What an amazing restoration...

I'm sure that I'm not the only one who got the tingly feeling with your OP...

Looks ready for generations to come.
Thank you for sharing.

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Originally Posted by MJC

What an amazing restoration...

I'm sure that I'm not the only one who got the tingly feeling with your OP...

Looks ready for generations to come.
Thank you for sharing.

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Thanks MJC!

Real fabulous work as usual Mike
Looks like it was made yesterday. With those crispy engraves.
Sweet!!
:tu

That's the nicest Case I've seen Mike. :tu
And you make those collars yourself? they are more than domed no? Have a starburst sort of effect going on? Can't really tell in the pics.
Nice regardless mate, again!

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Originally Posted by Tarkus

Real fabulous work as usual Mike
Looks like it was made yesterday. With those crispy engraves.
Sweet!!
:tu

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Thanks Daryl...it's always good to hear from you my friend!

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Originally Posted by MikeB52

That's the nicest Case I've seen Mike. :tu
And you make those collars yourself? they are more than domed no? Have a starburst sort of effect going on? Can't really tell in the pics.
Nice regardless mate, again!

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Appreciate it Mike...it really is a wonderful CASE, and such a great smooth shaver. The collars are domed and dimpled slightly for the pin...the starburst is strictly photography... :D I also use another smaller domed collar underneath the outer collar. Makes for nice tight pinning.