Thread: Early blade by unknown maker

This razor was purchased in France. I'm hoping Voidmaster or one of the other early razor collectors will recognize the blade stamp. A 5/8 wedge that looks like it my have been reground a long time ago. There is very little hone wear and the bevel is quite small. The first picture the seller used did not tell the whole story of the scales. I've added a couple of pictures so you can see the damage. The scales were so badly warped the blade would not close. To correct that someone took a big hunk out of one scale near the wedge. The customer elected to have the scales reproduced. The large brass collars were cast and not stamped. The razor was pinned using soft steel and struck so hard during the process that deep asymmetrical indentations were left in the collars. The pins were also large measuring .093 inches in diameter. I used a matching diameter brass rod to re-pin the razor. The blade was left pretty much as received and I left all the all the dents and dings on the collars which matches up pretty well with the blades character. Just some light cleaning to remove the active rust in the pivot area. The original scales are honey horn with a matching honey horn wedge and were thicker than most at .140. The collars were so large that the ones at the blade pivot were formed over the bevel at the edge of the scales. I thinned the new scales down to .110 and reproduced the horn wedge. All in all it was an interesting project with a resulting comfortable test shave.
Thanks for looking.
Karl

great old razor and a good job on then restor ...I love to see old things brought back to life. It id better to wear out than to rust away.

oh yea where did you get that razor stand? "I want"

Originally Posted by koonclan

oh yea where did you get that razor stand? "I want"

It was a gift from my wife. It's a pewter fountain pen holder. It should come up on a web search.

Oh yeah, that one was sold to France via either Swedish or German ebay I think and then to the US (you'd be surprised, a lot of the razors for sale I have seen make two or three trips on the various online outlets).

The stamp doesn't appear in the 1787 or 1774 directories, which contain recorded razor makers. However, the style of blade and the type of symbols there could have come from Sheffield, and either been attributed to a maker who came before or after the directory was assembled, or who has a mark elsewhere in the directory under other cutlery.

You are correct that it has been reground. It may have been shortened, or it could just be a travel sized razor.



Update: the closest I found was a table knife manufacturer in the 1787 directory, but I doubt this is the mark you are looking for. You may find it buried in the 1774 directory but this one is hard to come by in full (apart from the razor makers' pages).

Wonderful work as usual Karl! I always enjoy seeing your restores....

Very nice, what year(s) would this be from?

Originally Posted by Wid

Very nice, what year(s) would this be from?

There are some serious collectors of the early blades that would be a better judge than I but I'll hazard a guess at 1790 - 1810.