Thread: A straight razor found in the garden/yard. Can anyone identify its maker?

Hi,

I have a somewhat unusual question here. It is almost archaeological in nature. I have an old house built in 1935. It's in Hungary. In the garden, as I planted grass near the old well, I found a straight razor. This was a few years ago, but I finally got the chance to take a closer look at it.

The handle looks like it is made of bakelite. A kind of khaki green colour. The blade was broken. I believe the second half of the blade was found near it, but maybe it just fell out when I found it. The part connected to the straight razor was frozen in rust. The other night I removed the packed dirt carefully. Still it would not move. So, I used some WD-40 and now the blade swivels as it was meant to. My hope was that I could see some manufacturing information. Unfortunately, the corrosion is so great I don't think I can see any writing there.

I am pretty confident that this straight razor is from 1935-1965. Plenty of old perfum bottles, and ink bottles from the 1930s-1940s have been found in the kitchen midden in the corner of the garden/yard. But that is pretty far away from the old well. In fact, around the old well I have only found this razor and a small pair of scissors. So, for these reasons, and for hygienic reasons, it looks like the people who lived here 70-85 years ago, weren't dumping their rubbish next to the well.

But 1935-1965 is a wide range of years. I would like to narrow it down if possible. I did some research on straight razors. Most look pretty similar! However, I found one on a Hungarian site that really matches the one I foun pretty closely. I mean the colour of the handle, its design, the shape of the blade. Here is a link to the razor that looks just like mine. This is from a Hungarian antique site. The straight razor depicted here appears to have been made in Sheffield, England, and was produced by the S. Pearson & Co established 1820. https://galeriasavaria.hu/termekek/r...orotva-tokban/

In the kitchen midden perfume bottles from the 1930s-1940s have been found, even from international companies, so it would not be impossible that an English made straight razor was being sold here. Of course, maybe it is just a knock off, or a very typical design and colour.

There is one further twist to this. The people who lived here generations ago seemed to have been pretty careful about getting the rubbish to the far corner of the garden. But this straight razor was found near the well. And to leave a broken blade there, too, could be dangerous for anyone who stepped on it, particularly kids. Anyway, it didn't seem to be the habit of the occupants of the house. However, there was a group of people here, in the garden, who might not have cared if some rubbish was left near the well. Soldiers. The Battle of Budapest in 1944-1945 literally began right here in the villages near the capital city. Some old bullets were found in the garden left by the allied army (in this case, Soviet). So, soldiers were here, and it is very possible that some stayed in the house for some time during the winter. One of the bullets, (donated to the local museum) was lend-lease, and was found right outside the back door just a few metres from the well. The well was the source of water and indoor bathrooms weren't the norm at that time in this part of Hungary, so maybe someone really did shave right next to the well.

Probably that idea is all wrong, and this is an early 1960s straight razor produced in the Soviet Union.

I would love to hear your thoughts as to the manufacturer and its age. Thanks!

I am attaching some pictures for you of the straight razor I found.