Thread: Bengall's Band of Brothers

My latest acquisition is this 7/8s Bengall. These pictures don't do it justice. When finished I'll have it in horn scales and domed washers.

Excellent blade Colin! Can't wait to see it done.

It looks like it will make a comfortable shaver when completed, as all bengals in my opinion

Originally Posted by TrilliumLT

My latest acquisition is this 7/8s Bengall. These pictures don't do it justice. When finished I'll have it in horn scales and domed washers.

That is a nice looking old blade blade, I have a square point with a similar stamp and wedgeness
It is a very nice shaver
Your should turn out fine also

Picked this one up yesterday. 3/4 wedge. Unpinned and clean up.

Originally Posted by jdub240

Attachment 227201
Hello, I picked up this razor on an online auction. I am new to buying vintage razors and this one seems interesting. I am wondering if anyone has any info on it, it measures 3/8. It says Bengall 22 on one side and made in England on the other. It doesn't seem to have a lot of hone wear on the spine, but as I said earlier I'm new to vintage razors.
Any help would be great, thank's in advance!
Jordan

Sorry, but that razor is toast, over honed et. al. Its a butter knife now. I hope you paid about $3.00 for it.

Originally Posted by Maladroit

Three superb razors
Two 13/16 and an 11/16. I know they sold them as 3/4 and 5/8 but that's what they measure. I just gave this trio a touch-up on the Shapton Pro 12k this afternoon and I realized they are among my favourite blades. I know it's a big call, and maybe I haven't tried enough modern razors, but I think the Bengalls of this vintage (1910-1940) are the best shavers I've ever used. It's not just the edge; it's what I would like to call "handling". By this I mean a combination of balance in the hand and a sharp, yet very smooth edge, combining to give one hell of a shave!
Attachment 191072

What do the Tang Stamps say on the other side? I'm trying to date 2 of mine, both of say Bengall on one side and just "Made in England" on the other.

Here's one I just won off of eBay; don't have it in my hands yet.

Bengall cast steel carved horn

Listing claimed early 1700s, but to my eyes it looks more likely to be early 1800s. What do people say?

Two additional questions:

(1) It looks like there's a significant nick in the blade closer to the heel. What would be the best way to get that out? Make it smile a bit more? Or just pretend it's a mini khukuri?

(2) Description says carved horn, but would it be more likely to be pressed horn? Is there any special way to care for carved/pressed horn? The one side looks like it's losing the impression/carving a bit - is there a way to forestall this?

Haven't seen a Bengall without a tail before or pressed horn. Wonder if scales are original. You going to lose a bit of width toward the heel. Not a restore to rush in to, looks like it could be a very nice razor.

Originally Posted by Grazor

Haven't seen a Bengall without a tail before or pressed horn. Wonder if scales are original. You going to lose a bit of width toward the heel. Not a restore to rush in to, looks like it could be a very nice razor.

To me, the scales look like they should be about the same age as the razor. They're not the coffin-shaped scales of the 18th c. quite, but rather have a slight curve, but not as curved as the standard of the 19th.