Posted this in the "What Are You Working On?" thread but I figured I'd put a couple of pics here also.
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Packwood Old English in black horn. I'm estimating somewhere around 1800 give or take????
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Posted this in the "What Are You Working On?" thread but I figured I'd put a couple of pics here also.
Attachment 316676
Attachment 316685
Attachment 316677
Packwood Old English in black horn. I'm estimating somewhere around 1800 give or take????
Very nice.. 1830 to 1840 were the time period for the "Old English " stamp i believe ..
I love the old flowered collars ..
Thank you kind sir. All four of the collars are still intact and the horn is in better shape than I would have expected but I feel quite sure that it's still original.
Really? 1830 to 1840 huh? I knew they made them after he died (1820 I believe) but I didn't know that much later. I still have some reading to do about old Mr Packwood.
I've had these for some years now. The blades were waxed and wrapped in plastic when i received them.
The scales are beyond words. Perfect to this day. I wish i could meet the craftsmen who made them and get some knowledge.
Background information on the maker is hard to come by unless it is Benjamin Shepherd assuming is not George.
The case reads "Superior Razors" True.
The pictures do not do the razors justice but i've been meaning to post these for some time..
Thanks
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Lovely set of Shepards! Gorgeous.
A pair of beauties those are.
Bob
Here's one I found. Straight razor blade with classic Brownwood handleAttachment 320633
Yuppers, not a stub tail by a long sight. In fact it looks remarkably like this RSO (Razor Shaped Object) made by the C. H. Ina Company----
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Straight-Ed...4f4ed8d130722d
Troll.......
Well I’m joining the club. My friend, er, enabler Tom has been getting me interested in the old razors, so I have acquired a Shepherd, not the Crown and Wolf maybe but one of the other two? Any ID help would be very welcome! The metal is in excellent shape, extremely light pitting except where the scales touch the blade, and not bad there. The scales are in good shape but warped, and the blade must be guided in. Fortunately I have a plan B if the horn can’t be straightened, as my pal Scott gifted me some period tortoise scales and I have some domed replica washers on the way.
If you do choose to replace the scales, please do save them - those are excellent examples of scales that are absolutely period correct. IMO it's worth it to deal with a misbehaving closure to have the originals in such nice condition.
Beautiful stub. I would argue that those scales are perfect for restoring. Carefully remove the blade from the scales. I used a heat gun to get them pliable, then clamp each to a metal plate or some stiff wood for a few hours or even overnight. Use many clamps along the scale to get them very flat. I am almost positive they will straighten perfectly. They are so beautiful to not use.
Best of luck,
jeff
Steve,
Those original scales actually look really nice. Not sure I would change them out. If you are going to do a soak in neatsfoot oil try using something like popsicle sticks or wedges of some kind to help hold them in the shape you want while soaking and they may come out not hitting the blade. You could try similar placing the scales in hot water then cool water. Just be careful since those are nice scales.
It’s been recommended to me to use steam from a kettle to soften them up. I suppose then it’s just a little weight strategically placed whole cooling?
Beautiful razor the scales look in excellent condition, just need some love. Before you do anything speak to Outback, hes has done some spectacular work with horn and given a new life to scales that many would throw away.
Gorgeous . They can be straightened but the whole operation needs some expertise ..
Even as a tortoise lover myself (and those tortoise scales are gorgeous), I would keep it as it is currently.
Their original scales are perfect, even the patina is beautiful. IMHO heating such old horn is a risky business (but I am not an expert since I do not do it often).
I also think even as it is, to have to guide it when opening and closing worth it.
Lol, the patina is a coating of neatsfoot oil, but I agree with you 100% about the difficulties of old horn. It’s frequently as flexible as glass.
I do believe though, that in a way, it is not respectful to the maker to allow his creation to become degraded or non functional with age, just because it’s old. Is there any greater tribute to Mr. Shepherd than to enjoy his razor as it was made to be after 233 years? Think about that.
How far to restore is always a ‘balancing act’.
Totally get your point, I did the same with a Wolf a few year back that had a broken set of scales in black horn I could have tried to repair.
Decided to go with a new set in tortoise
Loup tortue - Le loup, la tortue et le toulonnais
In this case I think I would wait for another blade to dress in tortoise, but I also understand your position :-)
Gorgeous razor, Steve.
If you can pin and unpin razors without damaging the collars, or scales, then its a simple procedure that you could do.
First thing....soak the whole razor, while still pinned as is, in neatsfoot oil for a week. (Sandwich size zip lock, enough oil to cover, place in plastic container to catch spills or leakage ). This will take care of brittle scales, and make it easier to disassemble.
Remove from oil, wipe off excess oil, clean up collars and polish, then unpin the scales.
Plug in your clothes iron, set at med/high heat.
Lay your scales on a hard, smooth, flat surface. Flipping the scales, heat both sides till you can barely touch them with your bare hands. At this time they should be soft and flexible, and ready to be sandwiched and let cool.
I've come across a few stubborn ones that required this be repeated, several times. As they would warp a day or two later, before pinning. Getting them extremely hot, is the ticket for those types.
Once flat, again. Clean them up with some 000 or 0000 steel wool, along with the wedge, then give um a polish as well as the collars n blade, and pin it back up.
Give it a skip across the rocks, and enjoy a incredible shave.
Mind your thumb.! :tu
Thank you Thaeris, a generous SRP member with far more experience than I is going to help me out.
BTW, I take French lessons and we use Coupe Choux Club posts as a part of my lessons, my French teacher likes them too. We’ve read your posts before and Sebastien remarked that you were near Paris. I gave him a hone and now he is one of us! I hope that I can get to Paris again but it may be some time.I think. I miss France.
Please stop by if you do :-)
Thank you sir, I will take you up on that offer!
Here’s a little more info on ‘Shepherd’ sans other marks:
‘Hello, thank you for your enquiry. There is John Shepherd, a cutler, who became a Freeman in 1772, and registered the mark 'SHEPHERD'.’
Regards,
Dr Joan Unwin’
Thanks to Tom rideon66 for this.
She also sent this.
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I straighten scales like this with a really simple, custom scale press I made that goes in the toaster oven, set to about 275.
The principle of the press is very simple: I took some 1/4th inch thick flat aluminum stock, stack some washers between it to get close to the height of the scales, put down a piece of cardboard from a soda can box on both sides of the scale, then bolt the thing together. I cook it for 10 minutes or so, then put it in the freezer. Sometimes it takes 2-3 applications on really stubborn bends, but it's never broken anything, and it's always worked.
A textual diagram of what I'm talking about, make a sandwich like this:
aluminum
cardboard
horn
cardboard
aluminum
Drill holes through the aluminum bar with enough space between them for the scales, use some washers so that the two pieces can't come closer than the thickness of the scales (a little wiggle room on either side is fine), then just bolt it all together.
I actually use 3 pieces of aluminum since the bar I got is only a little wider than the scales, that way I can flatten both sides at once with this kind of sandwich:
aluminum
cardboard
horn
cardboard
aluminum
cardboard
horn
cardboard
aluminum
Make sense?
C. Wilson and Co.
My only stubtail.
Had it for years with no scales. Finally cleaned it up, scales and honed. Shaved very, very well.
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This skinner just arrived. It's a tiny one. Attachment 324103Attachment 324104Attachment 324105
Got this interesting unknown maker in, has to be Sheffield, the only marking is ‘Superior Temper’, and it is. The steel is super hard and fine grained. It took over 2 hours on a slurried Shapton Glass HR 500 just to re-form the paste-rounded bevels. Light wear, patina is shallow, and it looks good. And odd. The heel seems to say post 1800, but the upswept nose shape and vestigial dip at toe says late 1700s. Fun razor for sure, near wedge.
That's a real beauty Steve!
W Pepys in tortoise
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Pretty good condition for age with what appears to be a couple of small marks from a drill bit on scales, who knows why.
Early 1800s guessing.
There is some quite interesting history about these on the site from Neil Miller.