Thread: The Stub-Tailed Shavers

Originally Posted by DwarvenChef

Here is my Clark N Hall [..]

It took one hour, but I probably found what I was looking for.. or part of it..

There are 109 Hall and 80 Clark in the list of Hallamshire Cutlers, but there is only one Hall William, son of John, apprentice to Clarke William (knife maker) and admetted to Freedom in 1813.

Unfortunately there are 12 Clark William and four of them have been apprentice to a knife maker. Clark William son of William seems the only one to be admitted to Freedom, in 1791, after working to Wilkinson John, knife maker.

EDIT: In the Sheffield Directory of 1852 there is a Clarke John, razor manufacturer, 35, and John, inspr. 135 Harvest lane . This could support the fact that the Clarks at one point started manufacturing razors.

Good news, DwarvenChef! Success!! In the article by Lummus (1922) there is a Clark & Hall razor:

Date 1799. Maker, Clark & Hall, Sheffield, 1797-1823. Inscription, "Clark & Hall, cast steel." Handle, mottled horn. Blade etched with floral design.



Also, I have a razor manufactured by Jonathan Hall (1795-1830).

Sweet thanks for the info. I can't remember where I found it last time

Originally Posted by holli4pirating

The Revitt (the second T is mostly worn off) [..]

Revitt William, son of John, Stannington, razor maker, admission to Freedom in 1802.

Haven't done anything with it yet, just got it. Dated it based on the "OLD ENGLISH" stamp as listed in Goins.

That's a nice one, schmoozer.

Very nice! Thanks!!

Lummus confirms 1820 as a starting point for "Old English" razors and 1833 as the ending point for stub tails. Maybe 1820-1833 is a better dating for your razor? Also, I found some "James Crooks" valid candidates, among others whose freedom was never "formalised":

1. son of John (cutler); apprentice to Dickinson William (cutler) for 7 years; Freedom in 1791;
2. son of John; to Sanderson Benjamin (cutler); Freedom in 1784.

Acquiring the freedom during the 1780's-90's (?) when 20-30 years old (?), could confirm that 1833 is a good approximation for the "no later than" point.

EDIT: My "Old English" are #42 and #92 of my signature.

what is the Lummus book? Haven't heard of it before. Most of my past research has centered around knife makers.

thanks for date verification!!

Lummus is a collector who wrote two short articles about Sheffield razors during the 1920's. The manufacturers (and years) contained in those articles are reported in the Uniclectica webpage.

Is this guy a stub tail? If so they made them as late as the 1850's as this one is marked "mark granted sep. 1850" on the tang