Thread: That 1700's Show

Originally Posted by inoe

Beautiful blade ! Too bad the scales are broken...

My only gripe is that it doesn't belong to the right club
Well that's if you believe that this razor is a Robert Wade...

The Stub-Tailed Shavers

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

This is why it is good to have 'subscribed threads' for those you want to access later. (toolbar above under 'thread tools)

IIRC Zak said Robert Wade began making razors in the first decade of the 19th century. Here is his history of Wade thread ;

http://straightrazorpalace.com/show-...g-history.html

Robert Wade made razors from 1816 to 1825 well he died in 1825. There is plenty of evidence of marked Robert Wade Celebrated razors that would fit the dates clearly, but the razors marked Wade only sure look older to me, and many others as well.
Like Zak's mentioned in the link posted there was a Thomas Wade freed in 1765 it is possible that the Wade only marked razors belong to him. That said what thread does the Wade razors belong to 1700's or stub tail so far we don't know perhaps some day...

Haven't got them yet, but they look like candidates.



Only description is they are French.

Fantastic thread! I love the idea of obtaining something from this era, but it is rather daunting looking at the condition some of these razors are in.

I think my current oldest vintage is a Marshes & Shepard stub tail that I purchased already restored guessing 1825-40 if I recall the company dates for the way the tang is stamped.

I am going to assume that the same general condition issues apply when looking for an early straight, such as pitting, rust and edge condition...but what gets me is blade geometry? Some of these razors appear to be mere slivers of steel. At what point is too little, really too little steel left to hone and use? Thats also brings up the honing issue. I've only just gotten into addressing some of the issues I encounter with my vintage "project straights," trying to figure out how to tackle one of these truly old razors is...well daunting to me.

Anyways, I am enjoying reading the thread from the start...a real wealth of knowledge here. Keep up the good work and posting the pictures!

Cheers,

Brian

Originally Posted by BadB

Fantastic thread! I love the idea of obtaining something from this era, but it is rather daunting looking at the condition some of these razors are in.

I think my current oldest vintage is a Marshes & Shepard stub tail that I purchased already restored guessing 1825-40 if I recall the company dates for the way the tang is stamped.

I am going to assume that the same general condition issues apply when looking for an early straight, such as pitting, rust and edge condition...but what gets me is blade geometry? Some of these razors appear to be mere slivers of steel. At what point is too little, really too little steel left to hone and use? Thats also brings up the honing issue. I've only just gotten into addressing some of the issues I encounter with my vintage "project straights," trying to figure out how to tackle one of these truly old razors is...well daunting to me.

Anyways, I am enjoying reading the thread from the start...a real wealth of knowledge here. Keep up the good work and posting the pictures!

Cheers,

Brian

I would say, try the really bad worn ones first, they are cheap, and will give you the needed experience.
If it's ruined, it is not as bad as a very nice preserved one that would be ruined...
It will allow to see how far a razor can go, until it is really not useable anymore.
You also can see how a blade reacts while honing, with or without tape, and so on...

After a couple of them, you'll get the hang of it I guess

That said, caught a nice one!

Originally Posted by Fikira

That said, caught a nice one!

Let me know if you find any information on the maker. It looks a lot like 2 others I have that are marked with 6-[peppercorn]-2, and also has a rather long tail.

Originally Posted by ScienceGuy

Let me know if you find any information on the maker. It looks a lot like 2 others I have that are marked with 6-[peppercorn]-2, and also has a rather long tail.

I certainly will! I will be excited to find something, anything...

Some mentions of peppercorn over a 9 in this article...

This one just arrived today. No maker's marks or any other marks that I can see:











It has an interesting spine profile.

Any thoughts on this one? Origin or age?

Originally Posted by benhunt

This one just arrived today. No maker's marks or any other marks that I can see:











It has an interesting spine profile.

Any thoughts on this one? Origin or age?

French blade 1790- 1810 ?

Originally Posted by Martin103

French blade 1790- 1810 ?

Is there anything in particular which points to being French?

I don't think the scales are original, but they're interesting - it seems to be one piece of wood, only pinned on the tang side.