Thread: That 1700's Show

It would be my guess too (as bells were used to be melt in such occasions, and a lot of historic bells are missing due to that fact).

Originally Posted by ScienceGuy

I have pondered this before. I have seen a few examples of Swedish razors from the period (one pictured below from maker Nils Grönstrand), and there are a few on the internet here and there from Swedish museums. German ones are very hard to find from the early 19th; I don't have a good answer as to why. Same with Spanish - there are numerous examples of very fancy ones from the 18th (though you run into the question of who produced the set vs who forged the razor in some cases) but not much in between that I have seen up until the 20th. So I'm not sure if razors just disappeared from those periods or if the English just became such prolific exporters (as seems the case for exports to America in the 19th) that it overwhelmed local markets. I haven't actually done much real research on this though.

Attachment 299731

I can give you the balance sheet for France: for the 18th century razors, as many French as Sheffield English. Which means that the English were already in the industrial age and flooding the world market with their products.The English have always been ahead in industry (Taylorization). It was not until the early nineteenth in France for a centralized production from three cities: Langres, Thiers and Chatellerault

Godfrey I.H. Lloyd's "The Cutlery Trades" covers the German part of this question.

Essentially, the German cutlery industry was destroyed in the early 1700's by the trade guilds who controlled prices on goods and demanded the cheapest possible cutlery. Good quality razors were undoubtedly made, but in numbers too small to survive.

Numbers is the simplest answer to this question (a question that's motivated me for years now).

Lots of places besides Sheffield and the cutlery cities of France produced razors, but in numbers too small for us to find samples.

I've gone out of my way to find razors from outside the usual locations, and they are out there to be found. In the early 1800's a lot of Sheffield cutlers immigrated to America, and there are some good examples of 1820's-40's razors made in America by Sheffield workers. I even found a ship manifest of one cutler who came over with a friend who transported his grinding wheel & axle!

Outside that, I've seen early 1800's Swedish, 1830's German from Heilbronn, 1840's Swiss, 1810's Bohemia, 1860's Baltic, early 1700's Spanish, and maybe a few others I'm forgetting.

Sheffield is massively over-represented because even in the late 1700's they made many, many more razors than other cutlery centers. Even what we consider 'rare' Sheffield razors were produced in large quantities. As personal tools that were worn by use, many just didn't survive. Add to that that different climates have more or less destructive effects on them.

(It's worth noting: the Plymouth museum has a razor they claim came over on the Mayflower and Spanish manufacture, it is in fact a late 1700's Sheffield razor.)

Pages 34 and 35, two razors early 1700 supposed to have been made in Spain

I posted what I believe is a Nils Grönstrand on page 32. I bought it out of Germany. Most of the ones I have seen are his.

Finally got this from jfk742, restored by outback. Just shaved with it today:



Question for you guys, is it me or does the possibility of seeing shaveable razors today drop to basically 0% once you go earlier than like 1750 or so? Are there any shavers pre-1750? Like obviously prior to the famous "benjamin huntsman of sheffield" steel was likely not at all used, but it DID exist in one form or another for centuries prior, if not in europe then in asia.

Originally Posted by Tjh

Question for you guys, is it me or does the possibility of seeing shaveable razors today drop to basically 0% once you go earlier than like 1750 or so? Are there any shavers pre-1750? Like obviously prior to the famous "benjamin huntsman of sheffield" steel was likely not at all used, but it DID exist in one form or another for centuries prior, if not in europe then in asia.

In the book "900 Years of Razor and Case Excellence" by Renzo Jardella there are several examples of razors made before the 18th century

Originally Posted by altus

In the book "900 Years of Razor and Case Excellence" by Renzo Jardella there are several examples of razors made before the 18th century

well, I mean, wikipedia says "The first narrow-bladed folding straight razors were listed by a Sheffield, England manufacturer in 1680", what I was wondering was how plausible it is, even in the BEST of circumstances, for one of those to have survived to today in a condition that is salvageable and possible to make shave-worthy.

Well,
For starters, I've shaved with razors of Henry Birks which are made between 1720-1750

https://historyrazors.wordpress.com/2017/06/26/birks/

And here (https://historyrazors.wordpress.com/...8th-century-2/) there are more razors older than 1750 which can be used for shaving

Originally Posted by Fikira

Well,
For starters, I've shaved with razors of Henry Birks which are made between 1720-1750

https://historyrazors.wordpress.com/2017/06/26/birks/

And here (https://historyrazors.wordpress.com/...8th-century-2/) there are more razors older than 1750 which can be used for shaving

wow! that's awesome...i'm a bit jealous i gotta say.