Thread: Hello all and help me!

Hi guys, I'm a recent convert to traditional shaving having only got a blue beards revenge shavette last Christmas just to see how I got on with it. Well I am now a firm convert and have recently got hold of a couple of Crown and Sword razors that I cleaned up and re-scaled (sold one already and the second is on e bay now).

I have now managed to get a hols of half a dozen blades in various states of disrepair ready for some TLC and tarting up but I’m having a little trouble identifying one in particular.

It’s a Slater Brothers Venture but it’s not like any of the ones I’ve been able to find on the internet, can anyone out there help me with some more information on it please?

I know as much about the company as I can but I'm more interested in dating this particular razor as the Slater Brothers razors I've found online all have a rounded tip and not the notch and bevelled back like this one.

Thanks
Drew

I can't tell you much about your razor's past, but I can see into its future. And my crystal ball says that your are going to have quite a bit of work to get that ol' boy into shaving condition. Once you get that rather large chip removed, your new bevel will have to be set smack in the middle of all that rust. I hope that rust is only on the surface and not pitted too deeply. My crystal ball is now fogging over and I must rest. . . . .

Good Luck!

Regards - Walt

If you go here http://straightrazorpalace.com/works...wers-here.html you can find out all kinds of information or you can use the wikki in the library and find the same information. I hope my link works

To he perfectly honest with you and to encourage you to be successful in the straight razor world, I would dump that razor and pick one up from one one the well established venders on this board. There is nothing to get you going in this hobby any better than starting out with a shave ready razor and good pre shave technique.

John

Yep ...don't waste your time on that one..you need good steel at the edge....not pitted metal.

Well since the company was founded in 1858, and it lacks the England stamp wich makes it before 1891, thats a 33 years span. Furthermore investigation reveals that Slater Brothers trademark Venture, was applied for on March 30 1876.



My original guess was 1880 since at that time hollow grinding had gotten a hold of Sheffield makers. That said your razor was probably made somewhere between 1876-1891.

If this were mine the first thing i would do, like Walt said, would be to find out if this razor will have a clean bevel when the chip is out.

A little more info re: Slater Brothers.

The company was formed by Warrington and Walter Slater in 1858 in a premises at 107 Eyre Street, Sheffield (later acquired by Butler's and called the Trinity Works).

The 'proper' company name was W & W Slater, but everyone just called them Slater Brothers or Slater Bros. Warrington was not only a cutler, but a priest! In 1884 a trade ad extolled their use of cast steel, and by that time they were located in Scotland Street. Their trade marks were 'Y.NOT' , 'VENTURE' and a picture of a beehive (the works in Fitzwilliam Street was called the Beehive Works).



Warringto, cutler and priest, now dabbled in buiding, becoming a partner in the Crookes Gannister and Brick Co., 'gannister' being a type of limestone. Warrington should have paid more attention to the name of his partner - Crookes - as he was sued for fraudulent dealings (settled out of court) and declared bankrupt in 1903. When he died shortly after - 1907 - his eldest son (the younger had died) Herbert Marriot Slater took over the firm, calling it Herbert M. slater Ltd, although still trading as Slater Bros at the same time. The company had been at the Venture Works at 105 Arundel Street quite a while before this. It did remarkably well, buying up a lot of other cutlery companies and surviving into the 1990s. Incidentally, there is still a slater Bros in Sheffield, located in Venture House! I think they are scrap merchants or car breakers, though.

Regards,
Neil