Thread: Help narrowing down a date

I have narrowed the age of my sheffield razor I am restoring down to between 1880 and 1900. I have two questions that could possibly narrow it down some more. It has "Sheffield, England" stamped on the tang and I am under the impression that after 1890/1891 companies HAD to mark with the country of origin but my question is were any companies doing this before they had to? In other words if there is no country of origin stamped on the tang we are reasonably sure it was prior to 1890/1891 but if it is stamped with the country of origin can we be sure it was after this time frame.

The he reason I ask is because I found a similar razor that a collector was selling and it was stamped "Sheffield, England" but the box that the set came in evidently was stamped 1880's. So I was/am a bit confused.

are you sure it's the original box/razor combination?

The collector/seller listed it as original but I have no way to be sure

After some more research I found a site that outlines dating antiques by country of origin stamp and it says

"Before 1890, items imported into the United States were not required to contain a mark showing the country of origin. Many items were marked, of course, but they were "prestige" items - European china for example - where the manufacturer and importer thought the source was a favorable selling point."

So it seems entirely possible that Sheffield, England could have been used as a selling point since it was advertised as the "best" razor steel around at that time and razors stamped this before a law required it.

You haven't mentioned if there is a logo or maker's name - or any other info - stamped on the tang other than the words 'Sheffield England".

If there is...
1. Have you looked for it here yet?
2. If you post it, I can look it up for you in Goin's Encyclopedia which contains much more info than that site - including variations within a logo, maker's name, and info stamped by a maker that may narrow it down to smaller time frames...

Thank you but I have already searched the logo and maker and have come up with a wealth of information that narrowed it down to the dates in my OP. I was just trying to figure out the seemingly conflicting information with the "Country of Origin" stamp which I believe I have resolved. Thanks again.