Thread: hall & colley??????

anyone have info on these razors/manufacturer? hall & colley, has a V (diamond) R stamp as well but no indication otherwise of where it was made. looks English, is the V (diamond) R stamp the same/similar to the V (crown) R stamp or possibly just a trademark by this maker?
the blade measures just under 7/8 and has a beautiful frosted etch with a scene of deer or elk. unfortunately ill be limited in restoration efforts because of the copious rust on the blade. there isn't much I can do that wouldn't mess up the etch so this will be a minimal restore, I have to keep this etch, its too beautiful to lose. any info is much appreciated.

Soak the blade (only) in a 20:1 sorghum molasses and water mix to get at the rust. It won't do anything about the pits but it will clean it good.

Hall & Colley, (, razor manufacturers).
Address: 9 Eyre Lane, Sheffield in 1846.
Recorded in: Slaters 1846 Directory, Sheffield
just found this info, forsome reason every time I tried finding info I was typing coolley instead of colley, silly silverloaf, doin' it again! still no dates of operation.......

My advice is to basically accept this razor for what it is... a beautiful and unusual piece of shaving history. To find an etch like that on a razor from that time period is a real treat.

I don't know anything about the molasses/H20 rust treatment, you can try what you want to remove the rust,if you must. It might be enough to rub it with some Flitz or Maas and a microfibre cloth to bring out the beauty of the etch. Go real easy no matter what you try, this thing is a manly razor, not a prom queen.

Bottom line for me -- don't sweat that black rust -- that blade isn't going to disintegrate any time soon. Keep it clean, keep it dry and oiled, hone it and use it now and then. It's beautiful.

I would go at the backside fair and use a pencil at the front rust. Make a decision that if the scales are to be restored, don't oil them till repairs are made. Kindof a conservation type resto. The etch is nice. Some gentle pinpoint work on the rust within, I think. Hell, I think it could be honed up, 2 layers beating on it, add a layer and go!
Or as I do...Oil the sucker good and save it for later!

Great razor, lovely etching. Shame about the tarnish...

Hall & Colley are a bit of a mystery. Take the Colley side, for instance - there were such a large number of them, working in allied trades, at the same time that they must have been related. For instance:

1837
Thomas Colley, scissor maker, Allen St.
Colley & Co., Razor Manufacturers, 98 Arundel St.
Henry Colley, scissor maker, Glossop Road
Joseph Colley, scissor maker, Pea Croft

1841
Colley & Co., Scissor, Razor manufacturers and Factors, 9 Eyre Lane
Edward Colley, Merchant and Manufacturer, Eyre Lane House
William Colley, pen and pocket knife maker, Wadsley,
Samuel Colley, Pocket knife maker & beer seller, Wadsley
Thomas Colley, scissor maker, 61 Allen St.

1846
Thomas Colley scissor maker, Hollis Croft & 61 Allen St.

1849
E. Colley - Cutlers Company
Colley Bros. (consisting of Thomas & Edwin Colley), scissor makers, 81 Allen Street
Edward Colley, Merchant & Manufacturer (for Hall & Co), Glossop Road
H. Colley & Co, scissor maker, Glossop Road,
Henry Colley (of Colley Bros), scissor maker and grocer, 27 Dunfields
Hall & Colley, Merchants & Scissor Makers, 9 Eyre Lane / 32 Arundel Street

1856
Edwin Colley, scissor maker and publican, Cup Inn, Dunn St
Henry Colley, Merchant & Manufacturer (for Wingfield, Rowbotham & Co), Endcliffe Crescent
Thomas Colley, scissor maker and publican, Blue Bell, 4 Commercial St

1862
Henry Colley (as above, W,R&Co), Endcliffe Crescent
Hall & Colley Merchant & Manufacturer/table knives/razors/scissors/Merchant, 9 Eyre Close

1876
Hall & Colley, Merchants and Scissor Makers, 9 Eyre Lane

1879
Henry Colley (cutlers company, W,R&Co), Endcliff Road
Francis Arnold Colley (cutlers company, W,R&Co), Endcliff Road
W A Colley, spring knife maker, 76 Arundel Street

We can see that Hall & Colley arose from Colley & Co - they even had the same address. They made razors as well as scissors and acted as Factors, selling the goods of other makers for a profit.

Colley & Co seen to have fragmented, possibly into H. Colley & Co, Colley Bros, and Hall & Colley. The first listings for Hall & Colley seem to date back to 1845. But where did Hall fit into this? In 1849 Edward Colley, a Merchant and Manufacturer, worked for Hall & Co. We find a lot of Halls in Tweedales book, some of whom are postulated as the Hall of Hall & Colley, but no mention of Hall & Co. Of course, there were a lot of firms called Hall & Co, from silversmiths to shopkeepers to iron and steel makers.

Tweedale offers the opinion that the Hall in question was William Hall, of John & William Hall, late of John Hall & Sons.

Edward Colley, of hall & Colley, died on the 17th June 1851. Surprisingly, in the 1841 census Edward - listed as a 'Manufacturer' and his wife Catherine Colley were recorded as living in Arundel Street, along with a widow woman named: Sarah Hall! Obviously the wife of Hall in the company Edward worked for, she was 35 years older than Edward, being 70 at the time of the census.

Tweedale's listings offer some slight difficulty. The list presented at the top of the page is taken from Al Colleys webpage "The Colley Family of Sheffield, England" and it shows that 'Hall & Colley" - as a name at any rate, was used up until at least 1876. Tweedale says that in 1863 the only listed partner in the firm - ie the sole trader, was William Hall. Wiliam Hall died in 1863 and the firm is supposed to have ceased trading. Maybe its marks were bought up by others, in much the same way as other cutlers bought up marks and in the way that Hall & Colley bought Edward Barbers mark 'Edward Barber - Cutler To Her Majesty' and used it in full on some of their items.

Edward Barber died in 1834, so if the firm died with him it is hard to understand how he was allowed to use 'cutler to her Majesty' as the last female monarch - Queen Anne - died in 1714. However, Barber's wife Mary did not die (1849) until after Queen Victoria came to the throne, so if Barber's company carried on trading for a few years after his death then he could well have been granted the royal warrant.

Although it is handwritten and hard to decipher the writing, Edward Colley's Last Will & Testament of 1852 has two witnesses - a surgeon-cum-dentist and an individual called 'William Hall - Cutler' so Tweedale must be right about William Hall's involvement: the two partners must have been William Hall and Edward Colley.

As for the VR mark on the OPs razor - I can only think that it refers to Queen Victoria whose reign (1837 - 1901) comfortably takes in the life span of Hall and Colley. So the earliest date for the razor coincides with the earliest date for Hall & Colley - 1845.

Regards,
Neil