Thread: Thackray Leeds

Won this razor on ebay a few days ago and cant seem to find any information online.
Anyone seen one before?
I'm still waiting for the post man, so these photos are from the ebay listing




I went for this Razor as Leeds is local to me and paid £10 for it.

I'm not sure it is in the same company but there was a Chas F Thackray Ltd of Leeds, England that made skin grafting razors. I have one of the grafting razors and it is dated 1947.
Maybe someone else will chime in with more info.

I think you may be correct Chris. Its likely to be the same company. Looking online I can find lots of references to the skin grafting razors. But not this one. However the thackray company are still going today as Seward-Thackray


I've also found out that there is a thackray medical museum in leeds. So I may visit and see if they have any of the straight razors there

Definitely a medical piece as per those stainless scales. They appear to be quite thin, so weight should be fine. The grind looks pretty thin as compared to most medical razors as well. Should be a fine shaver.
Skin-grafting razor? Have not heard of this. I will check that out!

I think I was using a skin grafting razor on my first few shaves.....wait, no it was a Red Imp.

This is one of the skin grafting razors

I'll post some pics of the straight when it arrives hopefully

It would be nice if it was the work of the firm of Chas. F. Thackray (Charles Frederick Thackray). Early records only mention a pharmacists shop (c1902) in Great George Street in Leeds that went on to make sterilised dressings for the Leeds General Infirmary, then to repair surgeons instruments, then to make surgeons instruments. Charles Thackray was not a cutler, but a fully qualified pharmacist who spent his apprenticeship at the firm of F. Rimmington & Son in Bradford, and his partner Henry Scurrah Wainwright was a qualified chartered accountant. They employed trained pharmacists to market their wares, and instrument makers (18 in 1814 - over half the total workforce) when they began repairing and then making instruments. Scalpels, syringes, probes, dilators, scissors, etc are mentioned, along with ball and socket joints for artificial hips. Poor old Chas, born 1877, took his own life in 1934 - he went for a walk and never came home, his body later recovered from a lake. He was a worrier, and lately had got obsessive. The firm went on, together with its Raymed medical arm, and was bought out in the 1950s.

The first and second world wars saw them take giant leaps forward - mainly dressing (the aseptic brand) in WW1, but WW2 saw all this and more, even combat equipment to be concealed in boots of commandos and the like, things like compasses, saws, garrottes and so on.
I have looked into a lot of their makes, but not come across a straight razor, although steel-scaled razors were used in medical institutions to shave peoples bodies prior to operations (they were also used in other institutions like prisons to shave prisoners with).

They kept the pharmacy in Great George Street going all the time, and there is mention of their involvement with leading drugs firms like May & Baker, where I once worked (Dagenham Branch) as a Laboratory Assistant.

Nice (long) piece about the firm, here.

There were Thackray's recorded as cutlers, such as Joseph Thackray, but probably too early for this type of razor.

Thanks. Some cracking information there