Thread: M.Hunter 6/8 wedge military razor

Just acquired this razor. Amazingly nice condition. No hone wear. Bright blade with just a few stains that will clean up with little effort. Tang says Hunter & Sons Sheffield Hand Forged. M. Hunter has quite a write up in Tweedale's Directory of Sheffield Cutlery. Looks like they were liquidated in 1910. I have read through various threads here that these razors were marked like this and used by the British troops through various Empire conflicts/wars from the 1850's to WW1. Did the US military mark any razors like this?
The scales are branded 116 80 2 D F. I'm not sure what they mean. Payroll#/Service#, Regiment, Division, Company? The scales are honey horn with a lead wedge. Curiously I've only seen these razors with honey horn scales. Having the original coffin for this razor is a real bonus.

Interesting razor, i have no recollection of any US military razor marked with Regiment, Company,etc, usually they are only marked by Branch like Army, Navy etc.

That razors looks WWI or before. Someone obviously wanted the razors ID'd, hence the stamping. I would love to hone that and shave with it.............

Hi,

This razor was a British service item issued in the First World War. The numbers are the soldier's serial No. and 2 D F means 2nd Battalion ( Dublin ?) Fusiliers.
Not sure about the Dublin, other D's are possible. Michael Hunter (V) was still in business up until 1930 when the company was bought out by Slaters of Sheffield.

Regards, Tomo

Originally Posted by Tomo

Hi,

This razor was a British service item issued in the First World War. The numbers are the soldier's serial No. and 2 D F means 2nd Battalion ( Dublin ?) Fusilleers.
Not sure about the Dublin, other D's are possible. Michael Hunter (V) was still in business up until 1930 when the company was bought out by Slaters of Sheffield.

Regards, Tomo

Quite an interesting history of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers. They fought in the Boer Wars and in World War 1. My understanding of these razors is they were issued from the Crimean War, through the Boer War and WW1. Some of the razors were donated by the public and some bought under contact. The donated razors would account for older razors showing up in WW1. Note the razors lack of country of origin although it may not have been meant for export.
In the 1900's Hunter's acquired the assets of Parkin & Marshall and Slack & Grinold. So early in the century the company appears to have been growing but according to Tweedale the company now based in Reed St. lost its dynamism. By 1910 the assets had been acquired by Needham, Veall & Tyzack and William Tyzack liquidated the company in 1910. The Hunter marks were later acquired by Slater. Michael J. Hunter V died 11 November 1926.

Originally Posted by karlej

Quite an interesting history of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers. They fought in the Boer Wars and in World War 1. My understanding of these razors is they were issued from the Crimean War, through the Boer War and WW1. Some of the razors were donated by the public and some bought under contact. The donated razors would account for older razors showing up in WW1. Note the razors lack of country of origin although it may not have been meant for export.
In the 1900's Hunter's acquired the assets of Parkin & Marshall and Slack & Grinold. So early in the century the company appears to have been growing but according to Tweedale the company now based in Reed St. lost its dynamism. By 1910 the assets had been acquired by Needham, Veall & Tyzack and William Tyzack liquidated the company in 1910. The Hunter marks were later acquired by Slater. Michael J. Hunter V died 11 November 1926.

Thanks for the additional info. My reasons for thinking it is 1ww is the length of the serial No. Earlier No's were commonly shorter. There are quite a few of these Hunter razors about with 3 figure numbers and the debate continues as to whether these are earlier or just numbers shortened to the last three.( common practice for marking personal kit even today) As you said, the country of origin would not have been needed on Army issue or home market razors. The odd thing is that with the company liquidated in 1910 they were still being produced with the old name on them ? Perhaps the Army bought up all the old stock ?

There was certainly a big shortage of razors, partly due to the sudden lack of German items and an appeal was launched in 1915 for old razors to be donated to the cause. This was very successful
and these razors were refurbished and fitted with new horn scales before being issued to troops. The individual service numbers were branded into the horn along with regimental details and it is common to see a small W /I\ D ( War Department ) inspection mark with the inspectors No. also stamped into the horn.

Tomo

Good possibility the razor belonged to Serjeant Walter Wilding, Royal Dublin Fusiliers during WW I.

Medal card of Wilding, Walter Corps: Royal Dublin Fusiliers Regiment No: ... | The National Archives

I got 80 hits from the National Archives (NA) for serial number (S/N) 11680: The National Archives | Search results:11680

A search of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission turned up no hits for any Royal Dublin Fusiliers casualties with that S/N.

You would need to do a deeper dive on Regiments with the NA search results, as many of the 80 results had multiple S/Ns. With that said, Wilding is a good bet--you can order his Medal Index Card (MIC) from the NA for a few quid. His MIC may point to Boer War or other medal(s) entitlements. Anyway, a MIC is a good starting point if you want to do additional research on Wilding.

I've been looking for some Hunter and Sons Military Straight Razor history and I found this thread. I am curios if someone more knowledgeable than I could help identify which war this razor is associated with.
Scales, I believe, are horn. Dark Brown
Lead wedge.
The best I can discern, the numbers on the scales read 668 27 I 82
It took a great edge and shaves very well. Here are the pics.
Attachment 298565

Attachment 298566

Its a bit more complicated than just WWI, I think. The Brits were in a pile of conflicts, occupations, etc all over the globe since this razor was made.
If it could only talk.

Trying again with the photos...