Thread: Bengal for you history buffs

Had spotted this one on the bay, and I thought about bidding on it simply because of the etch.

This etch was a trademark of the Butler "Keen" and "Art" razors. Yet hear it is, on a Cadman Bengal.

Anybody know anything about the history of this one? At what point did Cadman take over the Butler line??
Or did they just start using it because Butler was gone and nobody could complain?

I didn't think there was any patent on etches as evidenced by so many makers using the "eagle" logo but have only seen that one on Butlers.

Interesting etch, but the point of that one got my attention even faster!

Interesting, what jumps out at me is that the "Bengall" is etched. All the "Bengall" razors i came across have a deep punched trademark?

It's definitely a Cadman? Lots of people appropriated the Bengall bit.

I'd agree with Oz on this, though I have no historical expertise or evidence to support it. I cannot imagine anyone was allowed to trademark or copyright a Shakespeare quote, or the man's image for that matter (could be wrong). If that's the case, I guess anyone could use that particular etch - it is after all about razors.

Alternatively, and the reason I asked if it was definitely Cadman (as in, it says Cadman on the other side of the tang) is that it could be that someone etched the Bengall onto a "blank" from another maker.

Interesting razor.

James.

came across an almost identical thread on another forum a while back identical razor , consensus was genuine Cadman just later manufacture with laser etching on the tang rather than stamped

Originally Posted by Bazz

came across an almost identical thread on another forum a while back identical razor , consensus was genuine Cadman just later manufacture with laser etching on the tang rather than stamped

I doubt they had lasers between 1700's & 1906

Originally Posted by onimaru55

I doubt they had lasers between 1700's & 1906

I believe Da Vinci had drawings for one.(laser) But guess he went with the sure thing of painting ceilings.

Years ago I had a set of razors, Sheffields, but I don't remember the brand, that had a quote from King Lear, 'Sharper than a serpent's tooth' IIRC. I've also seen other blades with Shakespeare's image etched in the belly of the blade. I don't think they paid a lot of attention to such niceties as copyrights back in that day.

Ahhhhh! I have figured out a bit of "trademark"

It was the word KEEN that was trade marked, and on the Butler advertising , the word Keen has quotation marks around it, and not the entire quote from Shakespeare!

But on the razors, its a paraphrasing of the quote, and not the actual lines from the play.