Thread: Asking for help to identify an early razor

Hi,

I hope somebody could help me dating this razor and give me some more information, i.e. country of origin, maker, etc.

Thank you.

Richard R.

Welcome to SRP, your razor is definitely English from Sheffield, late 1700's. You can find more information on the following thread. http://straightrazorpalace.com/razor...king-info.html

That is in stunning condition, looks like it's sat untouched for 200+ years - what a beautiful straight razor - wow!

Welcome to SRP. Very nice example, as Martin said, of a late 1700s razor. Around here we call those 'stub tails' because the 'monkey tail is so short. You can really notice what I mean when the razor is folded into the scales (handles).

When the scales are perfectly straight, and there is no transition between the tang and the cutting edge, plus the stub tail, you're talking late 1700s. In the early 1800s the scales began to curve slightly and there started to be a distinct tang. Too many cut thumb pads I suspect before then.

Thank you all for your information and the link to the previous thread on *P marked razor.

Great help.

Wow, looks great for it's age. Fantastic score!!!!!

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Welcome to SRP. Very nice example, as Martin said, of a late 1700s razor. Around here we call those 'stub tails' because the 'monkey tail is so short. You can really notice what I mean when the razor is folded into the scales (handles).

When the scales are perfectly straight, and there is no transition between the tang and the cutting edge, plus the stub tail, you're talking late 1700s. In the early 1800s the scales began to curve slightly and there started to be a distinct tang. Too many cut thumb pads I suspect before then.

There are a number of examples of scales on last quarter of 18th century razors that have more curvature than those seen until the 1840s or so, so this isn't the best system to go on, but pretty good. This particular razor has a hollow in the spine near the toe that seems to be from earlier razors, around the 1780s or so +/- a few decades (based on some dated examples). It's difficult to say for sure but I would put this razor somewhere around there. Nearly no transition between edge and tang persisted for at least a century (more but the overall shape changed a bit), I think it was just stylistic - I imagine with the advances in other aspects of engineering they would have figured a way to sort out thumb cuts in that timeframe if it were a problem.

Wow! That's a nice find!


Mike