Thread: Help with Joseph Rodgers razor

Hi, my fellow wet shavers. I am new to this site and this is indeed my first post. I have been straight razor shaving for nearly a year and have fallen in love with it. My affections tend to gravitate toward all things "old", items that were once cherished in years passed, items that have a story to tell... Which leads me to my reason for posting to this forum. I have recently acquired a very nice Joseph Rogers razor, however, I have not been able to ascertain any valuable tools in regards to dating its birth. I'm curious if any of you fine gentleman have seen one like it and can shed light on the matter for me. As you can see, it has "Imperial" stamped on the blade; however, I have not been able to find any razors, online with the same insignia. I know the only thing that truly matters is that I have a quality blade that fits my hand, glides effortlessly across my face, and makes the experience of shaving worthwhile. But, for curiosity's sake I cannot resist the effort of dating this fine piece of cutlery. Thank you, gentleman, in advance, for your input.

Anywhere from the day they started in business till they shut the doors! I,m only kidding don't get mad, you have co e to the right place if you post enough close up pics of both sides these guys can help you. Good luck. Tc

Welcome to SRP!
Get a better pic of the tang so we can read the markings..... If England is not on the tang and only Sheffield..... then it is pre 1891.
That is all I tell you at this point.

Thank you for the fast reply! As you can tell from the pictures, there is no pitting in the blade, very little hone wear on the spine, and the box is in decent-ish shape. I hope the pictures are close enough to see the details. I apologize for the pictures being upside down... Haven't figured that one out yet.

Well judging by the grind i am going to say it is a newer model razor, it also has the England stamp, putting it post 1891. Probably not a lot past it though so we can make a guess at early 1900's perhaps as late as 1930. I am not an expert but like to toss out a guess and my rational every now and then and see how it compares to what guys that really know have to say.

Welcome to SRP. I have a theory that Rodgers razors with the semi circle 'Made In England' on the end of the text is right after the treaty of 1891. That is why the semi circle addition. They were able to use blades that already had the pre 1891 stamping on them and comply with the new ruling. I could be wrong though ...... I was wrong once before.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Welcome to SRP. I have a theory that Rodgers razors with the semi circle 'Made In England' on the end of the text is right after the treaty of 1891. That is why the semi circle addition. They were able to use blades that already had the pre 1891 stamping on them and comply with the new ruling. I could be wrong though ...... I was wrong once before.

Interesting theory and completely feasible! Again, I know the age isn't important but I can't help but imagine how it came to be, who held it, why they put it down, and how/why it began it's journey across the Atlantic. Thank you, gentlemen, for your input. Wet shavers, I believe, are a tight knit community and your fast replies have further reinforced that.

Curious myself. I found some good reading in the library here, some clue I thought was "thief majesties" vs others that have "his majesty"

You guys may have seen this before but I thought it was interesting. I have narrowed its year of production to somewhere between 1891-1901 according to this information. Here is a clarification on Cutlers to their majesties vs Cutlers to HIS majesty:
"Cutlers to their majesties" 1840 - 1861 Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Until the Prince's death in 1861
"Cutlers to their majesties" 1861- 1901 (22 January 1901) Queen Victoria The old queen never removing Albert's name from their reign
"Cutlers to HIS majesty "1901 - 1910 (22 January 1901 to 6 May 1910) King Edward VII King Edward VII took over the Queen reign
"Cutlers to HIS majesty "1910 - 1936 (6 May 1910 to 20 January 1936) King George V This is less likely but this would be when King George V took over from King Edward VII

So it looks like his blade was made between 1861 to 1901, its in very good to excellent condition at that age.