Thread: I have a doubt...

...about this razors legitimacy. Did I buy a forgery or the real deal? There are no markings other than the 'TORREY' visible in the photos.

Looks like many of mine. Well known for quality for a lot of years. Hone and enjoy!
~Richard

Originally Posted by Geezer

Looks like many of mine. Well known for quality for a lot of years. Hone and enjoy!
~Richard

Thank you for the vote of confidence, Geezer. The near-complete lack of embellishment on this razor, plus its excellent condition, have had me doubting this razor's authenticity.

Actually, I've never seen a Torrey mark that looks like that....are they making new one's?

I've either seen the Torrey name with the Worcester, Mass, USA mark, or the more intricate tang stamp:



I've seen a couple of variants, but never one that looked like that...Geezer, if you have one with that mark, can you post....

I'll check the stash tomorrow.
Richard

DID not find one among my stash, sold a few Torrey's since I remember seeing it. Your photo shows a very nicely ground razor and seemingly of good quality. Hone it and try it.
BeJay says what I also think, below:

You know. I really don't think there are many "forgeries" of razors like this out there. It just wouldn't make sense. There are some knock offs with similar spellings though. Trade marks are purchased by other companies and used on lesser quality products too. That could be a knock off though. Notice it says "TORREY" and not "THE JR TORREY Co". The thing is, that razor is not an amazing collectors piece regardless of who made it. It is most likely a good shaver though. Hone it up and see how it shaves. That's what's important here.

We have a standing challenge here on the site which basically says bring on the forgery. No one has ever produced one yet. Either they are so good they can pass for the real deal or they don't exist.

The are some razors out there where you have a well known manufacturer and someone else comes along and uses the name with a minor change here and there but that's not a forgery.

In most cases it just doesn't pay to go through all the work for the money involved.If there were to be a forgery you would probably see it with a custom maker like a Zowada where they could make a pakistani knockoff that looks like the genuine and sell a $30 razor for a grand or more. Of course he would be aware of it very quickly.

Originally Posted by Geezer

I'll check the stash tomorrow.
Richard

DID not find one among my stash, sold a few Torrey's since I remember seeing it. Your photo shows a very nicely ground razor and seemingly of good quality. Hone it and try it.
BeJay says what I also think, below:

Thanks for checking the warehouse.

Strazors.com has a history on Torrey that describes a "rags to riches to rags" situation that ended in 1963, so my razor may be from the tail-end of their existence. They may have been more concerned with cost control than the product itself.

I'm going to hone this after I've had some more success with hollow-ground razors, and reading more about working with wedges. There is some concavity in the grind on this one, so I may be good to go. I'm just happier reading and learning before I break out the stones. No sense in punishing the razor with a lack of preparation on my part.