Thread: I have this antique razor but i know nothing about it!

Hello I am new to this site, and I was wondering if anybody knows anything about this old razor ?
The letters on the blade are "I.PEARCE" and under that I believe it says "SHEFFIELD" also it has a number one on the handle.

I have very little for you. The chip in the heel is pretty dramatic and it is going to take quite a bit of work to make that old girl shave again. It is made prior to 1891 due to the lack of the country of origin stamp on it. The scales are likely horn and what I can see of them they look like they could be saved.

Hey Rez, how would you handle that assuming there aren't any cracks or other major damage? Grind back & hone it with a big smile or just grind it back out of the way, making the shaving edge a little shorter in length?

Well truly the edge should follow the spine within reason. Damage repair like that is kind of an advance skill and only you can venture a guess if you are up for it. It is a lot to remove. The heel will also have to be reshaped. There are a few was to skin that cat. If you have a low speed belt grinder, it would likely be the best tool for the job. With what I wave on hand I would likely do it by hand with a 325 DMT with the spine elevated and work the heel down a bit and then start to shape it to the spine. If you make a template of the curve of the spine and then transfer that shape to the edge and sharpie it in place it will give you a good guide. Then you need to reshape the heel and reduce the stabilizer and then hone it up. I think you will have to play around with the template a bit to get everything to look right, perhaps even adjusting it as you go. It is not going to be easy and it will take quite a bit of time.

Thanks a bunch! I just learned something

I also found that their is a marking that says "1818" on the handle ..... could that be the year it was made ?

probably not, the style seems to be more toward the end of the century but as a great man once said " I was wrong once" Tc

Originally Posted by Rambo74

I also found that their is a marking that says "1818" on the handle ..... could that be the year it was made ?

No, that's how many laps you are gonna have to do on a coarse hone to get that chip out...
Kidding aside, probably not something you would want to tackle as your first razor. A chip that size will alter the geometry of the edge and like Rez said, you will need to re-shape the stabiliser at the heel. If you are keen to learn to shave with a straight, have a look at the classifieds here and start with a shave ready razor.

Based on the grind it dates from the mid 1870's but it is possible it is an earlier blade that has been reground. The one on the scale tells me it was part of a set. Maybe two razors. In 1822 John Pearce was listed on Gibraltar St. By the 1830's John Pearce (I old English J) was working from Angle St. where he combined razor manufacture with cutlery dealing. In 1851 he was listed as a razor manufacturer on Angle St. employing nine men. His daughter married Henry Hobson who became the John Pearce & Co. manager. John Pearce died 23 March 1860 at age 63. Henry Hobson & Sons continued to trade as John Pearce & Co. until the early 1870's then later used the trade name and mark JP into the 1920's. There were other possible members of the Pearce family that worked on Gibraltar St. There is a Joseph Pearce Jr. listed in 1817 and died in 1838.