I recently picked this razor up with a wade and butcher. I assumed it was dated around 1800's judging by how the tang was and the way the blade edge is, but that's all I knew and or could find out about it so far.
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I recently picked this razor up with a wade and butcher. I assumed it was dated around 1800's judging by how the tang was and the way the blade edge is, but that's all I knew and or could find out about it so far.
Acier Fondu translates to Cast Steel.
I am not familiar with this maker but don't think these scales are original to the razor. I'm sure someone else will have more info on the maker.
Nice find!
It looks pre 1800 to me. The shape of the blade where it comes off the tang in one shape has shown to date back to the mid 1700's. Judging by the writing on the tang it's French. Acier Veritable Fondu translates to real fused steel which would be advertising the quality of the steel used in the razor. The scales are not original.
Thanks guys I didn't even realize or know it was French. And I kind of figured the scales where not original. I think it's worth cleaning up. What do you guys think?
Well worth restoring, nice find. Horn scales would look good on it.
For sure worth restoring, I believe that razor would have a straight/straighter scale on it originally not curved like most we are used to seeing. That is a sweet find, you have a couple nice vintage blades so far.
Fantastic find and well worth the effort to get it back in shape - and it looks to be in pretty good shape.
From the tang and markings this looks like this could be a re-scale - a 200+ year old razor that is sporting a 150 year old set of scales.
Please share the shave-ready version when it's done...
I am thinking about starting a thread to show the progress of both razor's. From beginning to end.
And I totally forgot but I also have a J. A. Henckels razor. I thought it was a cool find but I have never heard of them.
Here are all my razor's so far. The one on the far left is one I have started cleaning up.
Hey thats a Nice collection, The middle one looks like a Wade & butcher, A really Nice Wade & Butcher I would leave the Patina on that one, Ty
Oh Thats an easy fix, There are several on here that you can send it to to fix the scales, Start with "outback" he,ll send ya in the right direction, Ty
Hey you posted a Pic of one with scales that said The Old English Razor If you put New Ones On That See If These Scales Will Fit The Wade, Just a Thought, Ty
That late 1700's looks like it it just needs new scales and a thorough cleaning. I would not spend a lot of time on that one. 1700's scales are kind of distinct in there shape, in that they are not curved. There are quite a few examples of them around here. There is also a ton of information on cleaning, restoring, scale making and everything in between in the workshop, especially the master sticky. There are also a few work in progress threads like "what are you working on" that should be fun to jump into.
Looks like english to me, with the typical form of the 1790 - 1800 era.
Quite well preserved, with the fitting scales it will look very nice !
Quite a find!
Definitely one of the less-known early manufacturers.
Nicholas Brammall was listed in the 1787 Gales & Martin directory as working in White Croft. His mark was CALVIN (as it appears on your razor).
Brammall was a great big huge plate of ancestral spaghetti in the late 1700's. There were Brammalls hither and yon, so sorting out who came after him is no mean feat.
What I can tell you is that he'd only been working on his own for three years when Gales & Martin published their directory that included him. Nicholas was apprenticed to his father, John, for the standard 7 years. His father, who worked in nearby Storrs, used the mark JOPPA and was still working.
Nicholas does not appear in any other directories, and it's unclear if anyone succeeded him. Since his family came from Storrs, the usual Sheffield sources are of limited use. I can't find any burial or baptismal records for him, probably because it was all dealt with in a Parish that isn't in the archives I use.
To summarize: the razor was manufactured by Nicholas Brammall, who advertised in Gales & Martin's 1787 directory of Sheffield and then never again. He came from Storrs, a north western suburb of Sheffield just outside the Peak district.
It's likely date of manufacture is quite narrow -- from 1784 -1800.
As others have said, the scales are from a razor 50-80 years younger. It is in very good condition for a razor of it's age and type.
Thank you for all the help full information! So it was worth buy!!
Quite the find indeed! unusual if I may say so, we have seen many razor with "Acier Fondu" made by English makers, but very unusual to have the "veritable" that is quite common amongst French makers.
What does the word veritable mean?
Razor wise
so since it says "veritable acier fondu" does that mean it's a unusual or rare razor?
It's allready rare to begin with.
You have a razor most dream of so yes sir its rare. I usually dont like the word rare because it gets used loosely but in this case it applies :)
That's a complicated question.
It is undoubtedly rare because it's the only Nicholas Brammall razor I've seen.
Did he produce many razors? We don't really have any way of knowing. Having never seen another of his, we don't know if they were all marked that way. So was it rare in his day? Maybe? Maybe not?
If he had an average production capacity for a small manufacturer in the late 1700's and he operated for, let's say 10 years, he most likely produced thousands of razors. Maybe 10+ thousand.
Without a lot more samples of his work, it's impossible to say how representative this one is.
It is, essentially, a razor made by a manufacturer who had no lasting fame at all. It's also neat because it fills in a little bit of information about the period.
Not only is it a rare find but it is a rare find in fantastic condition, so it is a home run. I have to say bravo. I was impressed before Voidmonster and Martin brought out all the historical facts.
I had no idea. About any of this. I tried and tried looking around on the internet and could find nothing. But then I found this forum.
I hope that means that this is just the beginning for you.
I knew some but this place has opened so much more. For all my razors.
At this stage of the game, I would look for someone who can speak and read French to see if any records remain about the maker.
Beautiful product from my home town :beer1:
The place is still very rural much as it would have been 200 years ago. The place is not far from Stannington where another razor maker Revitt came from.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storrs,_South_Yorkshire
I have taken the scales off to clean them up and get all the gunk out from between them and make them look a little better then I'm going to work on the blade. I think im going to leave the patina. What do you guys think. Leave the patina or mirror finish.
I would never put a mirror finish on a blade that old. I would clean it well with 0000 steel wool and WD-40 and stop there. Honestly is you look through the forum at pictures of razors that old, they always look best simply cleaned. I would concentrate on the correct shape of scales and some traditional material, like horn or bone.
Yeah that's kind of what I was thinking is just clean not a mirror finish but I needed a second opinion.