Thread: Joseph Rodgers info please, also showing off a bit.

Both beautiful razors.

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Originally Posted by Porl

This arrived today. I am pretty excited to try it but I have already shaved

I wonder if anyone can tell me the age of the razor. I think that it predates 1890 as I believe after that the country of manufacture had to be stamped on it. A previous owner has scratched a date on the back of 2.2.81 of course I can't be sure which 81 that was. It could have been someone who had it passed down or bought it in 1981 but it was definitely made long before that.

It also says cutlers to their majesties on the blade which I think makes it Victorian. There is a number 6 on the scales, I don't know if that means it was originally part of a seven day set or if it refers to a manufacturer's model number. Or even their address on Norfolk Street.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Anyway here it is.
Attachment 268739

Very, very nice late Rodgers!

More likely than not the 6 is because it was part of a 7-day set (though honestly, marking that on the scales is rarer than you'd really expect -- more often it's etched on the top of the spine with a day of the week).

The date on the pile (reverse) side is not out of the question by any means, but it's hard to say. I've seen a lot of numbers scratched into scales. I think some razor grinders marked up the scales for reasons lost to history. The 'Made in England' stamp would've only been required for items to be exported, which yours clearly was not. That means it could be after 1891, but I think it's a good bet it wasn't. It looks to me like the blade was reground to be hollow at some point in its life, and quite likely by someone at the Rodgers factory, as it's a very, very good regrind.

I'm suspicious of the grind because of everything going on at the heel of the razor. That stabilizer looks uncommonly meaty, and the hollowing of the blade seems to cut into a little bit of the planes of the tang.

If that's true, 1881 or earlier is a good bet. Rodgers made blades like that for a long time.

Very nice, and as Zak mentioned most likely part of a 7 Day set, they made lots of different sets, and those scales are very nice ivory scales.

Definitely made later, love the smiling blade, similar to this matched pair of Rodgers.