Joseph Rodgers info please, also showing off a bit.

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

No info for you, but my God, that is the most pristine old Sheffield I have ever seen- it looks brand new!

Beautiful razor, looks like Ivory scales (no washers on the pins is a fair indicator). The #6 I've no idea could be part of a 7 day set, but they were usually marked with the day of the week.
The date could be 1881 it's in that area by looks and scale shape. 'Their majesties' was used for any member of the royals, like saying cutlers to the royal family.

wow . Very nice

I don't feel like those are ivory scales. They are waaaay too white and don't have any grain in them, unless the camera isn't picking it up. I just picked up an ivory tang/scales Wade and Butcher, and you can see the difference. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...6c0e5ff05f.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...3fa7d46b49.png


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There are as many colours of ivory as their is peoples teeth, and a lot of it used to get whitened. It is a beauty of a razor and scales. It will be a glorious shavers for sure.

They are definitely ivory, the camera isn't really picking it up but there is a nice grain to them and they are thin too. I shaved with it last night (couldn't wait until this morning) and it was glorious indeed.

Thomas, that Butcher is fantastic.

Wow, that is an amazing razor! The old Sheffields do shave very well and feel nice too.
I don't have any info for you but will be following this to see

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Originally Posted by Porl

They are definitely ivory, the camera isn't really picking it up but there is a nice grain to them and they are thin too. I shaved with it last night (couldn't wait until this morning) and it was glorious indeed.

Thomas, that Butcher is fantastic.

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I wish my wade and butchers ivory was just as white as your Joseph Rodger! Beautiful specimen you have!


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They aren't as white in reality as the picture shows. I really like that slightly yellowish clotted cream kind of colour so I am glad that they aren't as white as they seem in the picture.

Both beautiful razors.

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Quote:

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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

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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.

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