+EBRO+ cutlers mark

Geezer had some bare blades at our last meet and I picked this one because of the marks. [Thanks Geezer!]

This got me going on +EBRO+ and Alfred WI..... I am thinking Williams.

I found some spread out info like here. http://straightrazorpalace.com/razor...-brothers.html

But thought it would be fun to get it in one place.

This is the one I have.

The markings.

Attachment 277743

The blade.

Attachment 277744

It is a microtome, or a very poor grind...:D

This is a bad picture but I think it shows the profile

Attachment 277745

Another link that I found.

Alfred Williams Sheffield England clone of Marble's Ideal

*EBRO* was a trademark used by Joseph Wostenholm.

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Originally Posted by bouschie

*EBRO* was a trademark used by Joseph Wostenholm.

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And a few others.....

Seems like EBRO has another meaning?
I had only seen it on Jos Wostenholms.

You think it was reground or possibly had a faux spine?

This is a qoute from Neil Miller.

"Joseph Wostenholm and Sons were a legit company - they were at the Perseverance Works in Sheffield in 1892 - with the Ebro trademark - according to Eileen Woodheads makers marks book.

Ebro was the brand-name of Adolph Kastor (sometimes spelled with a "C") - from the late 1900s at least, so he probably bought the mark from JW & Sons. Alfred Williams (c1890 - 1920) also used the Ebro mark.

George Butcher, along with his son James and James's sons Samuel and William became the business partners in Sheffield, William becoming Master Cutler in 1845. Trade in America was run by business partner Robert Wade - the firm was, of course, Wade & Butcher. After the Civil War trade drastically declined, and both Samuel and William were dead by 1870. However, the works in Arundel Street, Sheffield continued as "W. & S. Butcher" with Charles Fosbury Butcher, Sigmund Kastor and Alfred Williams at the helm. Which neatly brings us back to Kastor and Williams, mentioned above. So Kastor and Williams had a solid background behind them!

Regards,
Neil."

I think what I have is not faked. Maybe arguably stolen...

I don't know for sure and find random spread around thoughts and thought it would be better to try to figure it out in one place

Seems the latter half of Neil's quote was about Wade and Butcher.
The meaning of EBRO seems an enigma?

Yes an enigma.

A person or thing that is mysterious, puzzling, or difficult to understand.

This is about pocket knives but it claims that +EBRO+ was also made by Camillus.

https://www.allaboutpocketknives.com...ic.php?t=48850

Seems they are initials. 'English Blade Right On'! :D

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Originally Posted by sharptonn

Seems they are initials. 'English Blade Right On'! :D

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Or I have seen mention of the EBRO River!:rofl2:

Good reading there, Tim. Seems Ebro was sold to Kastor who used the Wostenholm name and had to quit.

Rare thing! Ugly, yet rare! :rofl2:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 32t

Or I have seen mention of the EBRO River!:rofl2:

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In Portugal? :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 32t

Yes an enigma.

A person or thing that is mysterious, puzzling, or difficult to understand.

This is about pocket knives but it claims that +EBRO+ was also made by Camillus.

https://www.allaboutpocketknives.com...ic.php?t=48850

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Adolph Kastor also owned Camillus for a while, which is why they're saying EBRO was a Camillus mark. It's possible Kastor used Camillus branded razors with the EBRO mark, but it's more likely the compiler of the directory just lumped it all together, the way some sources claim WOLF was a trademark of Joseph Elliot (which is technically true, but you aren't likely to ever find any Joseph Elliot stamped razors with the WOLF mark -- the Elliots bought up a lot of old marks in the 1850's, and I've seen a few WOLF stamped razors that date to that period, but it's the only mark on them).

There was a period where cutlers were registering all sorts of weird marks because surnames had been banned and they'd run out of classics and city names. This ended up with marks like:

BY OF ME, HATBAND, I SAY, ISSA, Y SIR, SHAVEWEL(sp), NORKOPPING, FLAT BUSH, LIKE IT, CUT SHORT, ENBONTEMPS, FEED UPON, HUAUH, GOVENAZZO, KING HEROD, ME HAPPY, NO CREDIT.

From there it went to geometric patterns of letters and symbols.

There was a period where the Cutlers Company tried issuing sequential numbers as marks, but it's kind of hard to get people to remember that 1698 is the mark of William Kippax Bolsolver (a made up example). Somewhere in there you got things like the Greek crosses around EBRO.

EBRO doesn't mean anything beyond being a signifier of whoever owned the mark at the time it was stamped.

I see in the one thread that Durham Duplex bought the mark in 1925.....:D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by sharptonn

Seems the latter half of Neil's quote was about Wade and Butcher.

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But Kastor and Williams worked for/at Wade and Butcher so it is all intertwined.