Thread: History Class - When was this razor made?

Good Morning Everyone!

So my collection is growing and I just added another one the other day. I was hoping one of you knowledgeable individuals would be able to help me date it! It's a Geo. Wostenholm & Son IXL Washington Works. Thanks in advance!

Try to get a close up of the engraving on the tang. If it says Sheffield England then it's after 1891. My guess by looking at the style of it is right around that time although if I'm not mistaken the blades were usually wider in that time period.

Edit: before 1891 it would say simply Sheffield without the England

https://shavelibrary.com/w/Wostenholm,_George_%26_Son

Look on strazors.com and you will find some history

Originally Posted by PaulFLUS

...if I'm not mistaken the blades were usually wider in that time period.

I have a pre-1891 W&B that’s about 4/8. Yes, “Sheffield” only, no “England”. I suppose they came in all sizes. Take a look.

Originally Posted by Longhaultanker

I have a pre-1891 W&B that’s about 4/8. Yes, “Sheffield” only, no “England”. I suppose they came in all sizes. Take a look.

It's highly possible that it is not the exact same width it started out. A lot of water has gone under the bridge since it was new. And yes there was a variety of sizes made.

Edit: every time you hone a razor or even strop it it changes the size at least a little even if it is indisernible.

As mentioned Pre 1891 would be stamped Sheffield only.
Geo Wotsenholm operated out of Washington Works from 1848 - 1978.

Sorry for the delay. I don't see anything on the tang, Sheffield or England. It does look like there was something at the very top that got rubbed off/not stamped very well. Thoughts?

Well Washington Works razors were made from 1848 to 1978 so that's a pretty broad span. That is definitely not made in 1978 but it's probably not as early as 1848. My guess is it's probably somewhere around 1870s - 1890. they ran out of room on the tang at the bottom where the Sheffield would be. I have an almost identical one where they ran out of tang at the top so the Wosthenholm is only partially visible.

Yours looks contemporaneous with mine so my guess is going to be after third quarter of the 19th century but before first quarter of the 20th century. I was looking for specifics about when the IXL razors were made but haven't seen that yet. If I find it I'll let you know. I know that's kind of vague but most of the time they didn't come with a time stamp like this one

Thank you so much, PaulFLUS! I'm always blown away with how much info you guys have.