Thread: Improved Cast Steel

I know it's a longshot, but if anyone knows who the maker of this razor might be, it would be the fine folks here at SRP. The only marking on it is what you see in the picture, Improved Cast Steel with the VR crown symbol.

It is a near wedge with a bit of a smile. Should be a great shaver once I finish cleaning and rescaling it.

Any one of the British manufacturers during Victoria's Reign (W&B, F. Reynolds, G. Wostenholm, etc) take your pick?

As Bouschie says, it could be anybody.

Generic razors like this often were made by the workmen at 'name brand' manufacturers for a variety of economic reasons, it's also how you get razors stamped with the names of foreign merchants (there are a lot of American razors from the mid-1800's which were made in Sheffield and stamped with the name of an American merchant).

Essentially, the little masters were sort of like foremen -- they organized a small crew of workers specialized in each part of the trade and produced goods. The major manufacturers employed them, but also charged them rent on shop space, tools, raw materials, and even gaslight.

So, when orders were thin on the ground, the little masters would make things for anyone offering money. They had to pay the rent whether their bosses were buying or not!

It was pretty normal for a little master to work for two or more bosses, which is one of the ways you get razors from multiple different manufacturers that look substantially similar (well, that and also there were firms that sold 'blanks' in a style that then got stamped, hardened, then final ground).