Thread: When Did Makers Start Adding "Sheffield?"

Is there a particular date (or era) that makers start adding "Sheffield" to tang stamps?

I have a couple of Sheffield razors that have only the maker's name, and not the city. Does that mean anything?

Thanks!

Not sure on Sheffield but they added England about 1890/1891.
Go to strazors.com and click on articles where you find info on history and tariff act.

I remember reading they started stamping Sheffield or England on cutlery when cutlers started losing territory to imported German (mainly Solingen) cutlery. IIRC a law was passed that English cutlery had to be recognisable as such. It all coincided with the rise of hollow grinding, a technique invented in Germany, that gave Solingen razors a competitive edge.

This is a huge problem in our hobby

The US Tarif act of 1891 is NOT an absolute

As you have found some makers Proudly added the City and sometimes the country well before 1891
The Made in "Country" only applied to pieces intended for export to the US also

Sheffield stamps can be found quite a ways back even Sheffield England

Thanks, Leonard!

I actually knew about the tariff laws (though not, as gssixgun says later, that it isn't reliable) but I wondered if there was a less formal, earlier date for adding Sheffield. Based on this thread, I'm guessing the answer is "not really."

Originally Posted by bouschie

Not sure on Sheffield but they added England about 1890/1891.
Go to strazors.com and click on articles where you find info on history and tariff act.

Yeah, that makes a lot of sense!

I thought first it might be when Sheffield started to get a reputation, and it was a marketable thing to add, but they started to get their reputation in the late middle ages, so that was a dead end.

Originally Posted by Kees

I remember reading they started stamping Sheffield or England on cutlery when cutlers started losing territory to imported German (mainly Solingen) cutlery. IIRC a law was passed that English cutlery had to be recognisable as such. It all coincided with the rise of hollow grinding, a technique invented in Germany, that gave Solingen razors a competitive edge.

Curse you and your insistence in giving me complex accurate answers instead of simplistic convenient ones!

This makes annoyingly good sense, darn it.

Originally Posted by gssixgun

This is a huge problem in our hobby

The US Tarif act of 1891 is NOT an absolute

As you have found some makers Proudly added the City and sometimes the country well before 1891
The Made in "Country" only applied to pieces intended for export to the US also

Sheffield stamps can be found quite a ways back even Sheffield England

I have a razor that I'm reasonably sure was made no later than 1858 and it proudly carries the name Sheffield. I'm sure there will be earlier examples in other member's collections.

This George Wostenholm was made between 1854 and 1859 and it says Sheffield.


https://sharprazorpalace.com/razors/...ml#post1883894