Old Razor Catalog

I bought these pages from Ebay. They are from 1892 and 1893 hardware catalogs. I think they may be useful in dating your old razors. Pictured are some Wostenholm, W&B, B. Worth & Sons, and Bengall razors. Also pictured is a really neat case for collecting razors and holds a dozen razors.

I've also created a PDF of the images in a larger size if more detail is wanted. It is available here.

If there is a better way to present these pages please let me know.

Randy


http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i1...Wostenholm.jpg

http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i1...ostenholm2.jpg

http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i151/ranwill/WB.jpg

http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i151/ranwill/WB2.jpg

http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i151/ranwill/7day.jpg

http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i151/ranwill/pg1.jpg

that 12 razor case is really cool!

Don't you wish the prices were still good? It's amazing how many of these razors are still readily available.

If I can figure out how to best do it I think it would be neat to frame each page with one or more of the real razors if I can find enough of them. So far I have the Bengall, a Wostenholm, and one of the W&Bs. I think I've seen the Slasher one here a long time ago, but I imagine they would be hard to find
Randy

I am glad to see that our forefathers had sense enough to call a 3/4 a 3/4 and a1/2 a 1/2 instead of 6/8 and 4/8!
Neat stuff! Thank you for posting it!!

That is neat that you posted that. I honestly can say that I find it surprising that razors are sold "by the dozen". I wonder to whom they were marketing razors "by the dozen". Barbers? Not even a mention of what the razors cost individually. Strange (to me).

Kind of blows some of our theories about 7 day sets being luxury items for the rich and other such theories huh?

So you walk up to the counter and say "I'd like 7 Wostenholms. Here's $8, keep the change." I wonder what honing cost? 20 cents instead of 20 dollars? Lynn wouldn't like that would he.

Randy

Just to put it in prospective a good paying job at that time would of been $40.00 a mounth.:hmmm:

These were probably shave ready out of the box wouldn't that be nice?

Thanks for the information. I was able to identify
my great grandfather's Wade & Butcher. I
just thought it was some no name brand because
all it had was the symbol on it with no writing.

John

Thanks Randy - thats good info to have!!! :tu

Does anyone have any razors by B. Worth & Sons like the ones pictured above? I've never seen one and I don't know how available they are.

Thanks,

Randy

Since I'm at work and we have an obnoxious proxy, I cannot see the pages, but is it possible that this is a catalog that retailers would purchase from, not consumers? That would explain the razors being listed by the dozen.

-Josh

I will take a dozen of each. :D :w

bj

Thanks for info. I was able to find my razor, G. Wostenholm.

I'll add a few more to the show.

http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/m...genco_1922.jpg
http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/m...nco_1_1922.jpg
http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/m...ckels_1907.jpg
http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/m...04281496-1.jpg
http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/m...1204281161.jpg

If not a secret, where have you found these pages?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by manah

If not a secret, where have you found these pages?

---

I don't remember the site but it was a German forum.

Thanks for the answer. Pages 1702 and 1703 mine and I scanned them =).

Does anyone have a W&B Slasher razor?!

Chris L

Really cool. Does anyone have any catalog pages with hones ? Escher in particular.

Is there a date on the pages?

Pages 1702, 1703 from the catalogue of 1917.
I have from this catalogue one more page #1699, but there is no time to scan.

that' s what I love:tu

Thanks for posting these pages!

It's gratifying to find that my plain Genco Army & Navy wasn't a low-end razor, but was right up there with the Fluid Steel razors.


Another thing, ...SLASHER!? :rofl2: Were there no tort lawyers in the 19th century:thinking:?

Imagine a young executive at DOVO proposing a Jack the Ripper commemorative wedge.
:chop:

Anyone else notice that they often discribe the scales are "rubber" ???

When we know they are plastic or whatever etc.

kind of interesting...


The pages are awesome though... man, to have been able to walk into a store and view so many and have so much competion between the makers at the time.

Thanks so much for posting those :D

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Earthdawn

Anyone else notice that they often discribe the scales are "rubber" ???

When we know they are plastic or whatever etc.

kind of interesting...


The pages are awesome though... man, to have been able to walk into a store and view so many and have so much competion between the makers at the time.

Thanks so much for posting those :D

---

There were hard rubber scales out at that time IIRC. So that claim would be accurate. I assumed I had a mixture of hard rubber and bakelite scaled vintage razors until I just recently picked up an old Bismarck in need of some serious work. The scales are indeed hard rubber as they're quite flexible; unlike the bakelite that after years of age are most often very brittle. So, I have many bakelite scales and only one actual hard rubber scaled razor at this point. I've also cracked an ever growing number of bakelite scales trying very carefully to drill out the pins. :cry:

Chris L

I did some research on wages awhile back. In the 1890s the average worker made 15-20 cents an hour and worked about 60 hours per week. So that works out to 9.00 - 12.00 a week, 36-48 a month, and 432-576 a year.