Thread: George Buck

Hello guys

I recently aquired this little trio, the two on the right have ivory scales and are stamped on the tang "George Buck 242 Tottenham Court Road", sorry for the poor pic! Im in the process of cleaning these up, hoping they will make nice shavers and Id apppreciate any help with dating or further info on the maker, I understand George Buck preceded Buck and Ryan and from what I can gather these razors may be as early as 1850's but really Im clueless so any help appreciated.



Cheers

Jason

The following information may be of interest, if not of definitive help to you. My interpretation of the British insurance policy excerpt below, is that your razor may well have been manufactured prior to 1850 and sold by Buck, if not actually manufactured by Buck. According to Judge Henry Lummus in "Old Sheffield Razors", almost all of the 19th century razors manufactured in England, regardless of the city name stamped on the blade, were actually made in Sheffield. The research was interesting..thanks for your question.
Regards,
Croaker


Department of Libraries, Archives and Guildhall Art Gallery
GUILDHALL LIBRARY MANUSCRIPTS SECTION
NEWSLETTER
Issue No. 10 Winter 2007/8
Email: [email protected]

Website: www.history.ac.uk/gh/

Another of the Buck family is recorded in policy number 1187028 (Ms 11936/542) on 5 November 1834 as ‘Joseph Buck of No 245 Tottenham Court Road, Saw, Plane File and Tool Maker’. This Buck did not actually make any tools, but mainly sharpened saws and did repairs to the varied and wide range of tools he stocked. Many of the iron planes that I am researching are marked with Buck’s address in Tottenham Court Road, although these were not made by him. By looking a bit deeper into the Sun insurance records I was able to find out a bit more. In an endorsement book entry dated 20 September 1854, the firm is recorded as J. Buck now George Buck of 245 Tottenham Court Road (Ms 12160/129 page 446, policy number 1187028).

Very helpful thank you

I certainly did wonder about the likelyhood of a small company in London tooling up to make razors, the other point of interest is the address, I have come across several references to 245 Tottenham Ct Rd but the stamp on my razors is definately 242.

All good stuff, Im looking forward to shaving with a 160 year old razor! Incidentally, the pins in the Buck's are nickel silver without washers and the other razor with broken bone scales is early 20th C Geneva Cutlery NY.

Best

Jason

Jason,
Your two Buck razors look to be great shavers when you get them honed. I sure hope that you find that they were ground with an even beve,l when you get around to setting them to your stones! If so, I'll bet it won't be long before they are giving you a smooth shave. If not, you will spend many happy hours resetting the bevels and honing to give them a better edge than they had 150 years ago or so! At least, that is the way I look at a recalcitrant old wedge that was misground in it's day. Sometimes you get lucky and get one that shaves right away...you never know in this game, but it is all good!
My current project is a George Wostenholm and Sons EBRO wedge from the Perseverance Works. So far, I think I have spent more than eight hours sanding and honing it. It already shaves on most of the blade length, but needs more honing to even the bevel. It sure is a slow process, but truly a labor of love!
Regards,
Croaker

Originally Posted by Croaker

Jason,
Your two Buck razors look to be great shavers when you get them honed. I sure hope that you find that they were ground with an even beve,l when you get around to setting them to your stones! If so, I'll bet it won't be long before they are giving you a smooth shave. If not, you will spend many happy hours resetting the bevels and honing to give them a better edge than they had 150 years ago or so! At least, that is the way I look at a recalcitrant old wedge that was misground in it's day. Sometimes you get lucky and get one that shaves right away...you never know in this game, but it is all good!
My current project is a George Wostenholm and Sons EBRO wedge from the Perseverance Works. So far, I think I have spent more than eight hours sanding and honing it. It already shaves on most of the blade length, but needs more honing to even the bevel. It sure is a slow process, but truly a labor of love!
Regards,
Croaker

It is indeed a labour of love as you say, I think of them as low cost because they were cheap to buy but when you consider the hours of restoration they should be worth a fortune I have high hopes for these though, they do have a little smile I think they call it? near the toe but other than that the edges are quite good and straight, they sit well on a flat surface and they seem to have been honed in the not too distant past, there was a bright even ribbon along the edge and the spine so I think I got lucky and they should hone with relative ease. I simply cant wait to shave with them but I wont rush, theyll be ready when theyre ready.

Im not crazy about a bright mirror polish but there were some striations in the hollows at 90 deg to the edge that I had to polish out along with the rust so Ive sadly lost the etch on the blade Ive cleaned so far even though it was quite deep, the other blade has the same scratches but Im in no hurry to clean that one and I'll see if I can somehow preserve the etch. I actually like the old patina better than the restored blade but its so full of rust pits and other marks that I couldnt live with, if it were an even patina I would leave well alone. I will do some experimenting on a scrap blade with some ferric chloride to see if its possible to re-patinate after the blade has been rubbed and polished.

This is where Im at so far, as far as Im going with this one, not perfect but far enough, I could hone now but Im savouring the process Maybe later today I'll get comfotable and settle down with a stone Im waiting to pick up some nickel rod as well, I want to keep them original and only have brass to hand.



Quick pic in the failing light to show the finish

What a great photo! It is plain to see that your razor is READY! I would not have the self control not to hone it right away! The bevel looks perfect to me and so does the spine, though I am not by any means expert. Sometimes you have to sacrifice an etching to obtain a good finish, and it is a pity. I have a W&B American razor, 7/8 wedge with fancy worked spine and an etched eagle clutching arrows on the blade. The problem is the horrible pitting which was left after I removed the rust. If I remove that, the etching goes too, along with a lot of metal. So far, I just take the razor out and look at it daily; can't decide what to do. When I get my photo tent set up I will post some pictures myself. Again, very nice photography!
Regards,
Croaker

Originally Posted by Croaker

What a great photo! It is plain to see that your razor is READY! I would not have the self control not to hone it right away! The bevel looks perfect to me and so does the spine, though I am not by any means expert. Sometimes you have to sacrifice an etching to obtain a good finish, and it is a pity. I have a W&B American razor, 7/8 wedge with fancy worked spine and an etched eagle clutching arrows on the blade. The problem is the horrible pitting which was left after I removed the rust. If I remove that, the etching goes too, along with a lot of metal. So far, I just take the razor out and look at it daily; can't decide what to do. When I get my photo tent set up I will post some pictures myself. Again, very nice photography!
Regards,
Croaker

Just hone it and shave with it while you think about it

I still havent honed that one, Im learning about razor honing all the time and Im hoping to add a 12k Chinese stone soon. Previously Ive honed them and shaved with them before I even get scales back on but I might save this until I have the new stone, after 150+ years I think it deserves the best edge I can give it

I love straight razors!

I might have to clean and hone the Geneva cutlery blade while Im waiting though