Thread: Information needed please

I bought this razor on ebay a few days back. The tang is stamped '***I.Pearce Sheffield '. It appears to be a quarter or half wedge with a notch at the tip. I would be grateful for any information on the manufacturer and the probable time period it is from. I did a search, but apart from one picture of a similar razor, I cant find any other information. Am I wrong in assuming that it was probably a barbers or working class man's razor because of the lack of decoration?

I am planning to clean it up, but not polish it up like new and rescale it in English Walnut. I want it to be evident that it is an old blade given a new lease of life rather than a work of art.

Congrats ! You have a very nice razor that should clean up nicely , and be an excellent shaver (after proper honing , of course) . I don't have any info on the manufacturer , but it appears it was made sometime in the latter part of the 19th century . The scales appear to be in good shape , why do you want to replace them ?

Thanks for the reply dave5225. There is extensive celluloid rot on the scales which doesn't show up in the pictures. I didn't expect it to be that old. All the more reason not to bring it to a mirror finish imo.

I'll give you some info if you promise that the razor will keep its scales..

In the Sheffield Directory of 1852 there is a John Pearce (cutlery and smallware dealer, and razor, springknife, tableknife, Britannia metal ware, and spoon manufacturer, 38 Angel street; and steel refiner, 57 Carver street). He's the only Pearce connected in some way with razors. Also consider that many times razor marks use I instead of J. In the Directory of 1857 John Pearce is recorded as "manufacturer" (11 George st; h 103 Wentworth ter).

I have two blades marked Dodge, a trademark used by Francis Newton & Sons (1838-1920). The mark contains three asterisks inside a "circular" shape, exactly like on your razor. I guess my blades are from the 1850-60's. Yours seems a bit older: maybe 1840-1850; the shape remembers to me some Marshes&Shepherd dating back to king William (1830-1836). I wouldn't be surprised if Pearce and the Newtons were connected in some way; apart this, I wonder if they all could have been more "dealers" than "manufacturers", using a general standard for their marks on blades made by other manufacturers. No Pearce is recorded in the Freedom Books of Hallamshire Cutlers. I remember a Pearce razor with "home-made" wooden scales and the same mark (asterisks in circular shape) sold on ebay during the last month.