Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 15
  1. #1
    Senior Member burns420's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    Toronto, Canada
    Posts
    237
    Thanked: 25

    Default What does "Barbers Use" mean?

    Just wondering, I have a few large WAde and Butcher razors, some For Barbers Use and some without saying it. They appear to have the same shape and grind. What do the Barbers Use WBs have that the regular ones don't?

  2. #2
    Cheapskate Honer Wildtim's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    A2 Michigan
    Posts
    2,371
    Thanked: 241

    Default

    They say "For Barbers Use" on them. Thats it, there really isn't any other difference.

  3. The Following User Says Thank You to Wildtim For This Useful Post:

    burns420 (03-31-2010)

  4. #3
    Senior Member janivar123's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Location
    Porsgrunn Norway
    Posts
    883
    Thanked: 173

    Default

    the stamp?

  5. The Following User Says Thank You to janivar123 For This Useful Post:

    burns420 (03-31-2010)

  6. #4
    Senior Member burns420's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    Toronto, Canada
    Posts
    237
    Thanked: 25

    Default

    I kind of figured that was the case. Were the dates they were made any different?

  7. #5
    Senior Member blabbermouth JimmyHAD's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Posts
    32,564
    Thanked: 11042

    Default

    I've thought about that a bit and IMO it was just another marketing ploy to sell more razors. Since, from what I've observed over many years, most barbers seem to prefer a 5/8 or at most a 6/8 blade it seems to me unlikely that barbers in the 1850s during the heyday of the 'meat chopper' would have been any different.

    So one possible explanation I've come up with is that itinerant grinders would go from shop to shop sharpening scissors and razors with one of those grindstones and the expected longevity of the large blade was the selling point. I could be wrong .... I've been wrong twice in the past.
    Be careful how you treat people on your way up, you may meet them again on your way back down.

  8. #6
    The Hurdy Gurdy Man thebigspendur's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    New Mexico
    Posts
    32,737
    Thanked: 5016
    Blog Entries
    4

    Default

    Back in the day they liked to put sayings and things on the razors. They actually paid people to do this because they knew in the far future guys would scratch their heads trying to figure out why a razor said this or that and invent all kinds of logical reasons.. (Is it 04/01 yet?)
    No matter how many men you kill you can't kill your successor-Emperor Nero

  9. #7
    Steel crazy after all these years RayG's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    CT
    Posts
    1,410
    Thanked: 937

    Default

    I have been thinking about this, too. Could it have been that barbers back in those days were also "surgeons?" They were not really doing intricate surgery and most often the procedure was an amputation. That may explain why the "barbers use" razors tended to be the biggest ones.

  10. #8
    Senior Member Croaker's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    Arizona
    Posts
    1,360
    Thanked: 376

    Default

    Since we're all guessing here, my guess is that these razors were built to heavier specifications because they were intended to shave hundreds of customers, not just one owner, and were designed to last through many more honings than a private citizens razor.

  11. The Following User Says Thank You to Croaker For This Useful Post:

    dave5225 (04-01-2010)

  12. #9
    illegitimum non carborundum Utopian's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Rochester, MN
    Posts
    11,544
    Thanked: 3795
    Blog Entries
    1

    Default

    Just an observation here...

    W&B also made For Gentleman's Use razors. I'm guessing there's no actual difference between the Barber's and the Gentleman's razors.

  13. #10
    what Dad calls me nun2sharp's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    Kansas city area USA
    Posts
    9,172
    Thanked: 1677

    Default

    Ron, its good to see you back! Would've sent a PM but your message box is full. Great to hear from you!

    Back on topic, the stamp was a selling point, its like telling a customer that something is of industrial quality and surpasses the usual.
    It is easier to fool people than to convince them they have been fooled. Twain

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •