Thread: Torrey Army model history?

Does anyone know the history of the Torrey Army model? I used one today and received a great shave. The razor is in such good shape it is hard to believe it is from WWI and I suspect the Army likely abandoned the straight edge for WWII.

I am not familiar with the "Army" model, but Torreys are the best in American steel as far as I am concerned.

Finally located the camera. Here's a picture of the model in question.

AFAIK, all the ones with that logo (the arrow through US) were made for the military.

Originally Posted by holli4pirating

AFAIK, all the ones with that logo (the arrow through US) were made for the military.

Interesting...
I currently possess two Torrey blades, one with and one without the "arrow" through the US... I have a third Torrey in the post currently... (waiting somewhat patiently...) I look forward to seeing which variety my third will be.

And from my "fng" perspective, the Torrey blades have proven to be consistantly pleasant shaves. It is my current favorite make... however, I've only got about a month of shaves under my belt so that may change as my experience grows.

Anyone able to suggest any good links or books on the history of Torrey?

You can often buy commercially available things with military service branch logos or names on them in the PX (general store) on most military bases. (Swiss Army knives, Cross pens, Zippo lighters, Buck knives, etc). I imagine they did this pre-WWI too.

Aside from what I said above about the US stamp
-I believe the bullwhip was their first stamp, and I believe some of those used imported steel. I had one that I'm pretty sure was Sheffield steel.
-I believe Torrey was, at some point, the largest producer of straight razors in the US.

I know I read some sort of history of Torrey and his company at some point, but I can't remember where I found it (though I am 99% sure it was on SRP or from someone on SRP; perhaps a link to an ebook/google books?)

Torrey started making their own razors in 1880. The U.S. Army began issuing double edge razors to the troops in the trenches during WWI. Your razor is probably from between 1880 and 1917.

Originally Posted by holli4pirating

Aside from what I said above about the US stamp
-I believe the bullwhip was their first stamp, and I believe some of those used imported steel. I had one that I'm pretty sure was Sheffield steel.
-I believe Torrey was, at some point, the largest producer of straight razors in the US.

I know I read some sort of history of Torrey and his company at some point, but I can't remember where I found it (though I am 99% sure it was on SRP or from someone on SRP; perhaps a link to an ebook/google books?)

Dylan, I have a cool (but long out of print) book called "The Razor Anthology" published in 1995 as a series of razor-related articles from Knife World magazine. I picked it up at an online used book store. It has articles devoted to the history of many razor makers, one of them Torrey. Maybe this was the article you're referring to. The quality of the articles varies from excellent to terrible, but the Torrey one is good. This notes below are gleaned from that article.

• Torrey started as a strop business in 1858, and they imported razors from England and Sweden.
• In 1880, a Sheffield immigrant named Joseph Turner joined J. R. Torrey, and they started making their own razors.
• The earliest marking for the Torrey razors is three straight lines on the shank that read "THE TORREY RAZOR CO. / WORCESTER, MASS / USA".
• The article notes an 1895 Torrey catalog in which the "usual" Torrey marking appears, which it describes as "THE J.R. TORREY CO." in an arc over a "U.S." and an arrow trademark with "WORCESTER, MASS" under the trademark.
• The Torrey razors marked with the whip are called the "Whip Line," and were a low-priced line of razors which also began production around 1895. The blades were made of the same steel as the finer grades of razors, they just weren't highly finished. Some of them weren't even hollow ground, but plain ground. They simply have the name "TORREY" in an arc over the whip, which is curled around itself.
• An interesting tidbit: In 1892, Torrey patented the "ear of corn" handle pattern. The article notes that this pattern is also seen on Lakeside Cutlery handles, and that Lakeside Cutlery razors are extremely similar in grind to Torrey razors. Joseph Turner (the Sheffield immigrant who joined Torrey in 1880) also holds the patent for the early Lakeside Cutlery safety razor, which looks identical to the safety razor Torrey produced. This led the author to speculate that perhaps some(?) Lakeside Cutlery razors may have actually come out of the Torrey factory in Worcester.

Unfortunately, no mention is made of the "Army" marking in the article. Sorry.

Originally Posted by John Crowley

Torrey started making their own razors in 1880. The U.S. Army began issuing double edge razors to the troops in the trenches during WWI. Your razor is probably from between 1880 and 1917.

Thanks John. This information is much appreciated.