Grandfather's Old Razors

I recently found three of my grandfather's old razors. I've done some minor research (including reading some threads on these forums) but I'm hoping people can tell me a bit more about what I've found. Odds are at least two of these belonged to my great grandfather from the dates I'm finding online. Anything you can tell me about any of these (including if they can still be used, quality, etc) is VERY much appreciated!

The first razor says 'John Barber' on the blade, but nothing else. I've seen places where it says he put a masonic symbol on his blades, but nothing. Just his name is on the blade.

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The second razor says 'Wade & Butcher Sheffield' on it and has a symbol of what looks like a sideways B encircled, then an arrow, then a cross. The blade is a little shorter than the John Barber one.

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The third blade just says 'PUP' on it across the blade and then '309 PUP' on the blade near where it pivots. On the other side it says 'SOLINGEN' and 'MADE IN GERMANY'. This one is broken, the blade edge is chipped badly, so obviously this one isn't going to be doing anything ever again, but I'm still curious about the history behind it.

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I tried to upload these pictures, hopefully they came out okay. If not, I'll try again! Again, ANY information about these would be great!


Phillip

HI! I see you just joined.. Welcome!

The first, though it looks like a fantastic razor, very restorable, I don't know anything about. The W&B though is very sought after razors, they are wonderful restored and shave like the devil. Yours is a great example of an old one. By looking only, it looks like a great old sway back. Probably mid to late 1800's. (My guestimate only...).

Can't tell you anything about the pup. Sorry it's been destroyed though. :(

It looks to me Grandpa had some mighty fine shavers in his day!! Get those 2 cleaned up and shave ready and keep them in the family!

Thanks for sharing!!

Mike

The John Barber can be accurately dated as the company was only in business for a short time. 1810 to 1834. The Wade and Butcher is pre 1891 as it doesn't have the country of origin on it. I'd take a guess and say around 1840 to 1870. I can't help you with the PUP but Solingen was the area in Germany where all the good cutlers were based.

The two first, and especially the John Barber, are great razors and very sought after. JB are even rare, costly and hard to replace. I would make sure to send them to a skilled restorer, do not try to do these yourself. There are great restorers on this site, check the classifieds and look at their work.

Your PUP razor was made by the Carl Friedrich Ern company of Solingen, Germany. But, it looks like it will take some serious "bread knifing" to get it back into shaving form again. :gaah:

Regards - Walt

I really appreciate the help, guys. I'm contacting some of the restorers on the classifieds to check for price estimates. Again, thank you for the information!

Phillip

I love seeing old razors.