I purchased a gentleman's travel set that included these two razors in perfect condition. The hined up nicely and are great shavers.
I have tried to research the maker with no luck. Lots of info on Robert Sorby but none on George.
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I purchased a gentleman's travel set that included these two razors in perfect condition. The hined up nicely and are great shavers.
I have tried to research the maker with no luck. Lots of info on Robert Sorby but none on George.
Those look nice! George was probably Robert's brother! Ivory? Nice find! ....get it on....Tom
Celluloid is my guess Tom.Quote:
Originally Posted by sharptonn
Naa, Collarless I think! Fine bone, at least. Beers? I would win!Quote:
Originally Posted by Str8Shooter
It looks like it has collar's but the pic is grainy when magnified. I'll take that bet though. celluloid or bakelite!!!Quote:
Originally Posted by sharptonn
No. They are definitely ivory. Hard to read, but it says on the blade " Warranted Crucible Steel Full Hollow Ground"Quote:
Originally Posted by Str8Shooter
Robert Sorby is famous for woodworking tools and is still in business. These razors are early 1800's I think.
The overall shape is more consistent with late 1800's. Early 1800's stuff wouldn't have the double stabiliser, long tail and the pronounced thumb stop. They're very nice looking razors in very good condidtion, just not quite THAT old.
I could of course be wrong, but that's what I see when I look at them.
As far as I can make out there were two 'George Sorby' companies - George Sorby Ltd, Sheffield and George Sorby Steels Ltd, Midlands - both companies are now dissolved and I am not sure that there is a link between them. The most likely link is the Sheffield one - George Sorby is recorded to have made crucible steel and is associated with sites in Brown Street, Effingham Road and Furnival Street in Sheffield.
I'm not sure if there was any link with the Robert Sorby family. Robert Sorby & Sons was registered in 1828. Another, separate company was John Sorby & Sons, going back to 1797. John was Robert's uncle, also a master cutler and producer of edge tools. John's sons John and Henry took over from the father and used the 'I & H Sorby" brand, and were taken over by Lockwood Bros in 1849. Henry only had one son - another henry who became a famous microscopist/natural scientist. Robert Sorby died in 1857 leaving his sons Robert and Thomas in control. Robert died in 1865 and his son - another Robert - took over. This Robert died in 1885 without an heir. When Thomas died control passed to his sons - another Robert and another Thomas.
Robert Sorby's family tree shows no George Sorby.
An advertisement from a Spanish newspaper of 1953 shows an entry for George Sorby Ltd as a foreign supplier:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...o-sorbyJPG.jpg
It is grouped with machine, tool and steel suppliers. The company is also mentioned in a Singapore newspaper of the same period:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...geo-sorby2.jpg
Regards,
Neil
Quote:
Originally Posted by Str8Shooter
HA! Paul, it looks like you are the wood guy and I, the ivory guy! Beers anyway??Quote:
Originally Posted by 25609289
Does not look like any ivory I own. Can we get a better photo. Not that I don't trust your judgement but...... Lol.Quote:
Originally Posted by sharptonn
Thank you Neil. Do you know when it was common to advertise crucible steel? I assumed it was early 19th century.
the use of this type of steel goes back a long way - perhaps 1000 years or so, and gained fame as 'damascus' steel and 'wootz' steel, whose formulations were uncertain. There were a lot of studies into wootz, notably by Michael Faraday, who discovered (1820s) 'silver steel' (allied with real silver, not the modern silver-less variety). These were 'crucible' steels - melted in a crucible, and the process was not discovered but re-discovered by Benjamin Huntsman earlier in the 1740s (although the noted metallurgist David Mushett had anticipated its formulation, but true to form he was late in applying for a patent, settling for a patent on a wootz-type steel in 1800). Huntsman, however, was not looking for a patterned steel like damascus, but a more reliable steel for his clock springs - he was a clock-maker.Quote:
Originally Posted by 25609289
Huntsman moved his factory to Sheffield to produce the steel, but had a hard time convincing local steelmasters to use it. Some did, but a lot of the production went abroad, notably to France, where the term 'Acier Fondu' was used. At one point, almost his entire output went to France and english steel-makers were aghast at the french importing it back - so much so that they tried to ban the export of steel, but were in the end forced to buy it in order to compete.
The term 'crucible steel' (made from blister steel aka carburized wrought iron) was probably well-known by 1750. However, many of those that used it seemed to prefer to call it 'cast steel' - after all, it was melted from wrought iron in a crucible then poured or 'cast' into a mould to produce an ingot. After Huntsman's perfection of the process it gradually became the preferred steel for tool making, and even after the Bessemer process was patented in 1851 (once again the Mushett family 'lucked-out' - David's son Robert perfected the Bessemer priciple for Henry Bessemer, but Bessemer took the credit and churlishly refused to acknowledge Mushett's help for many years), crucible steel was still preferred for some applications, so items bearing this designation were still being produced at and after that date.
Regards,
Neil
Thanks again. So, these razors could have been made anytime prior to 1881. Very good, i appreciate the help.