Thread: N. Jackson of Leicester

Hi. Does anyone have any information regarding the English straight razor manufacturer N. JACKSON of LEICESTER

I've searched the web and can't find anything. It's just there is an old one on eBay and was wandering the dates of manufacter. Thanks in advance.

In all likelihood Jackson was not a razor manufacturer. Most probably he had a business and paid sheffield makers to make razors for him with his name on the tang - quite common at one time - some companies (eg Dovo) still do this today. I think I saw the auction - confusingly it has "N. Jackson" in the title and "M. Jackson" in the description. If it was M. Jackson there was a company called 'M. Jackson (Hairdresser) Ltd which became incorporated (ie a Limited Company) in 1900 and which was dissolved in 1965. 1900 or a bit either side would be the likely timeframe judging by the auction picture, and as a lot of companies trade before becoming a limited company then this does not exclude them - if indeed it is 'M' rather than 'N'!

Regards,
Neil

Originally Posted by Neil Miller

In all likelihood Jackson was not a razor manufacturer. Most probably he had a business and paid sheffield makers to make razors for him with his name on the tang - quite common at one time - some companies (eg Dovo) still do this today. I think I saw the auction - confusingly it has "N. Jackson" in the title and "M. Jackson" in the description. If it was M. Jackson there was a company called 'M. Jackson (Hairdresser) Ltd which became incorporated (ie a Limited Company) in 1900 and which was dissolved in 1965. 1900 or a bit either side would be the likely timeframe judging by the auction picture, and as a lot of companies trade before becoming a limited company then this does not exclude them - if indeed it is 'M' rather than 'N'!

Regards,
Neil

Hi Neil, thanks for the reply. Yes, it is the one you say. I've zoomed up on the picture and it does definitely say N Jackson Leicester, not M.

The seller is selling another one, a 'Keen' george Butler razor. I found quite a bit of info on the internet regarding this and he dates it to be c1887; but I feel it is later. Do you think a razor with slight tarnishing like this will polish up? I would really like a good English razor from the Victorian era that I could clean up and make shave ready. Are there any brands I should be looking out for? Cheers

I found quite a bit of info on the internet

George Butler is well-known maker. And there is a lot of info about his company on this forum.

any brands

I believe, 99% of English straight razors companies were in business in Queen Victoria era.

Originally Posted by postmastergeneral

The seller is selling another one, a 'Keen' george Butler razor. I found quite a bit of info on the internet regarding this and he dates it to be c1887; but I feel it is later. Do you think a razor with slight tarnishing like this will polish up? I would really like a good English razor from the Victorian era that I could clean up and make shave ready. Are there any brands I should be looking out for? Cheers

It's definitely later - much later. The firm didn't go into liquidation until 1952 (although the name was bought for use by others, notably an Ingersoll conglomeration then Arthur Price).

It's hard to comment on the marks without seeing the actual razor, but those faint grey watermarks can be a swine to remove, and the darker mark at the tip looks like it has serious pitting behind it and will need grinding. Trouble is, you can't remove metal from one bit and not another, so it would have to be ground for the whole of the blade - on both sides to preserve the blade geometry. You are then in danger of removing the engraving or making it very faint.

Some of my favourites are:

Samuel Osborn - ones made from Mushets Special Steel are phenomenal shavers
T R Cadman & Sons - Bengall brand - nearly always a great shaver, very good steel
Clarke & Hall
Walker & Hall
Wilkinson, Pall Mall
Joseph Rodgers & Sons - especially the more unusual models
Colquhoun & Cadman - although factors rather than makers, they sourced their goods from top-notch sources
Charles Jaschke
Lund, Cornhill
Brookes & Crookes
Christopher Johnson
Thomas Turner & Co
Harrison Bros & Howson

Of course there are many, many more!

Regards,
Neil

Thanks Neil

I will have to keep an eye out for a half decent one then. Do they often crop up on eBay or are they quite tricky to get your hands on? I don't fancy buying one thats pitted if it means a lot of grinding.

Cadman, Rodgers and Turners turn up quite frequently. For some odd reason the Cadmans (Bengalls, later period rather than early) seem to always be in half-decent shape while the Turners (and another Sheffield make - Taylors) often seem to be (but not always, of course!) quite corroded, not sure why, but it is something I have noted over the last 10 years or so.

Originally Posted by manah

George Butler is well-known maker. And there is a lot of info about his company on this forum.

I believe, 99% of English straight razors companies were in business in Queen Victoria era.

Thanks Manah. I saw the info regarding the maker's name, it was very interesting.