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Hello everyone, I'm sorry if I post this wrong, but I have recently got a present from my grandmother, a straight razor belonged to my great-grandfather.. I think that it is from Sweden, no other sign nor stamp on the other side. So does anyone recognize it? maker, etc..
Attachment 105639
excellent present and a heirloom to boot! Looks to me like a Geo Wostenholm Pipe razor. a Sheffield, England razor of very good reputation. I'll let more experienced members comment further on provenance
Neat stubtail,Like.
I'm not sure if that's a Wostenholm pipe , or another trademark . It seems I remember another thread saying there is a trademark similar to the Wostenholm pipe , but it's not . Either way , you've got a really old razor in excellent condition (for its age) . However , I think it may have been your great grandfather's , great grandfather's razor . It looks like it dates to around 1830 , or so .
No idea on the maker, quite a few used the pipe stamp, Wostenholm being the most famous. Because of the stubtail, which places it somewhere in the first half of the 19th century, I'd venture a guess and say it's a wedge that was reground into a hollow.
It's often quite difficult to identify a pipe mark for several reasons:
tang shape means part of it has not printed
pitting has made it appear to have changed (eg a bowl may have 'acquired' a stem)
the stamp is larger than the bit it has been used on and part is missing, etc
I suppose the main things to note are whether the bowl of the pipe has a short stem or resting piece and whether the long mouthpiece is curved or straight.
Below is a small (incomplete) table of pipe marks. Not all the makers are considered primarily as razor-makers, but all made edged instruments, so a razor is not out of the question for, say, a spring-knife maker.
Attachment 105776
Key
a: Wostenholm
b: Wostenholme
c: William Webster
d: Wardrobe & Smith
e: William Twigg
f: Wardrobe and Smith
g: Luke Alsop
h and i: (composed of five marks) W & J Birkes
j: Birkes, Withers & Sykes
k: John Newton
l: F & A Colley, also 'Widow' Colley
m: Geo. Johnson
n: John Lindley
Regards,
Neil
Makes one wonder what a pipe of any type signifies.
Just got to thinking,the manufactor of clay smoking pipes was a big buis back in the day,this requierd Kilns,perhaps making razors using these kilns was a logical offshoot.
Does it look like the area on the underside of the tang has been ground? I have a couple that were given shoulders later in their life. This is where the metal was missing on mine:
Attachment 105783
The shape would make more sense to me as an older razor if this were the case with yours.
My first idea was Birks (before 1817), because of the shape of the razor and the straight line of the pipe, I think the pipe from Wostenholm is more a bow shape and later in use (after 1843), another possibillity I think is W. & H. Hutchinson, who manufactered 'Pipe' razors (trademark bought from Birks, sold to Wostenholm in 1843)
The double stabilizers and the hollowing puzzeld me but it could be from a later regrinding
Is (b) from Wostenholme or Johnson? The dart has lead to discussion, also in this forum :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Neil Miller
Wostenholm.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fikira
Some of Wostenholm's marks as of 1918:
Attachment 105785Attachment 105786
Attachment 105787
The numbering is the file allocation of the marks, not the year.
Regards,
Neil
NICE, very nice! Thanks a lot! Is this info, and from other manufacturers, accessible somewhere?Quote:
Originally Posted by Neil Miller
Regards
Eileen Woodhead has a good (but incomplete) pdf on the net (google her name) as do many of the Sheffield History forums (join to view and then search like mad). I have a folder on my desktop that I snip anything interesting and copy it into along with text files of explanations - it goes back years and I suppose that it looks like a jumbled lot of words and images, but it has helped a lot. The only problem is that you can never be sure of just how much - if any - research has gone into stuff published on the net - some of it is downright contradictory1
Spending a lot of time browsing old bookstores helps enormously - look for old trades catalogues and remember that a lot of the makers made and sold their own steel, so catalogues from the steel trade help a lot. Buying books unseen over the net is a bit of a gamble, but I have amassed a good library this way - anything to do with the history of steel, steel-makers, developments in steel alloys etc is fair game. Basically you need time - I don't sleep much, so that helps!
Regards,
Neil
oh, I most say that all these answer were over my expectancy, just wow! you all have restord my faith in the people of forum of internet. Thank you!
So, not swedish but english..
and ScienceGuy,
I don't know about it have been ground... but it might, It surely is some missing, (well.. It was used for a whole life so not so strange..)
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Neil, Is it possible that it might become a wiki of that folder in a near future? ;) I really think that you would have interesting stuff in it... and I'm sure that alot more also would appreciate it..
I'm honestly really very greatfull for such an answer! Thank U very,very much! Isn't it indeed a great idea to have something in wiki with much info about for example Sheffield history, Solingen history,...? (like the forums with examples of Sheffield directory advertisements, dates,catalogues...)Quote:
Originally Posted by Neil Miller
Regards
Quote:
Originally Posted by Neil Miller
Be careful that you get enough sleep by the way!
Greetings
