R bladworth 5/8????

Hi, wondering if anyone can help, I have had a razor for some time and cannot find any information on it whatsoever, it is a 'R BLADWORTH' 5/8 full wedge, with pressed horn scales and a lead spacer. It has a slight smile. The only thing stamped on the tang are 'R BLADWORTH' and 'SHEFFIELD' underneath that, both on the same side of the tang. Has anybody else heard of this maker or have one of these razors? I restored and honed it myself, surprisingly it honed great and shaves really well considering it looked beyond help when i bought it. I love a challenge!! Sorry I haven't posted any pics yet, still trying to figure out how to do it on my iPhone!!!!

Pics of the above mentioned razor if anyone can shed some light on history, etc... Many thanks. Attachment 110138Attachment 110139Attachment 110140

Hey There,

Hey There

Two things make me think that this is a pre 1900 razor. The lack of an England stamp, and the lead spacer. Lead was heavily restricted in the late 1800's early 1900's. I will do a namesearch in Sheffield directory and let you know if an exact date comes around.

Nice razor it looks nice!

Carl - SRH

Hi Carl, thanks.. Would love to know a bit more about the company, etc. thanks, it's a great shaver. And the John heiffor and Joseph Rodgers you restored for me a while back are still in my rotation. Brilliant shavers, thanks again.
Rob

Hey Rob

I'm glad they were/are to your liking! I will do my best to dig something up on these guys. Sometimes it's tough because there were so many small companies. The name check didn't turn anything up but I'm not giving up there :)

Thanks

Carl - SRH

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Manchestertattoo

Hi Carl, thanks.. Would love to know a bit more about the company, etc. thanks, it's a great shaver. And the John heiffor and Joseph Rodgers you restored for me a while back are still in my rotation. Brilliant shavers, thanks again.
Rob

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There was a Thomas Bladworth in Sheffield, listed as a factor in 1825, then as a table knife manufacturer a bit later, however he died in 1833. He may have had a son 'R', though, but I think it unlikely that he is the one.

Maybe it is not the name of the maker, but an agent/hardware/cutlery store. There was an R and W Bladworth, hardware dealers in Scotland in 1817 which seems too early by far, and another two R Bladworths in the Edinburgh and Leith Directory for 1873 - one a hardware dealer, one another R and W Bladworth - R Bladworth designated 'jnr' - wholesale cutlery and hardware dealers.

Regards,
Neil

On the nose Neil!

"Bladworth, Richd. wholesale ironmonger, 375" 1959 was the date of registration. I think we were looking in the same place Neil. This is the link http://www.archive.org/stream/postof...0edin_djvu.txt

I think this chap is the likely manufacturer.

What do you think?

Carl - SRH

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Neil Miller

There was a Thomas Bladworth in Sheffield, listed as a factor in 1825, then as a table knife manufacturer a bit later, however he died in 1833. He may have had a son 'R', though, but I think it unlikely that he is the one.

Maybe it is not the name of the maker, but an agent/hardware/cutlery store. There was an R and W Bladworth, hardware dealers in Scotland in 1817 which seems too early by far, and another two R Bladworths in the Edinburgh and Leith Directory for 1873 - one a hardware dealer, one another R and W Bladworth - R Bladworth designated 'jnr' - wholesale cutlery and hardware dealers.

Regards,
Neil

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by straightrazorheaven

... Lead was heavily restricted in the late 1800's early 1900's...

Carl - SRH

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Are you sure, Carl? I thought the 19th century saw an explosion in the use of lead: lead pipes, lead sheeting, damp proofing, lead solder, lead paint, battery cells, silver refining, pewter making, photography, etc, etc. In fact England was the world's leading supplier at the beginning of the 1800s, what with lead being mined in Derbyshire, Somerset, Cornwall, Wales, Scotland and many other places producing 17000 tons at the beginning of the century and rising to 66000 tons by 1850.

What is the significance of the late 1800s and early 1900s? Even though production in real terms declined due to the use of other metals instead of lead, the production figures in tons for 1893, 1896 and 1897 was 40000, 60000 and 40000 respectively. Still a lot of lead!

Regards,
Neil

My source was the Scottish Post Office Directory, too! From much earlier, though, so they were an enduring lot who favoured the name Richard!

As has been said before though, the inability to find small makers in Sheffield does not mean that he was not a Sheffield man, but I tend to think that the Scots Connection is likelier!

Regards,
Neil

Hey Neil

You are right but I think you may have misread my text. The 19th century being from 1800-1900, the regulations came into place late 1800's into the 20th century (1900's). It's funny that everything was made of lead and then people make a HUGE U-turn, I wonder what's next in that regard. The significance lies in that the spacer could (probably was) made before 1900. Helping to point to a probable date of manufacture.

This link has a good history of the regulation of lead.
http://scienceprogress.org/2008/10/a...ad-regulation/

I agree with the scots connection, the railroad made it possible for makers to move their wares across the British isles.

Thanks

Carl - SRH

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Neil Miller

Are you sure, Carl? I thought the 19th century saw an explosion in the use of lead: lead pipes, lead sheeting, damp proofing, lead solder, lead paint, battery cells, silver refining, pewter making, photography, etc, etc. In fact England was the world's leading supplier at the beginning of the 1800s, what with lead being mined in Derbyshire, Somerset, Cornwall, Wales, Scotland and many other places producing 17000 tons at the beginning of the century and rising to 66000 tons by 1850.

What is the significance of the late 1800s and early 1900s? Even though production in real terms declined due to the use of other metals instead of lead, the production figures in tons for 1893, 1896 and 1897 was 40000, 60000 and 40000 respectively. Still a lot of lead!

Regards,
Neil

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by straightrazorheaven

Hey Neil

You are right but I think you may have misread my text. The 19th century being from 1800-1900, the regulations came into place late 1800's into the 20th century (1900's). It's funny that everything was made of lead and then people make a HUGE U-turn, I wonder what's next in that regard. The significance lies in that the spacer could (probably was) made before 1900. Helping to point to a probable date of manufacture.

This link has a good history of the regulation of lead.
A Brief History of Lead Regulation

I agree with the scots connection, the railroad made it possible for makers to move their wares across the British isles.

Thanks

Carl - SRH

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I don't think I misread it - it was the significance of the late 1800s early 1900s that grabbed my attention, that and the mention of restrictions. Both of which I think are irrelevant to making wedges for razors. I don't think that website you linked to is accurate either - far from it. People still installed lead pipes regularly. Lead based paint was around for an enormous time after that article says it wasn't - my grandfather was a painter and used it, my father used it, and when I was younger I used it. Best paint with the highest opacity you could get! I don't really recall it getting hard to get until the early 1970s.

Lead in petrol had a late demise. But petrol/paint/air pollution has nothing to do with lead razor wedges. No doubt people were aware of the dangers and there were probably headlines, but that is far from 'restricting' the use of lead. Old properties over here (UK) still have lead pipes - mine did until 6 months ago, yet no-one forces us to get rid of them. It's a bit like smoking - everyone knows the dangers, few care.

Besides, it is an American based/concerned article and we are concerned primarily with use in Sheffield razors in the UK in the case of this particular razor. I can't see them asking questions about lead razor wedges in Parliament!

In short, a razor having a lead spacer cannot be dated by use of any notional restrictions on the use of lead. The only broad indicator would have been trend and fashion.

Regards,
Neil

Wow I would not live in a house with lead pipes. I would be worried about the health implications :(. I am sure you have seen a lot of razors, as have I. Have you seen a lot of razors after 1900 with lead spacers? I have not, and I always attributed this to regulation, though it could be misguided. I also recognize that scales can be easily transferred between razors, but do think the materials used within them can be used as circumstantial evidence in attributing a date (along with other more solid pieces of data of-course).

I can imagine that lead paint would be good for coverage, as it is a heavy metal.

You are right, Parliament wouldn't give a dam lol. I actually remember good old 4 star being removed from pumps.

Thanks

Carl - SRH

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Neil Miller

I don't think I misread it - it was the significance of the late 1800s early 1900s that grabbed my attention, that and the mention of restrictions. Both of which I think are irrelevant to making wedges for razors. I don't think that website you linked to is accurate either - far from it. People still installed lead pipes regularly. Lead based paint was around for an enormous time after that article says it wasn't - my grandfather was a painter and used it, my father used it, and when I was younger I used it. Best paint with the highest opacity you could get! I don't really recall it getting hard to get until the early 1970s.

Lead in petrol had a late demise. But petrol/paint/air pollution has nothing to do with lead razor wedges. No doubt people were aware of the dangers and there were probably headlines, but that is far from 'restricting' the use of lead. Old properties over here (UK) still have lead pipes - mine did until 6 months ago, yet no-one forces us to get rid of them. It's a bit like smoking - everyone knows the dangers, few care.

Besides, it is an American based/concerned article and we are concerned primarily with use in Sheffield razors in the UK in the case of this particular razor. I can't see them asking questions about lead razor wedges in Parliament!

In short, a razor having a lead spacer cannot be dated by use of any notional restrictions on the use of lead. The only broad indicator would have been trend and fashion.

Regards,
Neil

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by straightrazorheaven

... I am sure you have seen a lot of razors, as have I. Have you seen a lot of razors after 1900 with lead spacers?

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I have been thinking about that Carl - I have seen quite a few post 1900 razors with lead wedges, but the difficulty was finding the information that directly supported the age of the razor.

However, I think I have overcome this with the case of Kropp and C. Myers and Son.

Kropp, as I suspect most of us know, was an enterprise started by Osborne, Garrett and Co, also noted for the Ogee and Carrera brands, sometime prior to 1900 - some say 1899. They folded in the late 1920s. It is known that they had their razors made for them, some being ground in Germany and some in Sheffield. Every post 1900 Osborne/Garrett Kropp I have seen has had a lead wedge. It appears that the chap in Sheffield who did the grinding for them was Charlie Myers, and that he traded as the Kropp Manufacturing Co. after the demise of the Osborne/Garrett incarnation of Kropp. He traded from his premises in Athol Road, and in the 1930s introduced his own C. Myers & Son brand of razor as well as Kropps - 1950s trade directories show that C. Myers & Son and Kropp Manufacturing Co both still had the same Athol Road address.

Most of the Kropps - if not all - that Charlie produced had lead wedges, as indeed did his own razors.

Regards,
Neil