Thread: Info on these W&B (never seen the like before)

here is a pair of W&B razors that are destined to find their way to my face. I have never seen others like them. Would anybody care to hazard a guess as to age? The etched blade was covered with red rust, I was suprised at the fancy deep etch that was still under there.
The other is stamped with a GR over a crown. Never saw that grind before. A re-grind perhaps?

If my memory is correct i beleived a G R Crown would make this razor dating fairly easy to date, From 1821-1830, G R for George IV souvereign duty mark and Crown is a city mark for sheffield. A round point W&B with elevated spine is quite unusual. A picture of the tail of razor #1 might gives more information about his age but nevertheless a beautiful blade for sure. Just noticed the b circle arrow cross on the blade so really not a real old W&B but a cool razor for sure,Enjoy!

It cant be TOO new, it doesnt carry the England stamp. the GR has a very "flat" tail. I'll get a pic of the engraved one later. after I get a little sleep

Regardless of when they were made, those razors look lovely. Congrats on a couple of nice finds.

Oh, and that 'Damascus Steel' terminology is always interesting. Contrary to popular belief, real (historical) Damascus steel originally came from India, and it wouldn't necessarily have been visibly patterned. However, there's no way to tell if that designation on vintage razors was certified or just marketing (I suspect the latter).

Originally Posted by Martin103

If my memory is correct i beleived a G R Crown would make this razor dating fairly easy to date, From 1821-1830, G R for George IV souvereign duty mark and Crown is a city mark for sheffield. A round point W&B with elevated spine is quite unusual. A picture of the tail of razor #1 might gives more information about his age but nevertheless a beautiful blade for sure. Just noticed the b circle arrow cross on the blade so really not a real old W&B but a cool razor for sure,Enjoy!

Just to clarify (and it has been said many times before on this forum) only precious metals carry duty stamps and city marks in the form of hallmarks - this does not apply to goods like razors made from base metals. There is no such system in use for base metals and not even anything that corresponds, however loosely, to the hallmark system. You simply cannot tell the city of origin on razors by things like crowns, sovereigns heads, anchors or any other mark that has a passing resemblance to a hallmark.

The device of a Crown with a sovereigns initials under it is simply a Royal Cypher, usually used with the permission of the monarch, similar to a Royal Warrant.

Just a small point, but I see so many people posting that an anchor means the razor is from Birmingham and a Crown means it is from Sheffield that I wanted to draw novices attention to the fact that this is not the case.

Regards,
Neil

PS - Magpie: what a beautiful oldie! You can extend the age range by a year - George IV reigned from January 1820.

I realy like the damascus one

Nice W&Bs ! I lucked in to one with the etching some time back and it is a smooth shaver. Enjoy your new acquisitions.

Both are fantastic and certainly uncommon. Though I love the old gr, I can't help but drool over that barber notched beauty with the etching!

Nice! The GR has been hollow ground, and I'm sure that the tang has been ground a bit to give it more of a modern shoulder. I've seen that a lot.