Thread: Help needed to identify a razor I dont remember buying

Looks plenty legit to me!

Washburn & Moen Co was owned by Ichabod Washburn and his son in law, Philip Moen. The company was founded in 1851 (although Washburn was making wire since 1831), taken over by American Steel & Wire in 1899, which in turn was taken over by US Steel in 1901. Ichabod was a wire maker, who went through a blacksmiths apprenticeship at the age of 16. He was also a church deacon, who set up (with John Boynton) a school for mechanics - Worcester County Free Institute of Industrial Science in 1865. Ichabod had a stroke and died 10 months later on the 31st of December 1868. Philip Moen died in 1890.

Strangely, the company made mainly barbed wire (principally Gliddon Barbed Wire and Waukegan Barbed Wire), plus piano wire, telephone wire and the wire used to produce the supporting frame for crinoline skirts. They had their own rolling mill which produced wire rod and a double Siemens furnace. The wire mill - the Waukegan Works - was along the shore of Lake Michigan.

There was a book published by them in the late 1800s called "The Washburn & Moen M'f'g Co: Makers of Iron, Steel and Copper : Wire Drawers and Galvanizers : Sole Makers and Patentees of the Popular Waukegan Barbed Fence Wire" so I suppose it is possible that they produced the steel from which these razors were made. They were probably given as gifts to investors, business advertising and workers.

The engraving looks right to me, too.

Regards,
Neil