Thread: What Can You Tell Me About This Case

My StepDad left me a message to come to his nearby antique shop to check out a razor he'd gotten in. As you can see, it's a Case with mottled cream and brown celluloid scales:

Sorry for the i-phone pics. Though it seems to be in fairly decent shape, there are some longitudinal scratch marks on the blade face, presumably from a prior polishing attempt. There is a fair amount of black tarnish and "devil's spit," though it looks like Mother's could get a lot of it:

Not much hone wear, some minor chipping on the edge-it looks bright from a recent honing attempt, but is currently butterknife dull. There is some rust under the tang in the pivot, but it doesn't look too deep to sand out:
Other than that, the scales look great, very shiny, with no cracks. The bolsters look like they would polish right up. Here are both sides of the tang:
Tungsten Steel


I'm not sure if you can see the $125 on the tag (though he quoted me a good discount!). I'm pretty broke post Christmas and property taxes, so I had to walk away for now. He says he'll hold it for me. I'm just curious if any of you Case guys can tell me more about this one. I know we don't offer valuations on SRP, but if someone wanted to PM any thoughts, I'd appreciate it. Thanks-Aaron/SHD

Trying to speak to the value might get me banned, but as for the razor --- that darkening is nothing to worry about, it's cosmetic, and some steels just age that way. It's possible that it was not a mirror-finish to begin with; the tang and tail, at least, look factory darkened. It's a Case, one of the great American cutlery names, and I'm sure it would hone into a wicked shaver. It's worth whatever you care to pay, bearing in mind you'll need to have it honed.

Looks very nice !!

It's a Bradford one. That is a point in Case history. I think after they aquired Geneva Cutlery's razor division. I will look and find out...........Martin???

its a nice blade, my guess is it was not an attempt at honing, but a quick clean up to make it look better for sale!

A little research on the auction sites should give you an idea what comparable blades are selling for.

Originally Posted by sharptonn

It's a Bradford one. That is a point in Case history. I think after they aquired Geneva Cutlery's razor division. I will look and find out...........Martin???

WR Case opened the Bradford outfit around 1912 IIRC. The Little Valley outfit, Case Bros was not part of the Bradford outfit. They burnt down and moved to Springville NY and that burnt down too. WR bought the 'tested xx' logo from Case Bros. They were related but separate.

And there you have it! My hunch was 20 something years off! Those Cases were all making cutlery separately, All marked with "CASE" until there was only W.R. left. As I understand, he was ruthless in trying to corner the market! So. Does this one represent an early W.R. Case?
Seems so! Still, from what I understand, it could have been made by others? W.R. had lots of razors made for him and stamped with his name. George Korn comes to mind!

OK! W.R. gathered up Crandall Cutlery in Bradford in 1912. Heck! It could be a Crandall!

hone that baby up....blade looks pretty dang good for its age!

Thanks for the info all! Aaron