Thread: Razor ID

Ok, I researched this razor in SRP but I do not get a clear indication of what it is. It has Old English on the tang and nothing else. It is a heavy blade, looks like a full wedge, and reminds me of a W&B or a Worsterholm. It has a blond celluloid handle I believe. Any help would be appreciated.

Is there any way you could show a close-up of the tang stamping?

OK, I'm taking a shot.

The stamp looks like S&B English or England.

Correct?

Is there anything on the other side of the tang.

This is the best I could do, sorry.

The stamp says Old English, no other marks I can find

By the way, thanks for looking and trying!

I have found a three entries in the Goins Encyclopedia:

All state a date of 1820-1850, not much else except for the entries: "malliburton", "warranted", & "B. Barber" stamped on the tang. From the looks of the scales, I would think they are tortise shell...especially since it's a old blade.

I can see the scales being tortoise and I would agree to it being in that age range. I hope it polishes up nice and hones to a good edge. Thanks again for looking this up.

Originally Posted by shooter74743

I have found a three entries in the Goins Encyclopedia:

All state a date of 1820-1850, not much else except for the entries: "malliburton", "warranted", & "B. Barber" stamped on the tang. From the looks of the scales, I would think they are tortise shell...especially since it's a old blade.

The scales are probably translucent horn.

'Old English' was, for a while, a trademark of John Barber, but everybody in the universe used it. For a bit, there in the 1820's and 1830's, it was standard razor marketing like 'Warranted' (as was Magnum Bonum). It was getting pressed into scales starting around 1820 and continuing on for the rest of the nineteenth century, really.

As for who made this one? There's no way to know. It could have originally had scales that identified the maker (like some Greaves), there may have been a blade etch done as marketing for a reseller, or there might have never been any identifying mark of origin at all. Razors like this were constantly done as piecework or on the side by the people employed at the big cutlery firms. Often they wouldn't have enough orders for the workers, and the workers paid rent (really!) on the tools in the factory (as well as the lighting). Their rent was due whether the company had work for them or not, so they often did work in the factory for whoever would pay them.