Thread: The Packwood mystery

Tom,
Indeed, it is a pleasure to read posts by these historical minds, who can also write, for they are gold mines for this worthy forum. As a humble student of history, I am grateful to all of them. Imagine the additional pleasure to shave with my Packwood now that I know something about its history. Of course, I feel the same about my Frederick Reynolds, Wade & Butchers, George Wostenholms and others. In my world — our world — a shave is more than just removing beard. A straight razor shave with its colorful ritual adds another nugget to the richness of life. Throw in a straight razor with a rich history and watch the treasure explode.

Then, of course, there's Mechi coming along in the 1850's, with his strops and his patented PECULIAR STEEL.

I should probably ad, regarding all these razors made for strop men, that it's simply not possible to know 'who really made them'.

The way cutlery was produced in Sheffield, after 1814, anyone could strike a mark. All you really needed to be in business was a wad of cash, and some work space. Since the late 1700's the workspace was actually rented to the employees, as well as the cost of gas and heating. For a long time, Joseph Elliot worked out of the leftover space in several different buildings, growing on the cutlery trade like an epiphyte.

It cost money to work for a major cutlery firm if you were one of the sub-bosses, and it cost money whether or not there was any work to do. So, when times were lean (and by 1830 they were quite lean indeed), the teams would regularly take on work from outside clients. The firms that owned the work space weren't super happy about that, but it was very much in their best interests to just keep it zipped on the subject, so workers regularly produced goods in their shops for other people. Including, I'd guess, other local cutleries.

In fact, the situation was so bad that it became common practice to take on a new job in order to pay for the old one, so the foremen commonly worked for several different cutleries at the same time.

When it came time to make razors for outside clients, it would have been far easier to just make them in the style of the work they were already doing, since that's what everything was set up for. The steel may have come to them already partly shaped for the blades they needed to make, the jigs and the punches and the haftings and even the muscle memory of how far you move the steel before the hammer hits all contributed to the form of the final product.

As for the stamps, those were struck into the steel before the metal was heat treated, and as such before final polish. Once you get to the point where the branding on the blade was chemically or electrically etched on, then you're really talking about blades of uncertain provenance.

So the answer to 'who really made' -- well, any old Sheffield razors, really -- is one that's basically impossible to answer without work orders and invoices.

Voidmonster,
Fascinating bit of historical information, my friend. Thank you. I would assume, then, the Packwood razor would fall in the category you describe. Who exactly made it, what hands, we shall never know. The same would be true, of course, of some of the other Sheffields floating around the straight razor world. All good stuff to ponder.
Stay well,
Obie

This newspaper bulletin from the Courrier 1817, claims a certain W. Addis succesor to George Packwood.

I see a lot of old strops around. I wonder if a Packwood strop exists anymore?

Martin,
Thank you for that interesting information on Packwood. All good stuff.
At this rate, I may have to base my next novel on the life of Mr. George Packwood.

Originally Posted by Obie

Martin,
Thank you for that interesting information on Packwood. All good stuff.
At this rate, I may have to base my next novel on the life of Mr. George Packwood.

From what i came across from Mr Packwood that would be quite the eccentric novel.

It would, Martin. What a delicious project. I'll have to think about it.
Stay well.

I think it's been posted before, but adding these pictures to the discussion. Interesting for the inscriptions on the case.

http://razoremporium.com/store/produ...9/IMG_4378.jpg
http://razoremporium.com/store/produ...9/IMG_4389.jpg

"Packwood, Cutler to the King of England, All the Potentates of the World, And by Special appointment to the People in whom center all power"

"Reader let Packwood but begin, To operate upon thy chin; His royal Razors shave so sweetly, Thyself will […] completely."

here an other one