Jol E Gud Razor

Hi all,

I picked up the following on E-bay on a speculative £10 bid! Not quite sure why I bid for it actually because it looked a bit ropey in the picture in the auction. However, when it has arrived, the blade looks in a lot better condition than I had expected. The scales are shot though. The blade does not close cleanly into them and they are not well aligned. They are also very scratched and generally a bit pants really!

Just wondered if anyone knows anything about the blade. It is marked JOL*E*GUD on the tang with an engraving of 2 griffons on either side of the same words on the blade. On the reverse of the tang it says 'Finest German Hollow Ground'. I have found two references on Google (one and two). The second of these says that the Jol E Gud brand was made by Joseph Allen & Sons Sheffield and was one of their best models but I am confused as to why the blade would say German on it if it was made in Sheffield.

Anyway - pics!

Attachment 127645Attachment 127644Attachment 127646Attachment 127647
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts!

Germans at the time were known for their hollow grinding skills. My guess is it was either ground in Germany or in the "German Style" (quite possibly by Germans in Sheffield). Probably the latter. Took me a second on the trade mark. "Jolly Good"

I couldn't find any info on the brand, but it looks like a jolly good razor to me ;)

"Gud" is "God" in Swedish... Well, it's time he get rid of his beard now and start to do something useful!

Razor makers were sending blades to Germany to be hollowed out, since they didnt want to adapt to the new trend, link to article on the subject.
http://straightrazorpalace.com/razor...de-1903-a.html

Thanks for the info guys. That clears up the confusion!

Looking at the thread you linked to Martin, BobH says " I used a W&B "Extra Hollow Ground" razor this morning that does not say England on it so is pre 1891." Does that mean (because this razor does not have England on it) that this razor is also pre 1891, or does that apply only to W&B's?

I am also interested in some advice on restoring it. Can I give the blade a bit of a polish without losing the etch on the blade? I am certainly not aiming for mirror finish, but I would like it to look less grey. I will be hand polishing it and have seen other threads on that so the advice is more to do with maintaining the etch rather than the overall technique (I am not asking people to repeat what is written well elsewhere!)

Where can I get pin wire and washers from in the UK, bearing in mind that I really only need a small amount as I am not going to be doing many razors!

Thanks again in advance for your help,

Mark

Sorry for the double post but I have a question about the scales - they are clearly plastic of some sort. I am assuming that this means they can't be the originals. When did plastic scales first start appearing on razors?

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Originally Posted by TrueStereo

Thanks for the info guys. That clears up the confusion!

Looking at the thread you linked to Martin, BobH says " I used a W&B "Extra Hollow Ground" razor this morning that does not say England on it so is pre 1891." Does that mean (because this razor does not have England on it) that this razor is also pre 1891, or does that apply only to W&B's?
Mark

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There is a bit of confusion on the Madrid agreements. Generally, if a razor is post-Madrid AND exported, it will be stamped with its country of origin. However, razors that stay in their country of manufacture do not necessarily have a country stamp. Just based on the style of this blade I would say it's probably post-1900.

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Sorry for the double post but I have a question about the scales - they are clearly plastic of some sort. I am assuming that this means they can't be the originals. When did plastic scales first start appearing on razors?

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Man-made scales came in pretty early. There were a lot of materials available - celluloid, vulcanite, bakelite, etc. Your blade is certainly late enough to have original man-made scales, but that's not to say that it hasn't been rescaled at some point.

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Originally Posted by ScienceGuy

Just based on the style of this blade I would say it's probably post-1900.

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Hi Scienceguy and thanks for your reply. I would be very grateful if you could help me learn more about this blade (and others) and elaborate on what aspects of the style mean it is post 1900.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by TrueStereo

Sorry for the double post but I have a question about the scales - they are clearly plastic of some sort. I am assuming that this means they can't be the originals. When did plastic scales first start appearing on razors?

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There were some types of plastic that had origins going back to around 1800, but perhaps the first that most of us think of is celluloid. The first type of celluloid - called Parkesine (after Alexander Parkes) - came in around 1862. Daniel Spill, originally trained as a doctor, created a company with his brother (George Spill & Co) making waterproof fabrics in London (Stepney Green). The army was a big buyer, particularly for the Crimean War. Daniel Spill saw Parkes product and agreed to make it for use with his waterproof fabrics at a plant in Hackney, London. They obtained a patent in 1863 and Parkes was taken on as director when the company became known as the Parkesin co (c1866).

The Parkesine Co ceased to be in 1868. The following year Spill formed the Xylonite Co, but that was wound up in 1874. However, Daniel Spill & Co was formed to continue making Xylonite and an ivory substitute - ivoride. This led to the formation of the British Xylonite Co in 1877 in Homerton. British Xylonite made celluloid acetate sheet and established another company next door - Homerton Manufacturing Co - to make the sheet into various articles, including brush handles, knife handles, combs, etc, etc - and razor scales. In 1885 they even offered washable xylonte collars and cuffs for shirts.

The company got so big they moved to the countryside, building a new village (Brantham) to house its employees. I used to live near there.

IN 1931 they bought-up another competitor - Cascelloid (founded c1919). It then became a holding company for three other companies it owned, and in 1939 the distillers group bought up half the shares. In the late 1940s they employed a young lady as a research chemist - she was none other than Margaret Thatcher, future Prime Minister.

In the mid 1950s they were making goods for Bex, including plastic parts for the Bex Bissell floor sweeper. Distillers bought the rest of the shares in 1961 and the company is still trading.

Of course other materials like vulcanized rubber and bakelite were used, but razors in xylonite scales were offered by most of the major makers. This advertisement comes from a 1926 newspaper, for example:

Attachment 128182

So - plastic encompassed quite a large timeline and is not really useful for pin-pointing a date.

Regards,
Neil

What a fantastic reply - thanks Neil. Does anyone have any thoughts as to whether this is a Joseph Allen blade or not? With the very limited resources at hand (Google!) I can only find the single reference listed in the OP. I cannot find the 2 griffons or Jol E Gud on any of the other links I can find to Joseph Allen blades.

I have been in touch with The Company of Cutlers in Hallamshire who have replied really quickly with this info - "I am afraid I cannot tell you anything about the manufacturer as it is German. We have one in the Company's Collection and the name on the tang is 'F.G.M'. I don't know who they are."
Attachment 128674
This is a picture of theirs. Has anyone any idea of who "F.G.M." are?