Thread: Help dating a Ragg razor

Hi thanks for the reply I've uploaded some pictures, I don't think it's like the one you put a link to it has different writing on it.
Would be interested in what you thought.
Thanks once again.

Originally Posted by nat88

Very nice!

Unfortunately, it's difficult to provide precise information on most razors, here's what I can tell you:

Because the stamp on the tang (near the pivot) does not have a country of origin, it was probably made before the McKinley tariff in 1891. That law mandated that items imported into the United States identify the country they were made in. It's not a perfect system for dating since items that weren't made for export didn't have to abide by the law, but it's a good rule of thumb.

Short version of that is that your razor was almost certainly made before 1891, and probably a good deal earlier. John and William Ragg were advertising their Napoleon razors back to the late 1830's. My educated guess is that it was made between 1840 and 1860.

With luck, Neil Miller will come by here and offer some more background on the Ragg brothers. They were quite a pair!

After seeing the pictures it Appears earlier than the one zak posted. I would say late 1870's to early 1890's

Thank you very much for replying that's some good info about it didn't realise how old it was! Are the quite common the older types as I can't find anything similar on the internet.

Originally Posted by nat88

Thank you very much for replying that's some good info about it didn't realise how old it was! Are the quite common the older types as I can't find anything similar on the internet.

The Ragg brothers were a pretty big deal in their day and they certainly produced a lot of razors. It's hard to say how common they are now, though. I've seen a few Napoleon razors here and there.

Any help dating mine please?

Originally Posted by Liam121282

Any help dating mine please?

I'd say that one was made toward the end of their production. Blade isn't marked with "England" but the box is. Possibly early 1890's.