Thread: I got lucky!

So i was at the gun show this weekend and i found some new toys. The first was the No. 421 barbers pet, then there is the J.R. Torry with case, then a George Wostenholm celebrated I X L, and the Wade and Butcher "Magnum Bonum". I paid $50 for the lot of them. The scales are in bad shape on the magnum but the rest are ok. Some rust and waterspots but I am happy with them all.

Lucky?? get to work

Originally Posted by Gomerpile

So i was at the gun show this weekend and i found some new toys. The first was the No. 421 barbers pet, then there is the J.R. Torry with case, then a George Wostenholm celebrated I X L, and the Wade and Butcher "Magnum Bonum". I paid $50 for the lot of them. The scales are in bad shape on the magnum but the rest are ok. Some rust and waterspots but I am happy with them all.

Any chance you could get a picture of the tang stamp on that Magnum Bonum? I just got a matched pair of the, but the tang stamps were faint to begin with and someone ground them off almost completely about a hundred years ago.

Here ya go Void.

That can't be right! The sideways crown with the VR stamp was only used on W&B razors made on Wednesdays because Wilburt Beacham had his corns removed by a barber/surgeon named Manitude Perfringe (probably Welsh) and Perfringe told him that sideways crowns were lucky. And all the Magnum Bonum razors were made on Friday because Friday is named for the old-Norse goddess Frigg, who was thought to have especially liked the cuisine that the Romans brought with the, and so Magnum Bonum was...

No, come on. I can tell by the pixels.

Originally Posted by Voidmonster

That can't be right! The sideways crown with the VR stamp was only used on W&B razors made on Wednesdays because Wilburt Beacham had his corns removed by a barber/surgeon named Manitude Perfringe (probably Welsh) and Perfringe told him that sideways crowns were lucky. And all the Magnum Bonum razors were made on Friday because Friday is named for the old-Norse goddess Frigg, who was thought to have especially liked the cuisine that the Romans brought with the, and so Magnum Bonum was...

No, come on. I can tell by the pixels.

My wife shakes her head when I spend far too much time reading all this cra.....

SWMBO now says the floors need cleaning, seeya!

Sunbird

You can see my tang stamp and the spine etching are sketchy. I couldnt tell what it was till i found one on ebay

Originally Posted by pixelfixed

Here ya go Void.

I have a question about the stamp. Bearing in mind that the crown and VR refer to Queen Victoria and bearing also in mind that she ruled our country from 1819 until her death in 1901, is there a way to accurately date a razor like his?

AtDhVaAnNkCsE

David

Since I spent all my money buying these razors I can't afford to pay someone to restore and rescale the magnum, and restore the I X L. Does anyone trade work for razors?

Originally Posted by Gomerpile

You can see my tang stamp and the spine etching are sketchy. I couldnt tell what it was till i found one on ebay

MAGNUM BONUM was a marketing term, not unlike SILVER STEEL or even WARRANTED. I don't think your razor was made by Wade & Butcher, because Wade & Butcher didn't exist yet when it was made. At some point yours has been reground to be hollow -- it's a thing that was done quite a bit during the heyday of straight shaving, kind of like taking your car in to an independent mechanic for work. Regrinding fixed the worst sins of inexpert honing.

I'm fairly certain the Magnum Bonum razors in this thread are what yours originally looked like.

Originally Posted by DavidBondy

I have a question about the stamp. Bearing in mind that the crown and VR refer to Queen Victoria and bearing also in mind that she ruled our country from 1819 until her death in 1901, is there a way to accurately date a razor like his?

Queen Victoria had an incredibly long reign, but not quite that long. She took over in 1837.

Sadly, the only way of dating razors with her stamp is by cross-referencing as many other razors with known dates of manufacture as possible and comparing all the stylistic elements of the blade. There's nothing surefire, unfortunately.