Atkinson Bros

Hello,

I picked up my very first vintage straight at the weekend. It was actually part of a window display at a shaving shop I visit regularly. I asked the owner if he would be prepared to part with it and he said yes.

It is very clean and shaves really nicely. I would say that it is no more than a 1/4 hollow. It is marked Atkinson Bros Sheffield Hand Forged. I have searched to try and find information on it, but I am struggling. It doesn't have the bear on it or "In Mind" or "Brillho" which are all marks attributed to this company.

I think that it has been restored, if not it is in very good condition. The scales look a little beaten here and there and the wedge looks to be lead. The tang is very small, just about the size of my little finger, so I wondered if it had been broken and the re-worked. If that is the case the work is flawless as I really can't tell.

My question is, does anyone have any experience with this company or any idea how old this razor might be? It seems that they were around from 1892 to about 1968. Whatever the case it is older than me which is really nice to think that I can still get great shaves from it. As I say my first vintage, but I don't think that it will be my last. I would really appreciate any information that anyone has on Atkinson Bros.

Edward Atkinson and his brother John Furniss Atkinson founded this firm in 1872. They were both previously employed at E. Parker & Sons as Cutlery Clerks. In 1876 the firm is listed on Milton Street as Milton Works.

In 1884 the Atkinson brothers acquired their former employer E. Parker and Sons( Ebenezer Parker) trademarks(3709) and name, and continue to use them and that company was listed at Milton Works as well.

Atkinson Brothers trademark were " Bear in Mind", 3709, Briho and A. Bright.
Attachment 244828
It is somewhat confusing from the above picture that Eileen Woodhead book on cutlery marks claims that the company was founded in 1845, because the founders were born in 1846 and 1851.
By 1897 the company was now limited as Atkinson Bros Ltd. Edward Atkinson died in 1904, his brother John Furniss in 1914, the company still remain in business at Milton works until the 1970's.
Attachment 244830

Thank you Martin, that's really interesting. You just don't hear the name Ebernezer much these days.

My razor doesn't have any of those marks, it simply says "Atkinson Bros Sheffield Hand Forged". I was just trying to get a sense of how old the razor was. I don't know whether the fact that mine has none of the marks above indicates that it is older, or newer. I guess in any case it is likely that it is over 50 years old. Just the fact that it is older than me and still gives a great shave is quite exciting.

I hadn't really seen the fascination with vintage razors until now. It really has opened up a whole new area for me.

Embarrassingly I just got the "Bear In Mind" trade mark. I guess I am just slow. :o

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Porl

Embarrassingly I just got the "Bear In Mind" trade mark. I guess I am just slow. :o

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All good Porl, post some pictures of this razor, we love pictures.

Here it is

http://i972.photobucket.com/albums/a...bc3d8754a5.jpg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Porl

Here it is

http://i972.photobucket.com/albums/a...bc3d8754a5.jpg

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That is a very nice razor and beautiful scales too!


Mike

Very nicely restored, looks like Thiers Issard scales with an added 3rd pin, well done,Enjoy!

Very nice, enjoy it!

Hi! And I couldn't figure out the manufacturer of my new razor. Looks like it's just Atkinson bros.

Attachment 307958Bad marking. Only "Sheffield Hand forged"is clearly visible. The name of the manufacturer can only be guessed."..inson bros"