Thread: Score! A pair of stub tails

I just paid for these beauties. I can hardly wait for them to arrive!

Makers mark: Clark Exeter Exchange (dates them late 1700's-1829 when the building was demolished)

I'm assuming this is the pair from French ebay? They will be more toward the later date based on blade shape. A nice pair, too bad the original scales are not on number one. Glad someone here picked them up.

Nice going ! Someday I am going to target some of these older razors.

Be prepared to pay. I bid on a fewcthe last week and wad outbid every time.

Love the scales on the top one... Maybe that will be my next rescale design once my hand heals up

I just finished going over one of your collections and the razors above seem to be made at the end of a style transition as most of the stubtails I saw had the straight scales like the top razor and the blades that were narrow and had a simple taper, some with smiles. The blade shape of both of the above razors look kind of modern (19th century). I guess I'm saying that I like these razors but they look like hybrids. Was this because as you said they were fabricated at the end of a period where styles were in flux?

Originally Posted by ScienceGuy

I'm assuming this is the pair from French ebay? They will be more toward the later date based on blade shape. A nice pair, too bad the original scales are not on number one. Glad someone here picked them up.

The history available around this is through Clark and Exeter Change. Mr. Clark established an animal collection in the building and then sold his interests in 1793 and the building was razed in 1829


Exeter Exchange - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Originally Posted by ScienceGuy

I'm assuming this is the pair from French ebay? They will be more toward the later date based on blade shape. A nice pair, too bad the original scales are not on number one. Glad someone here picked them up.

Yes they are...I wonder if they originally numbered to 7? At the price, I couldn't pass them up after contacting the seller and getting the ok to ship to the US.

Originally Posted by Splashone

Yes they are...I wonder if they originally numbered to 7? At the price, I couldn't pass them up after contacting the seller and getting the ok to ship to the US.

Likely they were always a pair. They're not so common, but I've seen a lot of 2-razor sets with this type of numbering pressed into the horn or inlaid into the ivory.