Thread: Newly arrived from England

You're all on the mark about the scales: I looked at their edges more closely, and there are indeed laminations consistent with horn. There's also a bug bite inside of the scales.

I convinced myself that the scales were Bakelite because I haven't seen sharp, beveled edges on horn scales before, and because these are so DARK. I even tried shining a high intensity light through them to see if they were horn, but didn't appreciate any color variations.

I freaking LOVE this place! I learn something nearly every day!

If you don't already have some, get yourself some neatsfoot oil (make sure it's 100% neatsfoot oil, you'll find it at tack or leather stores) and give those scales a bath. It's the best thing for them and will bring them back to life.

Originally Posted by Cangooner

If you don't already have some, get yourself some neatsfoot oil (make sure it's 100% neatsfoot oil, you'll find it at tack or leather stores) and give those scales a bath. It's the best thing for them and will bring them back to life.

I do have some pure barefoot oil; and now that I know that I'm dealing with horn, that's precisely what I plan to do!

P.S. Neil is awesome..."Needle and the Damage Done" was one of the first songs that I learned for guitar!

Very interesting razor and manufacturer as well, no so common. Came across a timeline and advertisement.

Similar design to William Wood of Liverpool. 86 miles away. Wonder if they were related.

Bravo Martin!

That timeline suggests Dzanda's razor was made either before 1831 or after 1845.

And Dzanda, as for the scales -- I'm pretty certain that a lot of the scales from that era were dyed deeper black. The insides of them aren't quite so uniform, pretty often. But there're a lot of mysteries to old horn scales.

Working on restoring a much-abused old Wade & Butcher FBU, I found that there were initials as part of the mold for the scales "M S". Not scratched in, but raised like a printing die. In the 1820's, and presumably into the 1840's, that would have been Matthew Simpson: "Horn Haft and Scale Presser". I know Neil Miller has talked about finding initials scratched into scales before, but it was interesting to see them embossed in.

Horn scales were their own separate industry.

Sure makes you wonder, doesn't it? We know of at least one son out of the eight offspring that Voidmonster mentioned, so it certainly seems possible. Though we could also be dealing with an entirely different line of Woods, I wouldn't bet on it.

Originally Posted by onimaru55

Similar design to William Wood of Liverpool. 86 miles away. Wonder if they were related.

Originally Posted by Voidmonster

And Dzanda, as for the scales -- I'm pretty certain that a lot of the scales from that era were dyed deeper black. The insides of them aren't quite so uniform, pretty often. But there're a lot of mysteries to old horn scales.

Water buffalo horn is black but the younger part of the horn ie the centre is lighter in colour. Just a useless fyi .

Originally Posted by Dzanda

Sure makes you wonder, doesn't it? We know of at least one son out of the eight offspring that Voidmonster mentioned, so it certainly seems possible. Though we could also be dealing with an entirely different line of Woods, I wouldn't bet on it.

I went digging through the genealogy, and if they're related it's fairly distant. Joseph Wood's son was, indeed named William, but he spent most of his life in Manchester making surgical instruments. Joseph also had a brother named William, but he was also in Manchester, and doesn't seem to have married.

Originally Posted by onimaru55

Water buffalo horn is black but the younger part of the horn ie the centre is lighter in colour. Just a useless fyi .

I have definitely come across some which had been dyed or even shellacked. A very light sanding, and suddenly the cracked black scales were translucent!