Thread: Spot the Swede!

Gawd, Richard! You must have been lonely 'til you found us!
I am certainly glad to be your friend!

The truth of the matter is that 33 years ago, the day after my divorce I was no longer lonely. Nothing but fun and some games since. Three great kids and a plethora of friends over the years have kept the dark of life at bay. SRP has expanded it exponentially, thank you. (ah, but the dark humor is alive and well in SRP, you just have to know where to look)

Going with number 11.

Nah! #4 ! ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

And now, the big reveal!

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Exciting, isn't it? Okay, not really.

(You can right click these images and choose 'view image' to see a high res version)

1. Sheffield: France (Brittain, Wilkinson & Brownell -- and France, the partner important enough to use his mark but not so vital to list him in the directories) 1805-1810.
2. Sheffield: Clark & Hall (Charles Clark and James Hall, and possibly Marmaduke Clark) , 1805-1820ish
3. Sheffield: Styring & Co, (William Styring, Joseph Hadfield & Joseph Harrison). 1805-1811
4. Stockholm: C.F. Ponsbach (Carl Friedrich Ponsbach). 1800-1820
5. Sheffield: Rhodes & Champion (Ebenezer Rhodes & Thomas Champion). 1810-1818
6. Sheffield: Wolferman? (Unknown blade maker, but the scales were made by the Woofindin family) 1805-1820.
7. Sheffield: Wilson & Co (probably John Wilson, this one is difficult to trace) 1800-1808
8. Sheffield: Wostenholm (George Sr, father of the more famous George Wostenholm) 1805-1815
9. Sheffield: Refined Steel (unknown manufacturer) 1805-1815
10. Sheffield: Patent / Refined Steel (unknown manufacturer) 1805-1815
11. Sheffield: Wade (Robert Wade, co-founder of Wade & Butcher). 1814-1818
12. Sheffield: Barlow (James Barlow). 1810-1820ish

Congratulations to those who figured on lucky #4!

Carl Friedrich Ponsbach was born to a family of cutlers and steel refiners. They became major medical instrument manufacturers by the 1820's.

It's an interesting razor. The inspiration is very clearly Sheffield, but there are things that are subtly 'Not English'. The most obvious from photos is the pins and washers. They're not quite the same size as all the Sheffield standards. The blade proportions are very similar to many of the Sheffield razors, but in hand feels subtly different in weight and weight distribution than even the very similar #10 (Patent / Refined Steel). Also noteworthy but not really visible in a photo is that the scales were cut to size rather than pressed, this gives them a slightly different feel to any of the Sheffield razors.

I would bet money Ponsbach spent some time west of the Sheaf.

The first to get it right was Ferroburak, then AntiqueHoosier, then emphatically, Sharptonn, and HarryWally going with the wisdom of Tom's coattails!

I'm thinking the prize for first correct answer oughta be a razor. PM me for details, Mr. Ferroburak.

And just for fun, this was the lineup of razors before I realized I really should narrow it down to just the popular styles around 1810.

These range from 1780-1820.

Oh man,,, I was sure it was number 12 because the guy on the scales has a funny little Swedish hat on. Well done Ferroburak.

Originally Posted by Grazor

Oh man,,, I was sure it was number 12 because the guy on the scales has a funny little Swedish hat on. Well done Ferroburak.

The figures they chose to illustrate those old figural scales are sometimes mysterious.

My personal favorite was one that featured: Shakespeare, George Washington, Edward Preble, and Benjamin Franklin. Why is Shakespeare in there!? I have no idea, but he was at the top on the front scale.

I truly amaze myself sometimes. Ferro said maybe! I was POSITIVE! HAR!

Originally Posted by sharptonn

#4. Unassuming and utilitarian. Plain pins. All Swede!

So the ikea razor then, well except for the fact that it hasnt fallen apart, and isnt mad of chipboard