Thread: A Rather Unique Joesph Rodgers & Sons ( circa 1840's? )

Originally Posted by ScienceGuy

Very nice. I saw that one on the goodwill site and totally forgot to put a bid in. Enjoy it.

Hey Science Guy...I'm glad you popped into the thread. Can you give me your opinion on the approximate time frame of when this razor was manufactured?

Originally Posted by Wolfpack34

Hey Science Guy...I'm glad you popped into the thread. Can you give me your opinion on the approximate time frame of when this razor was manufactured?

Well it's VR, so you know the date range there. But it seems like the VR stamp lost popularity after a while, I'm not sure when this happened but there are certainly numerous examples of Rodgers stamps lacking a royal stamp that are pre-1901. Maybe Zak can chime in here - I don't have solid information on when that change may have occurred. The razor in question, if I were to guess, I'd peg it in the 1840s-60s range, but I can't offer any support for that estimate.

All the ones I've seen like this seem to have come from dressing kits. They were definitely a premium item!

I agree with ScienceGuy's date estimate, but I'd weight the probability on the earlier dates. The overall shape of the razor (apart from the very nice spinework) is that long-blade, shoulderless grind that was super-popular in the 1830's. Everybody made'em! Or at least everybody hired the guy that did make'em.

Wood scales are almost always replacements, but on this one I'm not so sure. I have a Rodgers with the exact same blade blank (minus spinework) that came in Macassar ebony scales, pinned collarless.

Originally Posted by Voidmonster

All the ones I've seen like this seem to have come from dressing kits. They were definitely a premium item!

I agree with ScienceGuy's date estimate, but I'd weight the probability on the earlier dates. The overall shape of the razor (apart from the very nice spinework) is that long-blade, shoulderless grind that was super-popular in the 1830's. Everybody made'em! Or at least everybody hired the guy that did make'em.

Wood scales are almost always replacements, but on this one I'm not so sure. I have a Rodgers with the exact same blade blank (minus spinework) that came in Macassar ebony scales, pinned collarless.

Scales I would say here are replacements, though well done. It's definitely a premium razor, and if it came in wood, should have come in something special like ebony or a highly figured wood. My guess is that this one originally was in ivory or tortoise.

Originally Posted by Voidmonster

All the ones I've seen like this seem to have come from dressing kits. They were definitely a premium item!

I agree with ScienceGuy's date estimate, but I'd weight the probability on the earlier dates. The overall shape of the razor (apart from the very nice spinework) is that long-blade, shoulderless grind that was super-popular in the 1830's. Everybody made'em! Or at least everybody hired the guy that did make'em.

Wood scales are almost always replacements, but on this one I'm not so sure. I have a Rodgers with the exact same blade blank (minus spinework) that came in Macassar ebony scales, pinned collarless.

Thanks for chiming in Zak...

I agree that it has that 1830's blade profile (minus the spine work)...and as you well know that is one of my fav's. I pegged it in the 40's mainly because of the blade profile. The scales however are definitely replacements as Science Guy says. They're made from a rather thin veneer type light-weight wood...like blonde ash as I suggested. However if they were removed and sanded and polished properly, they would actually be rather attractive, and they do fit the razor quite nicely.

If this razor was mine, I would definitely replace them with a more period correct material. Horn of course, or Black ebony would be nice!