6 Attachment(s)
The reason I’ve been selling razors lately.
So I sold my beloved W&B FBU, the one I had intended to keep (I think you’re going to be very happy, Paul!), and I did it because I needed to pay down some of what I’d spent to get, in part, this.
Attachment 296163
The story of this thing... Well, I just filed the insurance claim with the USPS. It was supposed to be one of a pair. One of those deals where I’d gone in halvies with someone else with the plan being we’d each get one. (I leave it up to you to reveal yourself if you choose). He’ll be getting this one after I shave with it, and hopefully I’ll get the somewhat sizable chunk of cash back.
The package went to North Carolina and bounced back and forth between Chapel Hill and Raleigh for about a week.
Today, long after it was supposed to have been delivered, my mail carrier showed up and the box was crushed. One of my fears had been that I’d get a smashed box full of razor shards (apart from the pair of these there was one other, which I’ll get to later — I need to secure a few things first.)
I ran into the kitchen to open it up and inside were two razors and three sheets of bubble wrap. The shipper hadn’t taped up anything, just loosely wrapped them and stuck it in a flat rate box. When the package got smooshed, one of the razors slipped out. Who knows where it is.
If you see one exactly like this show up for sale somewhere, please PM me!
Anyway.
Attachment 296164
This represents a very late resurrection of John Barber’s brand by his grandson, John Arthur Warburton Barber. He rented the mark from his mother in the late 1860’s and hired on enough hands to make some very nice cutlery.
It’s barely visible here, but the blade etch and all the stamping had a gold wash. I should mention I’ve done no work on this other than briefly attempt to clean the stamp enough to see the gold. Of course it came out along witht he muck that was obscuring it.
Attachment 296165
The blade grind is concaved on both sides with the cavity crocus polished and the flat face etched to a uniform frosting.
All by itself I would’ve wanted this, but there’s more.
Attachment 296166
Attachment 296167
Attachment 296168
That quite long line of scrimshaw says “Mr. Will Wagner is our only Agent at Odessa, John Barber & Son”.
What’s all this?
William Wagner was a German businessman in partnership with two Italian brothers by imperial appointment as importers once things normalized after the Crimean war, in the mid 1850’s. The small British expat community thought very highly of Mr. Wagner.
The pile side stamp was gold washed too, and that escutcheon plate on the front is silver. Both scales are high-grade ivory.
And one of them is lost to the viscitudes of shipping.
