6 Attachment(s)
Living up to my byline: a razor by Samuel Creswick
Attachment 306387
Samuel Creswick was born February 24 in either 1681 or 1682 to Godfrey Creswick and Elizabeth Sampson. As a young teen, he was indentured to his uncle Thomas Creswick and freed in 1702, even though his father was also a cutler.
Attachment 306388
The annotation on that says that in 1756 the mark was removed from circulation “not to be let again”). It did pass to his son, and his son’s son, but his grandson’s mark had the pipe reversed. Unlike Sketchley’s or Gales & Martin, I trust the printing of the mark in the Cutler’s Company’s book of marks to be accurate!
This is a seriously odd razor. It’s odd enough that I feel fairly confident saying it was made a lot closer to 1702 than 1752.
Attachment 306389
For starters, the maker’s mark is mid-blade, much like the oldest razors I’ve seen. Well, at least the oldest ones I’ve seen that have makers marks on them.
For a follow up, it has a defined tang!
Attachment 306390
That divot is slightly bent, so it’s damage, not from having been ground flat.
That said, this is in remarkable condition for a razor of its age. There is comparatively very, very little hone wear.
The scales are aaaaancient bone. Almost certainly original.
And then there’s this tail.
Attachment 306391
I’ve never seen anything quite like that, even the ones ScienceGuy has with the weird, super-long tail. That said, this one is surprisingly comfortable in a standard shaving position (and you can very well bet I’m going to be honing this one!).
Another odd feature is that the spine has a ridge down it.
Attachment 306392
You can see it there — I was hoping for a maker’s name, but I feel relatively confident this was Samuel (1681) and not his son, Samuel (1716). You can also see what Fikira calls the ‘dip-at-toe’, as well as it’s brother-feature, the dip to the pivot.
The Creswick clan were everywhere in the late 1600’s and early 1700’s but fall completely out of the Cutler’s Company’s records by 1800. There are no Creswick indentures or freedoms later than 1799 and there are precious few listed in the trade directories working in cutlery. It’s a bit mysterious!
What isn’t mysterious is that this is a very, very old Sheffield razor. Quite likely the oldest I have seen. The design features make me pretty certain of that, especially that mid-blade stamp.
I am very excited by the prospect of shaving with it!
