Thread: A "Large" Acquisition...

I picked this razor up on E-bay in a lot of 5......When it first caught my eye, what I liked about it was its shape... the blade almost "droops" a bit from the tang. It reminds me a lot of the shape of the old Greaves razors.



Now..this razor is stamped "Wm Stenton & Son -- Again -- Superior"

So..who is William Stenton?

Before I decided to bid on this razor, I decided to try my darndest to find out. Hogaloo helped me, and we spent half of a morning (at work, mind you...) googling up the name..

In the 1830's the two Georges entered a partnership with William Stenton, a buyer for Naylor and Sanderson's of Sheffield. William Stenton opened up markets in America for the surplus stock that the Wostenholms had on their hands in the 1830's

We found several other sources that suggested he ended up moving to New York..and while he was there he continued to import razors from Sheffield. We can theorize that he knew the American market well enough to make a living after moving over here.

I found references to a continued partnership with Wostenholm, and another document here:

The Commercial Advertiser directory ... - Google Books

That might suggest he was also involved with Tally Ho razors.

He sold razors from New York between 1846-1860. This time period fits this razor very well.

Here are a few more pics. I know, they suck. The next pics you'll see of this one..will be in the gallery...in about 2-3 months from now..fully restored.

First pic, toe to toe with a 9/8 W&B Celebrated for Barbers use



2nd pic...the grind. probably one of the wedgiest of the "huge" mid 1800s blades



3rd pic.. alongside the W&B 9/8 and a W&B 8/8



It measures a FULL 19/16.



another overall pic

Thats quite cool, Brad! Great work on your research!

Holy schnikeys...I think that thing had a cameo in Apocalypse now....

Awsome find, and excellent research.

What a cleaver...wow!! A true wedge profile-pretty rare, and especially in those gargantuan dimensions. When you get it honed, there will be no need to shave; the whiskers will flee in terror!

Beautiful. I'm a sucker for the Sheffield oldies. I would be surprised if it's a true wedge in the literal sense.

Chris L

Holy Cats...a shaver and prime-rib cleaver! NICE!

Well, I'm happy to know I lost the auction to you, Brad! Beautiful razor, that, and you've done a great job researching!

Enjoy that beast.

Originally Posted by BKratchmer

Well, I'm happy to know I lost the auction to you, Brad! Beautiful razor, that, and you've done a great job researching!

Enjoy that beast.

I was surprised it went so low! come on BK, you can do better than that!

in all honestly..my snipe was considerable higher so, thanks for holding off!!!

Originally Posted by Undream

I was surprised it went so low! come on BK, you can do better than that!

in all honestly..my snipe was considerable higher so, thanks for holding off!!!

Thank your lucky stars I'm a college student. In my little ramen noodle world, I was wagerin' the whole farm against that there spatula.

What are you going to scale her up in? I'm imagining your lustrous work with horn... mm....

We'll see.. I am leaning horn obviously, but, whever it is will be very simple with big hardware to match, I dont like to get too fancy. I'm just eager to stick some 1.25"+ wide planks of whatever material on each side of it. It nearly pokes out the bottom of those popsicle stick scales.