Thread: Info Please: Joseph Rodgers & Sons 7 Day Razor Set.

Dear all,

firstly hello, this is my first post having joined the forum this morning.

A little background. On my 18th birthday some years ago my Mother bought for me a full 7 day straight razor set. The set is beautiful, comes in a leather and compacted paper blue case with a crest that reads "Joseph Rodgers & Sons...Norfolk Street etc" Then "Cutlers to HER Majesty".

The set itself are gorgeous, 7 razors in silver steel, all engraved with the days of the week. The blades...from what I can tell...are pristine, very little pitting, no rust etc. The Stamp on the blades reads "Joseph Rodgers & Sons etc" "Cutlers to THEIR Majesties".

From what I can decipher from these forums and other websites these are quite old, and obviously fall within Queen Victoria's reign but if anyone knows of specific dates for the 7 day sets that would be fantastic.

A quick description...apologies, but i'm in the office at the mo, but will upload pictures this evening.

They are silver steel blades with ivory handles, the handles are all immaculate, no marks or cracks, and from what i've learnt from reading on here, no issues with the 'pins'. The engraving of the days of the week on the spine is very intricate and there is a floral design at each end of the spine as a mirror image. The blades have no engraving on them at all.

The blades themselves are very thick, and the measurement from tip to top of the spine is 19.5mm, I know very little about razors and am unsure what this measurement converts to in /8's so if anyone could tell me I would appreciate it.

Now...to the crux of my post, would anyone please advise me how I go about getting these prepared for use? I understand these may have some value but selling is not of interest to me and I think having them sitting unused and unappreciated in a drawer as they have for the last 12 years is a waste of such a beautiful product. Is this a process I can undertake myself or would a professional be better served?

Also although I am not interested in selling these, is there anywhere online etc where I could get an approximate value? I've seen similar individual blades from broken sets go for anything from $20 to $150 and if this set may be of value I feel I should get them covered on my contents insurance.

I would appreciate all feedback given, and apologise if I've just added another topic to an over indulged pre-existing thread.

I will put up as many photos as possible later this evening, but in advance, what type of pictures would be of interest to the forum members?

Regards

I would probably just send them out to be honed.

It would be a shame to put some ugly honewear one these while learning to hone.

Please send us detailled pictures. Very interesting.
And... like Slartibartfast already told you...
send it to a Pro for honing.

Will do! Looks like i'll be getting the camera out when I get home!

Originally Posted by eTom

Please send us detailled pictures. Very interesting.
And... like Slartibartfast already told you...
send it to a Pro for honing.

Apologies for the poor quality, turns out I'm not much of a photographer, I'm also concerned that the pitting shows up in much greater detail with a HD DSLR.

The whole set is in very good condition, from what I can see - blades, handles and also the box. All the razors are there. All this are points, that making the value higher. In my very personal opinion this set will have a minimum value from 700,- €, perhaps much more.

The blade size is 6/8. Because of the condition and value from this little treasure I recommend strongly not to self-restore it. The danger to destroy something is too high for someone without experience. In my eyes this is a case of as little restauration, as possible. No exessive use of buffers, if not absolutelly necessary no depinning, honing with taped spine, etc.

Thanks for the reply...what would be the chance of buying a similar set? Difficult or doable? Have spoken to my insurance company and they want a valuation certificate so will be taking them to a dealer in london as soon as possible.

The chance to buy a similar set is very low. I´m not shure, that I seen one in this conditions somewhere in the last years.

Originally Posted by Bleeta

What would be the chance of buying a similar set?

You asked what the chances are, but first lets look at what the actual odds are:

You have a complete set of seven beautiful, highly-regarded razors without major flaws all in the original case which is in very nice condition. The set is pre-1890, perhaps much older, and given its age very well preserved.

Lets assume you have a professional here give them a VERY light cleaning up and professional honing to shave-readiness. I can't tell from the pics whether or not they are marked somehow for each day of the week, but just for fun, I'll assume they are.

What are the odds of there being another set like it?

IF, (and it's a big if), you can even find another set of these;

The odds of all seven blades being rust free are 1 in 49.

The odds of all seven blades being un-chipped so that, after honing, you are shaving with the orignal profile that Rogers made: 1 in 49.

The odds of all 14 pins being undamaged: 1 in 196.

The odds of all 14 scales being undamaged: 1 in 196.

The odds of all 14 scales being unwarped: 1 in 196.

Since the failure of ANY ONE of the above puts the entire set out of contention, then:

The odds of there being another set like it are: 1 in 8,858,423,280,900. IF you could find one. ;>

If the blades are not marked for each day of the week, then your odds are MUCH better: 1 in 941,192! (Yay!)


Those are your odds. But either way, your chances are precisely 2:

Slim, and None. ;>

The value given previously of 700 pounds may be accurate, but I'd treat them as priceless.

Congratulations. Beautiful set.

Wow! You just made my night! Thanks! So I'm assuming the £30 my mum paid in '99 was a bargain!

I really do appreciate all your replies, can't wait for my first shave with them now!

And a small update, pins are all fine, and there is no rust on any of the blades, also I've looked at all 7 blades with a magnifying glass and there are no chips, beyond that I know nothing of scales sorry!