Thread: Nowill 6/8 Sheffield Wedge

In Blonde Horn with integral wedge, looks like a true wedge razor to me more or less!
I'm pretty pleased with it
Might clean the scales up a little if I can, but probably won't do much to the razor

Info from Taylors1000 Website:
JOHN NOWILL (NOWELL) & SONS
Nowill Cutlery Works, Scotland St., Sheffield
1700 - present Nowill John & Sons, pen, pocket, table and fruit knife, razor, &c. manfrsFrom Whites Directory of Sheffield 1852
“KrossKeys” Razor











Incidentally an almost identical razor, but with a different tang stamp, sold though the Taylors1000 website previously

Anyway - enjoy
P

These Nowill knives and razors are starting to haunt me! Thanks for sharing the pics of yours, lovely scales on this one. I stumbled across one of these then stumbled across 20 of them that were unused but had water damage in a job lot I got. Some of them are marked the same as yours, some of them John Nowill and Sons and I have a Taylors 1000 as well.

On another forum I frequent somebody posted a pic of a knife and a lady I know mentioned Nowill and Sons and said how she wished it were hers. I asked her why she wanted one and it turns out her maiden name is Nowill and her father was one of the last to be making them. She now has a razor or two coming her way when I clean them up!

To top it off I went to my wife's uncle's yesterday in Wolverhampton and he pulled out a massive military diver's knife with MOD issue numbers on it. Sure enough, it was stamped John Nowill and Sons. These things are following me now, it made me smile when I saw the title of your post!

They are true wedges, I've found they take a bit of work to get a decent bevel set but once you do they shave well. I believe they were made for the average man with little disposable income from what my friend told me and due to low costs they produced a lot of knives and razors. She also said her family travelled to America to punt their wares in World Fairs and similar so they were well travelled razors. Yours looks unused to me. Enjoy using it and thanks again for sharing!

I believe they still make Nowill branded knives for the UK military today, however they company itself was bought out in the 50's, it's just the trade name these days iirc

Ya that sounds about right, I think this lady's father stopped making in the 60's and she mentioned the name is still in use for production of knives but no longer has anything to do with her family. Can I ask where you found this one? I scour the charity shops in Northampton and have never seen a straight, I think they throw them away for fear of the knife culture red tape...

Ebay can be your best friend, or worst enemy! This was an ebay gamble, and I paid more than I would usually bid, but I kind of fell for it
I do find them in antique shops, usually for under £10, however I also have never seen them in charity shops, although I do keep looking. This is the first Nowill I've come across, although I've seen them on the net before.

I try to avoid even looking on ebay thesedays, I have too many razors! Sometimes I just need to look though. I keep searching for barber's hones but don't have any joy, it seems everything razor related is in America. Antique shops always get a look in when I get a chance but you see a lot of overpriced razors more often than not. Shame about the lack of razors in charity shops, at least I know it's not just this area.

I've noticed it's really hard to find barber's hones in the UK! We all have too many razors, or not enough depending on how you look at it!

I'll say, one's too many and a thousand's not enough! Sorry for the hijack here but I have to share;



And a few more awaiting restoration;



I love the translucent horn scales on yours, that really is a beauty!