James Barlow 7/8 Echo Trademark

A long term collectible that I couldn't pass up. The sellers description wasn't a hundred percent accurate...but within an 1/8th, so I'm not too bent about it. :p I thought it'd need a lot more work than it's shaping up to take. I wouldn't call it restored just yet. But good enough for the foreseeable future. James Barlow made razors in the early 1800's and died in the 1850's I believe. His sons took over at some point. I'm thinking this is a mid 1800's model. Seems to be in keeping with the design of the times. But I'm not sure how to figure out if this was the first James Barlow, or his son, who built this razor. Either way, with a full hollow grind, smiling edge, mid 1800 build date, mottled horn scales with an escucheon plate, and round-ish point...it was just up my alley.

Nice razor :) It is amazing to me how many old scales have writing scrawled into them (looks like a "4" in the second pic). I guess guys were trying to claim their favorite shavers :)

Yeah I guess it made sense. If you had 4 shavers in one household, then maybe you labeled them thusly. :p It has some letters in there too actually. A W, and something else. I also figured if you were traveling, as many were in the mid 1800's, you'd want to keep most of your belongings labeled some way or the other. 3 dollars was a lot of money, and if you're headed west, who knows when you might come up on another place to pick one up. Ofc, this razor came from CT, so..I guess it never went West. Unless it went and came back. But it's altogether possible I suppose that it sat in someone's luggage on the Union Pacific line. Ah the stories it might tell...