Thread: John Barber, ring tail

I just got this John Barber in the mail.

Looks like a pair of scissors turned into a razor!

Agree, anybody knows whats up with that "ring tail"?

no info but i like it .. !!!!!

Looks like is was braised or welded on .. could have been reheated and drawn out and curled too...I don't think there would have been Enough metal on an old stub tail to do that though, kinda does resemble a half scissor. Cool! Never seen one like that, though I doubt it's original.

Whoa, that is cool! I've seen some modern ringtail razors but they were scale-less and I think more for grooming. Cool razor!

Originally Posted by Martin103

Looks like a pair of scissors turned into a razor!

me thinks the same,very creative

While it definitely looks like a scissors that's been heavily modified, if it were, the pivot would be up near the shoulder of the blade. I suppose it's possible an especially beefy set of shears have been ground down, but all of these suppositions fail considering there's no record of John Barber (or the Colleys or Elliotts who owned the mark later) making scissors. Scissors, in fact, were a completely separate union from razors and made from fairly different steel.

Much more likely is that this is an extremely unusual razor design, probably much later than the 'typical' period for John Barber (1810-1830). I'd guess it dates to the first resurrection of the Barber mark in 1864 when John Arthur Warburton Barber was using it. That business had failed by the mid 1870's. It later got bought first by Hall & Colley and then Joseph Elliott.

It looks to have been modified to me. I know razors were used for fighting purposes back when. I can see an index finger whipping that open and holding it stable for a slash! A piece of history, for certain!

Well, I am another that thinks it was modified post manufacture. Would nice to know for sure one way or the other. Doesn't make it any less interesting though.

Bob