HISTORY?

Ideas? I've searched the Web and have found very little background on this.
I recently acquired this piece, and would be interested in hearing more about its history.....


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Hi Evil-Einstein and welcome to DFS.  We have several straight razor enthusiasts so perhaps they can chime in.  caleb31BadDad, Pete123, anyone else, ideas?

Ideas? I've searched the Web and have found very little background on this.
I recently acquired this piece, and would be interested in hearing more about its history.....


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Makers mark is: C. Hall's. Insured razor sheffield

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Evil-Einstein , welcome to DFS. This is a great group of folks. I'm certainly not a straight razor historian, though will give this my best shot.

Back in the day, there were thousands and thousands of straight razor manufacturers. On top of that, there were a lot of private label razors. For example, C. Clark could be a hardware store.

The most interesting thing to me is that it is marked 'insured'. I've never seen that before. I see 'warranted' or 'guaranteed', but not insured. This makes me wonder if it is really old, from a time when 'insured' mean something different from today.

I have an old civil era war gun that has three notches carved in the stock. I'll never know the true story. I like to think that it was a man marking the birth of his daughters and not from people he killed.

My best guess, which is just that - a guess, is that the razor isn't particularly valuable from a monetary viewpoint, though that doesn't mean it isn't a great find and shaver.

The top of the blade is called the spine. I can't tell from the picture, though if the flat looking area at the top of the blade is flat, then it has been honed incorrectly for far too long.

Tell us a little more and we may be able to help more. Are you new to straight razors and wanting to give it a try? Is that razor a family heirloom? etc...

http://www.uniclectica.com/misc/manuf.html

The only "Hall" I could find there is Jonathon Hall, which clearly is not the same...

As Pete123 said, there were a LOT of makers, and a lot of makers that sold unmarked blanks and blades to various stores and outlets for resale.

In about 1890, trade laws were enacted in England that required cutlery makers to stamp a Country of Origin, along with, or instead of, a city of manufacture. Being that this blade is stamped "SHEFFIELD", but Not "ENG" or "England", would lead to a soft conclusion that it was made before 1890, but take that with a grain of salt, as I am repeating it from memory, and it may be a skewed statement, albeit unintentionally so...

http://www.uniclectica.com/misc/manuf.html

The only "Hall" I could find there is Jonathon Hall, which clearly is not the same...

As Pete123 said, there were a LOT of makers, and a lot of makers that sold unmarked blanks and blades to various stores and outlets for resale.

In about 1890, trade laws were enacted in England that required cutlery makers to stamp a Country of Origin, along with, or instead of, a city of manufacture. Being that this blade is stamped "SHEFFIELD", but Not "ENG" or "England", would lead to a soft conclusion that it was made before 1890, but take that with a grain of salt, as I am repeating it from memory, and it may be a skewed statement, albeit unintentionally so...

I found reference to Clark and Hall in a makers list. That's the closest I could come....
If you put it in word for word there is one example that was sold on UK Ebay, but auction ended and no true history of it.



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C Hall's can be just another maker lost to time. Looks like is has some life left and the scales like ivory. This is my Clark & Hall, a very early stub tail. A very different animal.

Evil-Einstein , welcome to DFS. This is a great group of folks. I'm certainly not a straight razor historian, though will give this my best shot.

Back in the day, there were thousands and thousands of straight razor manufacturers. On top of that, there were a lot of private label razors. For example, C. Clark could be a hardware store.

The most interesting thing to me is that it is marked 'insured'. I've never seen that before. I see 'warranted' or 'guaranteed', but not insured. This makes me wonder if it is really old, from a time when 'insured' mean something different from today.

I have an old civil era war gun that has three notches carved in the stock. I'll never know the true story. I like to think that it was a man marking the birth of his daughters and not from people he killed.

My best guess, which is just that - a guess, is that the razor isn't particularly valuable from a monetary viewpoint, though that doesn't mean it isn't a great find and shaver.

The top of the blade is called the spine. I can't tell from the picture, though if the flat looking area at the top of the blade is flat, then it has been honed incorrectly for far too long.

Tell us a little more and we may be able to help more. Are you new to straight razors and wanting to give it a try? Is that razor a family heirloom? etc...

I appreciate the welcome~

Not sure if I'm still a newbie, but probably pretty close.... enjoying the learning process.


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C Hall's can be just another maker lost to time. Looks like is has some life left and the scales like ivory. This is my Clark & Hall, a very early stub tail. A very different animal.

Thanks for the pics. I guess it's simply a curiosity thing that we all have- I've enjoyed the search more than any outcome....

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C Hall's can be just another maker lost to time. Looks like is has some life left and the scales like ivory. This is my Clark & Hall, a very early stub tail. A very different animal.

Thanks for the pics. I guess it's simply a curiosity thing that we all have- I've enjoyed the search more than any outcome....

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So you've discovered the motivation behind the hobby...

Welcome to DFS! I'm looking forward to seeing more of your Straight Razor story!


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