Thread: Razor from the Revolutionary War! Only 30 years too late...

So, digging through my razor searches, I came across this. 100% Original Revolutionary War NH Doctor's Straight Razor & Case ID'ed!!

It's a pretty nice early razor, sure. But that story? My favorite bit is this: "Necks on very high end razors like this one begin to come in during the 1770s but do not take over till the 1790s on standard quality ones."

I wonder where the seller got this idea?

I wanted to have a look at this listing again this morning, so I was just browsing through one of my saved searches that brought it up the first time, when what do I find but this:

RARE STRAIGHT RAZOR WITH EAGLE ETCHING AND STAMPED HORN W/ HISTORY CIVIL WAR

Is it just me or does it look like that blade 'etching' is done with paint? After the rust was sanded off? Isn't it convenient how these come with old pieces of paper to tell you about their storied histories?

Right. It's good to know that if I ever get sufficiently strapped for cash that my ethics vanish I can make money by inventing stories for my razors and selling them on eBay.

That etching does look a little weird. I saw the "revolutionary war" one as well. It could be intentional mislabeling, or, if the note is from 1870s, that was 100 years after the razor was supposedly picked up, so it could be an authentic note from bad family memory.

Never heard of that bit on the necks though. Looks like an early 1800s razor to me.

Originally Posted by ScienceGuy

That etching does look a little weird. I saw the "revolutionary war" one as well. It could be intentional mislabeling, or, if the note is from 1870s, that was 100 years after the razor was supposedly picked up, so it could be an authentic note from bad family memory.

Never heard of that bit on the necks though. Looks like an early 1800s razor to me.

I immediately thought of this thread when I saw the Revolutionary War one.

I agree, it could be a mislabeling, but the bit about the 'necks' makes me think it's an intentional misrepresentation. That razor is almost certainly no older than 1810, and probably closer to 1820. It's a shame too, because with some careful restoration it'd be a nice razor. But it requires restoration due to that broken scale at the pivot, and as a 'Revolutionary War' artifact it probably won't ever get the care it needs.

I'd just really rather see something like that continue to be useful than be a prop for cheap drama.

The second razor , the one supposedly from the Civil war , had to have been made after 1890(?) , because it's stamped Sheffield England . At the time of the Civil war it would have been stamped Sheffield without England being added .

Originally Posted by dave5225

The second razor , the one supposedly from the Civil war , had to have been made after 1890(?) , because it's stamped Sheffield England . At the time of the Civil war it would have been stamped Sheffield without England being added .

Good catch! I was so hung up on the fake etch I completely forgot about the stamp.

Originally Posted by Voidmonster

So, digging through my razor searches, I came across this. 100% Original Revolutionary War NH Doctor's Straight Razor & Case ID'ed!!

It's a pretty nice early razor, sure. But that story? My favorite bit is this: "Necks on very high end razors like this one begin to come in during the 1770s but do not take over till the 1790s on standard quality ones."

I wonder where the seller got this idea?

I wanted to have a look at this listing again this morning, so I was just browsing through one of my saved searches that brought it up the first time, when what do I find but this:

RARE STRAIGHT RAZOR WITH EAGLE ETCHING AND STAMPED HORN W/ HISTORY CIVIL WAR

Is it just me or does it look like that blade 'etching' is done with paint? After the rust was sanded off? Isn't it convenient how these come with old pieces of paper to tell you about their storied histories?

Right. It's good to know that if I ever get sufficiently strapped for cash that my ethics vanish I can make money by inventing stories for my razors and selling them on eBay.

Don't allow your ethics to vanish. We already have enough politicians.

Originally Posted by Voidmonster

Good catch! I was so hung up on the fake etch I completely forgot about the stamp.

But what about that authentic handwritten note? Surely that could not be faked? I mean look at it, it's folded and torn and everything, there's no way someone could fabricate that without going to a whole lot of trouble

A little analysis and you could ID the exact ink used and the instrument for the writing.

I had my Grandma write me a note. She's 92. So I have one of those authentic 92 year old notes. Pretty cool.

I'm with Scienceguy on the note though. It could be an authentic note written by a misinformed family member 20 years ago. That exact model razor is listed in one of my books here as being dated 1890-1900. The etching looks identical in the book. I guess I'm the sucker that'd buy it, if I thought ANY razor was worth 400 bucks. Then again, I might buy a brand new one...I mean since I'm in dreamland where I can spend 400 bucks on a razor....

For those interested according to the seller of the Eagle etched razor the note reads as follows:

"THIS RAZOR WAS USED BY PHILIP YANT OF NAVANE? OHIO DIED JAN 29 1867 AGE 75 YEARS 1MO 11 DAYS . THEN WAS USED BY A SON JOSEPH YANT OF NORTH MANCHESTER INDIANA DIED AGE. THEN TO ANOTHER SON OF PHILIP YANT DANIEL YANT OF NAPA IDAHO DIED JAN 26 1911 BORN MARCH 29 1927 AGE 83 YRS 9MO 27 DAYS. THEN TO A GREAT GRANDSON OF PHILIP YANT ELMER GARBER? OF NAMPA IDAHO NOVEMBER 9 1909." , This was found with the razor in a local estate.