Thread: Big Yankee Steel?

Ok, I'm in on this one: here are a 13/16 American Knife Co. Plymouth 1/4 hollow ground, a 13/16 hollow ground Holley Lakeville, 13/16 Holley Lakeville wedge, and a 7/8 hollow ground Worcester. All are fine shavers! Cheers!

Nice blades, Croaker. I especially like 2 and 3 (3 looks quite English, and I like that).

Originally Posted by holli4pirating

Nice blades, Croaker. I especially like 2 and 3 (3 looks quite English, and I like that).

Interesting and absolutely correct that you should say that, because Mr. Holley brought in some unnamed English cutlers to make razors for him in Lakeville Conn. in 1846. My wedge looks to be that old.

Gorgeous...but number one looks eerily familiar...

Originally Posted by JimR

Gorgeous...but number one looks eerily familiar...

Jim, yours sure does look like it has the identical blade pattern as mine. (check your cabinets; the Croaker may have absconded with it one dark night.. and altered the markings!) Maybe the American Knife Co. imported from Beardsley and Alvord and just put their own name on them? I think the groove was to reduce blade weight. Even so, it is a beefy cutter.

Originally Posted by Croaker

Jim, yours sure does look like it has the identical blade pattern as mine. (check your cabinets; the Croaker may have absconded with it one dark night.. and altered the markings!) Maybe the American Knife Co. imported from Beardsley and Alvord and just put their own name on them? I think the groove was to reduce blade weight. Even so, it is a beefy cutter.

No, no, mine is sitting there still, taunting me with it's size. I wonder ...Beardsley and Alvord were in Winsted, CT--not too far from Plymouth, MA as things go. There could have been come collaboration. DO you have any info on the American Knife Co.? They may have had the same knifemakers, actually.

I just found this Thistle Cut a few days ago in a local shop. It's a 7/8s and looks to be 3/4 hollow. I originally posted the blade here: http://www.straightrazorplace.com/fo...ish-razor.html

Gonna shave with it later today. I'll see if I can get a better pic for SOTD.

Originally Posted by JimR

No, no, mine is sitting there still, taunting me with it's size. I wonder ...Beardsley and Alvord were in Winsted, CT--not too far from Plymouth, MA as things go. There could have been come collaboration. DO you have any info on the American Knife Co.? They may have had the same knifemakers, actually.

Jim, Goins' was quite helpful here. It turns out that there were two different Connecticut companies called the American Knife Company. One was in Thomaston ( where mine had to have been made) and the other one was in Winstead.

American Knife Co. Thomaston Conn. c 1875-1895. The American Knife Company was founded in 1849 at Reynolds Bridge, Connecticut. (a section of Plymouth Hollow) The building was originally used as a carriage factory, and then as a brass clock factory. The MOrse & Blakeslee Clock Company, on what is now Reynolds Bridge Road, was sold to the American Knife Company for the manufacture of cutlery in 1849. Mr. Daniel Catlin was the manager of the firm. In 1875, the name of the town was changed to Thomaston. In 1894, the factory at Reynolds Bridge was sold to the Northfield Knife Company of Northfield Connecticut. Both the American and Northfield Knife Company were at Reynolds Bridge until 1895. After that, only the Northfield firm remained. The Northfield Knife Company was in Thomaston through 1908, after which they returned to Northfield Connecticut. The American Knife Company was for some years a thriving concern, employing at one time over one hundred workers.

Here's another example of Big Yankee Steel...

Could that Robeson have a 7/8+ blade? Sure looks like it! I'll it bet it is a remarkable shaver, besides looking imposing. Thanks for the pic-I had no idea Robesons grew that big.