Evvaa said:
Just a quicky
Is there any way to date a straight?
thanks in advance
I would suggest taking it out for an informal meal or drink first, being attentive and on your best behaviour, and see how it goes from there...
Seriously, apart from styles in grind, shape, tang, scales (which are only gross indicators and not that reliable) you really have to know a bit about the maker, when they first started trading and when they ceased trading. I doubt that the number on the box will help much. In your case, you have a broad window of about 1899 - 1923 to focus on. The early ones are somewhat chunkier usually, but not always, and some were ground in Germany before a grinder was found in Sheffield. The early scales tend to be more rounded, the later ones bevel-edged - again, not a great indicator, though.
Kropp, of course, were a famous english company which was spread between Manchester, Sheffield and London. The owners were Osborne, Garret & Co. Ltd, Kropp being a trademark. They marketed several brands of razor apart from the Kropp, including the Elmo, Osgar, Ogee and Cararra - all well-regarded razors. They really do deserve to be better regarded than they are - they are a match for most of the Solingen razors I have come across.
Regards,
Neil