Bric-a-Brac Shop Find

moodymick

moodymick

Messages
3,833
Location
Here during the working week but there at weekends
Never thought i would be posting in this area, as i always thought that straight shaving was a bit too much faff, compared with blade in - blade out.

However, finding the below in a Bric-a-Brac shop for the princely sum of £2 and buying it, if for no other reason than curiosities sake, seemed a no-brainer.

I do not know anything about it, other than what i can see. There are markings as you can see and there is also a hairline crack on the plastic by one of the pins (although there is no movement in the crack) and is photographed as found.

So the questions are: good find? decent maker? size?

All i need now is to brave myself up, in the future, to get it sharpened(?) and stuff. :?

dsc01320wk.jpg

dsc01321u.jpg

dsc01322t.jpg

dsc01328.jpg
 
Looks good to me: jimps top and bottom and ivory (?) scales suggest a superior item. It's a similar grind to the razor I started out with, solid and dependable, but don't expect it to give you much audible feedback. The width is measured from the spine arris to the edge and generally expressed in eighths - looks like about a 5/8 from the pics. Yes, it's a good find, and will doubtless be well worth sending off for honing. Here's the relevant SRP wiki links:
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://straightrazorplace.com/srpwiki/index.php/Brookes_%26_Crookes" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://straightrazorplace.com/srpwiki/i ... 26_Crookes</a><!-- m -->
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://straightrazorplace.com/srpwiki/index.php/Brookes_%26_Crookes_%22No_2_from_set%22_7/8" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://straightrazorplace.com/srpwiki/i ... set%22_7/8</a><!-- m -->
Neil will no doubt give you chapter and verse shortly.
 
I concur with Arrowhead - a nice older Brookes & Crookes, part of a seven day set (the day of the week was usually engraved in the scalloped area on top of the spine) and the ivory scales point at the upper end of the market. Looks in pretty good condition, too, so a nice find!

The firm can be traced back to when cutler John Brookes set up in Broomhall Street. In 1858 he joined forces with Thomas Crookes, buying a warehouse store and grinding mill at St Phillips road, the Atlantic Works. The 1859 Sheffield Directory lists them as makes of spring-knives and dressing case instruments. Brookes retired early, leaving Crookes to take over the business, soon to be helped by his two sons. The company was a latecomer to the business, and even at its peak it only employed 200 or so hands, compared to the 2000 or so employed by Rodgers. But they made up for this in the quality of their items, winning a string of awards and medals. They were distinguished in the 1862 London Exhibition and won the only gold medal in the 1867 Paris Exhibition. They won first place in Philadelphia in 1876 and another gold medal in Paris in 1878. The 20th century saw a fall in demand for their top-quality items, and their slow downfall, helped by the two world wars - a fate common to the vast majority of Sheffield razor makers - ended in 1957 when the Atlantic works was closed, its stock sold off and the factory demolished.

A split on one or both sides of ivory scales is quite common. The material flexes a lot with heat, cold and ambient moisture levels, so if there is not a little play in the pinhole the inevitable happens. In the majority of cases I have seen it appears most often on the rear scale - odd! Not always, but enough to bring it to notice.

Regards,
Neil
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom