From Sheffield with love show us your Bengalls

[stringer bean]

I got this one on a Buy It Now from the Bay. It's a TR Cadman and Sons, 11/16 full hollow. It has an etch "Made expressly for R. Burnett 70 Leith Street Edinburgh". It's an excellent shaver.

It also has a date scratched into the scales. 9/16/31

 

[Badkarma]

The only one I have now.

 

[Legion]

I never posted this one in this thread, so here it is. The nicest Bengall I have found, NOS with ivory scales.

 

[rbscebu]

My first T.R. Cadman Bengall from about the 1930's. Dutch point, ¾, full hollow grind with original Bakelite scales.

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The original price was 18/6 (18 shillings and 6 pence).

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Having the shank rear stamped ".... & SONS LTD" dates this SR at 1924 or later but before about 1940 and after when the scales were marked with "BENGALL".

 

[totorlekiller]

Here's one of mine. It's a 33/32

The image is gone on your original post, but I think I bought it from you

 

[rbscebu]

I like my first ¾ Bengall so much that I then purchased ⅝ Bengall, Dutch (round) point, full hollow, of the same era as my original ¾.

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The ⅝ was even more enjoyable than the ¾. This got me thinking that I need (or is that want) another.

 

[Legion]

My first T.R. Cadman Bengall from about the 1930's. Dutch point, ¾, full hollow grind with original Bakelite scales.

View attachment 1329978

View attachment 1329976

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The original price was 18/6 (18 shillings and 6 pence).

View attachment 1329979
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Having the shank rear stamped ".... & SONS LTD" dates this SR at 1924 or later but before about 1940 and after when the scales were marked with "BENGALL".

Why do you think the scales were marked Bengall only after 1940? I’ve had some I’m pretty sure predate that with the stamped scales.

 

[rbscebu]

I then sourced my third Bengall, another ⅝. This was the same as my other ⅝ except that it was "modern" being marked "BENGALL" on its original scales.

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Here are my first two ⅝ Bengalls together.

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[rbscebu]

Why do you think the scales were marked Bengall only after 1940? I’ve had some I’m pretty sure predate that with the stamped scales.

The story I heard from a couple of separate antique dealers (not confirmed) was that T.R. Cadman & Sons Ltd did not start to mark their scales with "BENGALL" until after WWII. It could just be a rumour.

The scales are of Bakelite that is formed in a mould. The "BENGALL" marking is integral with the mould. The UK war effort restricted Cadman from replacing their scales moulds until after WWII. That's what I was told.

 

[Legion]

The story I heard from a couple of separate antique dealers (not confirmed) was that T.R. Cadman & Sons Ltd did not start to mark their scales with "BENGALL" until after WWII. It could just be a rumour.

That A Edments one on the previous page is from the early 30’s, from the blade design, and it has the name on the scales. I’m pretty sure the Edments stores were gone, post war, but there were still a number of them in the early 30’s. A Edments himself died in 1909.

Antique dealers like to say stuff to sound knowledgeable, but in my experience they are not the most reliable source of info. It's like if they ever admit to not knowing something you might start questioning their pricing methodology (think of a number, then double it).

Even with the benefit of Google, it’s hard to find any solid info on this stuff. You kind of have to spend ages cobbling together little bits if info.

 

[rbscebu]

After my one ¾ and two ⅝ Bengalls, I was offered another ¾at a price too good to refuse. This was another ¾ Bengall, also Dutch (round) point, full hollow but manufactured prior to 1924 with ".... & SONS" only on the shank rear side.

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[rbscebu]

My next Bengall was a ⅝ Dutch (round) point, although it could have been an American (square) point that had been rounded off, I sourced from a dealer in South Australia via a friend. This SR was was also pre 1924. It needed a bit cleaning up when I got it, but nothing too difficult.

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It took a while for this SR to get to me. While waiting I realised that I was getting towards a seven-day set of Bengalls. I found a nice new soft seven-day set case available from the UK so purchased that to help keep them in order.

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Now all I need is another two more ⅝ Bengalls to complete the set with the ¾ Bengalls (RH side) for the weekend.

 

[steveclarkus]

 

[steveclarkus]

View attachment 1330148
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[rbscebu]

I picked up this Bengal near wedge, great little shaver. Anyone got any idea as to its age?View attachment 1031583View attachment 1031584View attachment 1031585View attachment 1031583View attachment 1031584

Between 1890 and 1924 when the firm incorporated. At about incorporation, the rear shank stamping was changed from ".... & SONS" to ".... & SONS LTD".

 

[rbscebu]

I picked up this Bengal near wedge, great little shaver. Anyone got any idea as to its age?View attachment 1031583View attachment 1031584View attachment 1031585View attachment 1031583View attachment 1031584

All my pre 1924 Bengalls are ground with stabilisers. This could indicate that yours (without stabilisers) is closer to the 1890's date.

 

[Jakebullet]

Thanks a lot for this, I had no idea the thing was so old! A few notable events along the way:-

in July 1890 Vincent Van Gogh died after shooting himself 2 days earlier.
On June 25, 1891, the character Sherlock Holmes, appeared in The Strand magazine for the first time.

September 28, 1891, Herman Melville, author of Moby Dick, died in New York City at the age of 72.

March 4, 1893: Grover Cleveland was inaugurated as president of the United States for the second time

1895 Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, arranged in his will for his estate to fund the Nobel Prize

April 1896: The first modern Olympic games, the idea of Pierre de Coubertin, are held in Athens, Greece.

July 1897: The Klondike Gold Rush began in Alaska.

April 25, 1898: The United States declared war on Spain.

1893, New Zealand becomes the first country to grant women the vote.

1895 Benz Velo. Along with its contemporary Duryea Motor Wagon, those vehicles were considered the earliest standardized cars. The 1890s also saw further developments in the history of the automobile.

1905 Albert Einstein published his theory of Special Relativity

1915 Einstein published his theory of General Relativity which predicts the Big Bang, Black Holes the interactions of space and time and provided a geometric view of the law of gravity.

1919 Jack Dempsey beats Jess Willard for the World Heavyweight Title

 

[bernie01]

https://imgur.com/Bm4Zxrk

https://imgur.com/yfn33uQ

 

[Jakebullet]

I made some new scales for mine a few months back on another thread.
Its a near wedge and has a great smooth coticule edge on it which it seems to really like. It’s coming up due for a touch up, I think I’ll see how it likes an edge from my jnat.

 

[loatheb]

I won a unique bengall with gold wash and name on scale. Never seen a similar one in wild. I think gentlemen here would love to see this.