I'd guess that each maker had deluxe razors and basic models.
Yes and often 'pick of the crop'/deluxe razors from Sheffield were supplied to central London luxury retailers like Drew Piccadilly, Deane Sloane Street, Asprey Bond Street (ivory scales, precious wood boxes/gentlemen's travel kits and frequently with only the store name indicated). I'd guess the same for central Paris (Galeries Lafayette) from Thiers, and Berlin (KaDeWe) from Solingen.
Okay, kind of like a boxed set of screw drivers....LOL!!
Yes and often 'pick of the crop'/deluxe razors from Sheffield were supplied to central London luxury retailers like Drew Piccadilly, Deane Sloane Street, Asprey Bond Street (ivory scales, precious wood boxes/gentlemen's travel kits and frequently with only the store name indicated). I'd guess the same for central Paris (Galeries Lafayette) from Thiers, and Berlin (KaDeWe) from Solingen.
Did these retailers go to any particular cutler or would just randomly select one that met their standards?
Hi allThis is just one man’s opinion, but I believe there were quite a few brands that produced a high end model for the wealthy. You could say the Heljestrand MK29-33 would have been luxurious back in the day for Sweden. In Germany I’d say ERN would be a likely candidate as a luxury maker, but there were many small houses that would have produced luxury razors. The same goes for Sheffield blade makers, W&B, Fredrick Reynolds’s, Joseph Allen, F Fenny, Greaves etc, all would have higher end models. We can’t forget about the French manufacturing sector, they produced some amazing blades too! I’m sure someone like @Mango could tell us the very best!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I can't speak for other areas, but in Sheffield there were the well known cutlery factories, plus a myriad of Little Mesters, which today we would recognise as artisan makers. From what I can gather, brands carried less weight than they do today, and people were more loyal to their retailers than to brands. There was also a lot of sub-contracting taking place, with various companies and individuals making blanks or doing various processing for each other, depending on who was busy and who wasn't.
People had their preferred retailers, and retailers had their preferred suppliers. These would change as time went by. There wasn't the scope for individuals to buy any model from any brand like there is with the internet today. You either bought what your shop had in stock, or you placed a custom order, and got something made to your specifications. Most likely you'd look through the razors on sale in the shop, and find the nicest that you could afford, irrespective of who made it. The name stamped in it was less relevant than the looks of the razor and what the scales were made of.