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Anyone knowledgeable about very early straight razors? I have something pretty crazy and am trying to find more info.

So I have this quite special old, very old wedge straight razor that I believe it was from the late 1700s or early 1800s. It was made in France and I acquired it while saying there. I was going around hunting for razors and barbershops and antique stores and they’re talking to a very old man who owned a barbershop for quite a while. Before I left he offered me this razor as a gift because he said that he saw that I was passionate about it and he wanted to go to someone who would care for it. It is a massive piece of steel, has no tang, and is a smiling wedge.

I can’t find a single example of another blade with the same markings. Well, I found a few photos of a Capuchin Knife made in the 1800’s and with the exact same “Tarniquet a Pezenas” engraving.

I am planning on getting custom scales for it and using it. I wanted to make sure that it’s not something so old/unique that it should be in a museum or something.

Check out the photos.
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I can't help a lot, but my opinion is...
From the shape and from the way it was stamped I'd say it could be from the mid to late 1800s. And I'd say the tail was cut off. If it was made without a tail I think it would be more rounded/smooth. Plus the tang would narrow more around the pivot hole. I'm guessing it's a 7/8? It might have been cut off to be used for another purpose.

Now, this is JMO. If you are going to rescale it, horn would be most proper. With no wear on the spine and no bevel to be seen I bet it will have a small bevel and shave well. Good luck and keep us informed on how it goes.
 
It does look as though the tail was cut off as it is not smoothly rounded. The shape of the blade does not look like the typical razors of the 1700s, but looks typical of razors from the mid 1800s. I could not find anything on Google about the manufacturer based on the razor stamping.

Either way, this is an interesting find and certainly worthy of a restoration.
 
I wish I can remember who said this, someone with a lot more razor knowledge than me anyway, said that no-tail razors were made for a lot longer in France than elsewhere. I'd concur with the gentlemen above that it's mid-19th century or so.

Tarniquet would be the merchant, or perhaps the maker, and Pézenas would be the city (it's in the south of France). Can you make out what's etched near the pivot hole?
 

Legion

Staff member
I wish I can remember who said this, someone with a lot more razor knowledge than me anyway, said that no-tail razors were made for a lot longer in France than elsewhere. I'd concur with the gentlemen above that it's mid-19th century or so.

Tarniquet would be the merchant, or perhaps the maker, and Pézenas would be the city (it's in the south of France). Can you make out what's etched near the pivot hole?
It might have been me. Yeah, my best guess is also mid 1800's on that one, and it would have been made sans tail, rather than it being cut off.
 
There were 7 day sets where there was 1 or two handles and 7 blades that sorta fit into the handle with some sort of mechanical tension thing that kept it all together during use. Sorta like a cantilever/cam sorta gizmo. I have seen two sets and the blades were profiled like this - mid 1800s I believe. I think Joe Edson restored a few sets like that and his website might have pix of them still. I do not have links. I could be way off with the connection because it has been several years since seeing them but it came to mind for some reason.

My first thoughts would be that someone ground/cut the tang down for some reason.
 
I agree on the dating mid 1800s, I have a few similar looking blades. I have a tailless French razor, but the tang is much longer. So I suspect that some of the tail was removed on this cas but can’t say for sure.
 
Nice razor. I am with @Bevel on this one.

I recently bought an IC Vincent Garanti and tried to do some research on French razors, I even deputized my daughter's boyfriend, who is French. Did not get very far. There seems to be a dearth of information about vintage French razors on the Internet. I would love to be proved wrong about this.
 
These are always difficult to date unless one can find an example in a book. French razors are more difficult as I believe small blacksmiths knocked out blanks in their spare time or when there was nothing else on work-wise.

I was going around hunting for razors and barbershops and antique stores and they’re talking to a very old man who owned a barbershop for quite a while.
Did you ask the old barber or was there a missed opportunity? He's likely the best source of information on it.

I am planning on getting custom scales for it and using it. I wanted to make sure that it’s not something so old/unique that it should be in a museum or something.
One thing I've noticed about all of the old French razors is they're all straight scales and are most likely cow horn but can be bone.

Tarniquet would be the merchant, or perhaps the maker, and Pézenas would be the city (it's in the south of France). Can you make out what's etched near the pivot hole?
It seems there is a street called "Rue Colonel Tarniquet, Pézenas". Colonel being a French word subsumed into English in the 1500's.
So there's a street in Pézenas named after a military man named Tarniquet which is an uncommon but real French surname and both pieces of information on the tang appear to point to a place rather than a merchant or manufacturer.
As you say the separate etch near the pivot hole may help.

On the Tail
I'm guessing but the simple tang links in with the theory that this was made by a blacksmith in a small run, ie not a specialist in razor making, who would put effort into a tail design.
It does look as though the tail was cut off as it is not smoothly rounded. The shape of the blade does not look like the typical razors of the 1700s, but looks typical of razors from the mid 1800s.
I don't think the tail was cut off. I agree on the shape putting it in the mid 1800's.
It might have been me. Yeah, my best guess is also mid 1800's on that one, and it would have been made sans tail, rather than it being cut off.
Yeap, I agree
There were 7 day sets where there was 1 or two handles and 7 blades that sorta fit into the handle with some sort of mechanical tension thing that kept it all together during use. Sorta like a cantilever/cam sorta gizmo. I have seen two sets and the blades were profiled like this - mid 1800s I believe. I think Joe Edson restored a few sets like that and his website might have pix of them still. I do not have links. I could be way off with the connection because it has been several years since seeing them but it came to mind for some reason.

My first thoughts would be that someone ground/cut the tang down for some reason.
That 7 day set thing rings a bell but I just can't recall at the moment. I could possibly be thinking of a frameback that had 'day of the week' blades.
I agree on the dating mid 1800s, I have a few similar looking blades. I have a tailless French razor, but the tang is much longer. So I suspect that some of the tail was removed on this cas but can’t say for sure.
Agree on the date but not on the tail. All 3 of mine have this characteristic "U" shaped tail.

From the shape and from the way it was stamped I'd say it could be from the mid to late 1800s. And I'd say the tail was cut off. If it was made without a tail I think it would be more rounded/smooth. Plus the tang would narrow more around the pivot hole. I'm guessing it's a 7/8? It might have been cut off to be used for another purpose.
Here's one of mine before I peened it. The tail wasn't cut off but it did taper to a very thin profile towards the pivot pin. The thinness of the tang makes it difficult to use as when held in the traditional manner the blade wants to snap between your fingers 90 degrees so it's perpendicular to you face which makes it an exhilarating if dangerous shave.
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A guess at Age (Lots of assumptions here but just trying to narrow it down a bit logically)
Pre-1800 (Unlikely)
Industrial Revolution 1760-1840
I'm quite sure the blade was not mass manufactured and more likely a batch of 20, 50, 100 (who knows) produced by the local blacksmith while he waited for his next commission or whatever in the town needed fixing. That being said this is an uncertain assertion as things worked differently in France than Britain but it's all I can think of that would make it pre-date 1800.

Post-1800 (Likely)
Napoleonic Wars 1803-1815
If it's stamped with the name of a military man it's possibly from a Napoleonic campaign. If these ended in 1815 then the street was likely named sometime after this but probably not long afterwards. The chief brass needed their pat on the back before they died so it was probably named shortly after. I think anything pre-Napoleon can be ruled out with relative certainty just down to the profile of the blade. This would date it at the very earliest possible date of 1815 but likely later as most commentators so far have said probably mid 1800.

Blade profile
Any 1700's blade I've seen all have the same basic profile being relatively simple. Not much of a heal to speak of, relatively wedge shaped grind and a subtle swoop from heal to toe more pronounced toward the toe. They're also unlikely to be huge choppers so anything over 6/8ths is unlikely. As HazMat says yours looks to be 7/8ths at least.
The wedge grind could also suggest pre ERN's Hex machine (1893) but that isn't particularly useful.
The heal on your razor is quite pronounced and so puts it in the 1800's+ camp. I'm going to throw out a wild guess and say your razor is 1830-1850 mostly based on the size, tang and heal and circumstantially based on everything above.

On the really old ones (pre-1800) the blade kinda blends in with the tang so no, or very little, heal/shoulder like the L Learge below. These are the only 3 razors I have that are French and pre-1800 or so I believe.
I again "believe" the Rogers below is 1760-1820 due to the stamp To "Their" majesties linking it to George III who married in 1761 and the blade profile.
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The only thing I could find were these knives with that name on them. The link for additional information gives a different date than the listing.
 
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