John Heiffor Straight Razor

[Charlie]

I have an old John Heiffor straight razor that belonged to my dad. The thing that confuses me about it is that it has an etching on on the blade of Constantinople done in great detail with the wording underneath World's Fair at Constantinople 1895. All my research says there was no fair in that year at Constantinople. I have also tried referencing it with the 1893 expo but nothing matches. I have been trying to get the history of this razor for some time but seem to come up short. Its a great razor and since its a family thing I certainly plan to keep it, but would just want to know a little more about it or to be able to properly date it. It's also nice and sharp and I have actually shaved with it. Anyone thats run across this item or has knowledge of it please give me a yell. Thanks. Charlie

 

[Philadelph]

I looked up John Heiffor on google and it looks like he was a razor manufacturer as well as a perfumer and hair dresser in Sheffield England. Lots of great razors come from Sheffield. That source is from 1828 so he was making razors at least since then. He was at 51 Scotland St. As for the Constantinople thing- it was a pretty historical city. So my guess is that at one of the 1895 World's Fairs maybe there was a Constantinople exhibit or showcase or something like they did (I can imagine those World's Fairs being like the around the world section of Epcot today!) and he made razors to commemorate it. I don't know, a lot of times there is something like that on a razor that no one knows why it is there but adds to the allure of it anyway.

 

[Charlie]

Thanks for your reply. The razor has alway been a mystery to me as far as it's origin or where it was sold from. I also found out about John Heiffor which was interesting in itself. At any rate, I love the razor and this is the most important thing to me.

 

[Limey]

Sounds like an interesting etch and I have had excellent results with all the Sheffield razors I have owned. How about posting a picture of the razor/etching?

 

[SheffieldShaver]

I've just shaved with a chunky 6/8 John Heiffor wedge. It says 'John Heiffor, Paradise Square, Sheffield' on one face of the tang, while the other says that the razor was 'Made for the army'. It's not a make which seems to pop up all that often.