Description
This Ford & Medley razor was forged in Sheffield and bears the company’s Arrow branding. The razor is a 5/8 with jimping to upper and lower tang. The scales are more recent, they look like they are probably from Dovo and are of olive wood. We are selling this razor on behalf of a client.
The scales are in good condition, with some dark staining on the inside near the pivot. The razor itself shows evidence of historical corrosion in quite a few places, hence the price. However there is no corrosion near the edge and the razor therefore represents an opportunity to purchase a very useable vintage Sheffield steel razor at a very reasonable price.
Images are of the actual razor for sale. As with all our razors, this will be supplied ready to use in accordance with our shave ready policy.
Ford & Medley dealt in mass market table cutlery, electro-plate, and hollow ground razors. It registered a silver mark in 1900 from an Arundel Street address in Sheffield. The owner was Albert Medley (who had been born in 1875 and lived in Meersbrook). In the 1901 Census he was described as a 26-year-old cutlery manufacturer, living in Beeton Road. He was the son of Joseph (a razor blade grinder) and Emily Medley. The firm become a limited entity in 1908, with backing from William England and advertised its “Wake-Knot” brand for ironmongers. By the end of the WWI, the firm occupied The Emu Works at 151 Eyre Street Sheffield, with Albert as managing director. The company’s trade marks were “EMU” and “WIZARD” and intertwined knotted ropes with the letters “F M”. Ford & Medley also acquired Bingham & Ogden and its “SELECT” mark. The “ARROW” razor became a Ford & Medley staple. It ceased business in the mid-1930s.
