Description
This vintage Onward razor from Sheffield is a 5/8 with a thick grind, round point and leather scales. It is difficult to date this razor exactly, but I believe it to be from the late 19th Century to the turn of the 20th Century. The blade has a satin finish and is in very good condition. I have cleaned up the tang where there has been a bit of corrosion. All in all this vintage Onward razor presents an introduction to vintage Sheffield razors at a very reasonable price.
There is a small fault on the monkey tail as shown in the images.
In 1860, Slack & Grinold advertised themselves as manufacturing a wide range of ‘Celebrated Cutlery’ from the Bath Works, Bath Street, Sheffield. The advertisement stated that ‘None are Genuine Unless Stamped’ with the corporate mark: a picture of two diamonds and an oblong shield. By 1865 (when it advertised again), the company had adopted the simpler ‘ONWARD’ mark, which had belonged to John Sayles at Bath Works. The partners were Henry T. Grinold, living in Cemetery Road, and Isaac Slack, in Palestine Place, Broomhill.
In 1900, Grinold retired and disposed of the business to his nephew John Sayles. Within a year or so, the marks were sold to a Michael Hunter. However, a company also based in Sheffield called Needham, Veall & Tyzack later owned the ‘ONWARD’ and ‘BON ACCORD’ marks, having bought the assets of Michael Hunter & Co.
Needham, Veall & Tyzack was one of the first adopters in 1915 of stainless steel for table cutlery. But after 1918, the firm was hit by falling demand, especially for high-quality pocket knives and razors. Walter Tyzack’s response was to lead a merger of Sheffield cutlery companies. In 1919, he organized the Sheffield Cutlery Manufacturers Ltd, which was an amagamation of his own company and Joseph Elliot, Lockwood Bros., Nixon & Winterbottom, Southern and Richardson and Thos. Turner.
The company survived the inter-war period and prospered after the Second World War. In about 1962, the firm was registered as Taylor’s Eye-Witness Ltd, Milton Street and Ceylon Works, St Thomas Street. In 1975, a friendly takeover of Taylor’s Eye-Witness was initiated by Harrison Fisher & Co Ltd. In 2007, Harrison Fisher & Co styled the merged companies as Taylor’s Eye Witness.
The company’s home until 2018 was the Eye Witness Works at Milton Street in Sheffield, but after over a century and a half, the company moved to a new purpose-built headquarters in 2018 at 5 Parkway Close, albeit still in Sheffield.
Source: www.hawleysheffieldknives.com
