Joseph Turner Straight Razor 6/8 shave Ready custom scales

Joseph Turner~ Straight Razor 68 Shave Ready


old USA made straight razor with beatiful custom made scales. Shave ready edge.



Joseph Turner (1838-1907) was born in Sheffield, the son of James and Jane Turner. The family lived in Hague Lane / Norwich Street in the Park. Joseph’s uncle was a razor manufacturer and his father, James, was a razor smith. However, the latter died when Joseph was a boy (possibly in 1846). Joseph was soon helping to support his widowed mother. In the Census (1851), he was enumerated as a 12-year-old razor smith. According to a later account (Nutt, 19191), Joseph Turner learned his trade at William Butcher, before becoming an accomplished razor maker for other firms.


In 1870, Turner left for the USA. His passage was paid by Heinisch & Sons in Newark, New Jersey. Heinisch was emerging as a leading shear manufacturer, but he contracted Turner to help establish a razor plant. It was not a success. In 1872, Turner – having saved as much as he could – left Heinisch and with William Cowlishaw launched Turner & Cowlishaw as a manufacturer of razors in Meriden, Connecticut. It was a small operation, though apparently successful, and in 1876 Turner bought Cowlishaw’s share. Turner had links with the razor strop business of Joseph Rice Torrey (1828-1920), which was based in Worcester, Massachusetts (Pankiewicz, 19862). In 1880, after Torrey got the ‘razor fever’ (Turner’s Testimony taken by the Subcommittee on the Tariff, 1888), they launched the J. R. Torrey Razor Co in Worcester. Turner was the president and Torrey the treasurer. Turner was the technical expert, whose patents included several designs for safety razors in the 1880s (Krumholz, 19873; Waits, 20094). In 1891, Torrey stated that about seventy hands produced about 40 dozen razors a day. The company supported the Tariff on imports.


Joseph Turner died from heart disease at his home in Worcester on 25 February 1907, aged 69. The New York Times, 26 February 1907, described him as ‘the first manufacturer of razors in the United States …’ His sons – William, John J., and Joseph H. – continued the company. According to Nutt (19191), ‘This concern has been for years the largest in the world among the companies manufacturing razors exclusively’. The Turners became one of the richest families in Worcester, but this wealth was largely dissipated in the twentieth century. The business ceased trading in 1963.







Only ONE available. No I won't hold it and no I won't be getting more.
A razor like this won't come around twice. Great investment.
If you need it rehoned in the future I'll be happy to maintain it at no cost but postage.



12% discount for Litecoin, Ethereum and Bitcoin shoppers. We are the change. Thank you!
Only ONE available. Will be months before another is ready.





These pieces make excellent gifts for all occasions. Groomsmen gifts, give one to a son or grandchild who is graduating. House warming gifts, collectibles for knife and shaving enthusiasts. Birthday, Father's days...and occasion that calls for a remembered gift.Legal Disclaimers:

Caution do not read this warning while unconscious.
Warning do not use razor during an earthquake.
Razor is sharp on purpose please exercise caution.
Warning Razor is harmful if swallowed.
Warning by purchasing any of our BeardKnife products you agree that you are asserting that you are not stupid
and ergo responsible for anything bad that happens to you or a razor that is in your hands.

I highly RECOMMEND for any items that have STEEL components that you pick up a 5 dollar bottle of Beard Knife Razor lube. It lasts forever and costs next to nothing to protect your investment. I see guys dropping $200 dollars on a razor and then wondering why it develops rust when they leave it wet and don't take care of it. Stainless steel doesn't mean rust proof steel. Remember your blade can last HUNDREDS of years or a month. That's entirely up to you. Always...ALWAYS dry your razor after use. Get a stand so it can drip dry if nothing else and apply a little of this oil to your steel after use and you will not have to worry about rust. https://www.beardknife.com/listing/649137610/beardknife-straight-razor-steel-lube
INTERNATIONAL CUSTOMERS: You are responsible for your countries taxes not me. If you place an order and I ship the order and it comes back to me because you refused to pay your own import fees or taxes I will NOT issue a refund. So I highly recommend you pay your duties OR do NOT order from BeardKnife. This removes my product from inventory, it costs me twice as much to ship, my seller fees are greater than your tax obligation. I don't like taxes either...but I'm not responsible for your taxes. I cannot ban buyers but not every customer is a paying customer and I do not want you to purchase from me if you cannot satisfy the terms of the listing. You drive up prices for all the other customers who want what they order. Don't be that guy.((This notice is on all listings may not apply to THIS listing: please look at item descriptions before purchasing any items))

Nos definition: New old stock. It means the razor is OLD but not used. So you will not have a razor that is honed or stropped by me. You will have a brand new factory edge. Which usually is shave ready but often will require immediate or quicker work to get the edge how YOU prefer. They are usually the most expensive razors because they are best preserved. By honing them I would be devaluing them. IF you don't care and want me to hone a NOS razor contact me prior to purchase and let me know. Many people put their razors are NOS just to get views and it has no meaning to them just like "shave ready" is not true for most online sellers these days.

Shave ready definition:
Shave ready means different things to different people. It's often just added to titles to increase sales. I use the term honestly. It passes all industry standards of shave readiness and has been put through the described process. If you are looking for a razor that you can take out of the box....and shave with. That's what shave ready is supposed to mean. Worked on by a professional.

My 2 cents on hone wear and scratches. It's a tool. Don't worry about them. Some people tape spines I do not unless stated and for a specific reason. My goal is to maintain the geometry of the razor not manipulate it and provide the best shaving razor not simply a perfect razor. No shave ready razor is in mint but I do my best to balance ALL pros and cons to provide the most trustworthy cutthroat.

My return policy is simple.
NO returns.
Why?

Because sellers are already losing money on postage, paying HIGH fees to make products available. When an item is SOLD it can no longer be SOLD. Contrary to popular belief nothing is free and the BUYER pays all costs. There are a lot of games we are forced to play like "free shipping" and 30 day refunds...I don't play those games. If you don't want the product...don't buy it.

If you do want it...keep it.
I can't afford to lose money or sales for customers I'd rather not keep. It sounds harsh but I assure you...it's true. I don't need everyone's business nor do I want everyone's business.

When you provide things like soaps, lotions, and other consumables a return goes into the trash and the cost of the item is increased to absorb loss. That's not fair to good customers.

It's near impossible already to keep prices down with inflation and an incompetent government constantly disrupting the markets. Antiques razors are carefully packaged by me to assure they arrive safely. When BAD customers return items they also don't care to package them properly and I end up with a $200 dollar loss plus postage and that's not a sustainable business model. If you want to try things and return them but cheap Chinese junk from Amazon and go nuts. When you are THE best at something you can be selective with your policies and customers. Please note IF something is NOT as described or you receive the wrong item entirely I am of course going to correct MY mistake. Buyer remorse is not something I take responsibility for. Providing HIGH quality products at the lowest price possible is a near impossible task these days. Many items I lose money on just to make something available. I have no use for used cosmetics and I do not want them back. If a razor is not shaving to your satisfaction I will allow a return within 30 days. (buyer pays return postage) I will pay to ship it back and I will assure the razor edge it is adjusted to your needs. If for some reason I cannot do so then and ONLY then will I issue a refund. I'd rather lose a bad customer than increase cost on a good one. Fortunately almost ALL of my customers have been awesome and return requests are extremely rare. I do appreciate you guys! Also a word of advice...if you want to try a product and you don't like the fragrance DON'T buy more than one! Scented products are all preference based. I've bought many products I don't prefer. I eat the loss because I chose to buy it. Big retailers can eat the loss...us little guys cannot. If you have QUESTIONS about an item...please write to me about them BEFORE purchasing. That way you can assure you get what you want before either of us waste our time and money.