Hello all, I cannot find Wragg, Long and Co. as saw manufacturers in any of the directories and especially not Geo Wragg. They are in Whites 1833 p. 291 at 27 Eyre Street and they appear to convert steel, manufacture table knives and are Merchants to boot. There is a Sheldon, Wragg and Brown both in HSMOB and in whoever compiled the 1856 Sheffield directory, p.223. (I didn't write the name down when I did the research and I am too lazy to look it up again)!! There is also a William Wragg (saw manufacturer) whose home address is 138 South Street Park. But no Geo. other than 1833. So, did Geo Wragg in his role as a merchant have his name put on his saws or did Sheldon Wragg and Brown use this earlier Wragg incarnation as a ploy to sell theirs. Or perhaps someone entirely different had access to the Wragg name and trade mark. Which is another puzzle. I cannot find the trade mark anywhere and it is certainly not that of the 1892 Wragg who was a cutler in "Trademarks on Base Metal". It is, however a very nice saw but with an equally loose handle even after the screws have been tightened to their full extent. (Not by me). The screws are reversed and this makes me think that the handle has been off, possibly even a replacement one as it is so slack. But if it is a replacement it still looks "right" even though it is an open tote handle on a 14 inch blade, and which I seem to remember was not the norm although I stand to be corrected on that. The added bonus is that whilst the tooth line is a little vertically challenged in places (nothing that a jointing could not put right), the blade is nearly straight. Fred
Hi Fred, I think that your saw was stamped by the factors/merchants Wragg Long & Co, see http://strazors.com/uploads/images/articles/H_G_Long.pdf I have a Wragg Long & Co ripsaw (in a much sorrier condition than your nice saw) which I have attributed to this source. An interesting feature of the blade stamp on my saw is that instead of three crowns, it has three inverted sheilds (or helmets?) with crossed swords. Does anyone else have any other interesting variations/alternatives to the three crowns ?
Hi Kiwi, Thanks for the link and the article, it puts the respective Wragg/Long dynasties in perspective and you are almost certainly right in acsribing the saws to the merchant side of the company. The StRazors site looks to be a mine of information as there are a number of firms there whose name I recognise re saw manufacture. I also get the odd razor through my hands from time-to-time and whilst they are probably not as old as some of those featured, it is a reference point. I am fascinated by your inverted shields. Purposeful, a dyslexic stamper or just an error?? It would be nice to know but I suspect that we never will. Fred
Hi Fred, My guess is that inverting the shields was a simple error rather than a disgruntled or dislexic employee (or an Australian apprentice ?). [I've had a similar problem using my Engineer's stamp ( but I am from the other side of the planet !)] Coincidentally, regarding the crowns/shields topic, I was cleaning the rust off a mystery saw I bought last Sunday and find it has three 5-point-stars instead of 3 crowns (I'll post this Willmott saw in a new thread when I get it cleaned up a bit more) Rob