[Jimbo]

Often maligned, frequently misunderstood, all too often overlooked as our eye is drawn to those gold-washed pieces of fluff shamelessly flaunting themselves in the dimly lit recesses of ebay like the metal floozies they are, one razor stands out from the pack. With typical British understatement, these stalwarts of the straight razor world quietly go about their business all over the globe.

At its height, it was said that the sun never set on the British Empire. While those days have passed, there is still one representative of Her Majesty in whom it may still be said to be true. Gentlemen (and ladies)! I give you .......


.... THE BENGALL!

Here's two of mine - 5/8 and 6/8. Note the military precision of their "B" formation in the first shot. Show us your Bengalls. (sorry for the poor photos).











James.

[JMS]

You definitely have the gift of gab, James!

[Jimbo]

I just thought the poor blighters needed a nice introduction....

James.

[JMS]

Originally Posted by Jimbo

I just thought the poor blighters needed a nice introduction....

James.

...And a very nice introduction it was!

[heelerau]

I do believe that nearly all my razors are Bengal or just marked Cadman, we don't seem to get much variety down under, I guess being only lately still a member of the British Empire this is to be expected. I found another unused Bengal in the local antique store for the princely sum of $48.00 Aust. Bengal name inset on the scales.


Cheers

Gordon

[Olav Vittfarne]

You started it and I join

It is a 3/8 wedge.
Small, but I hope it quallifies to join the Band.

A cute little thing that my father sent me. He had it laying around.
Got it in a knick-knack box at an auction, I think.
He is strictly electric, always been. Poor fellow.

Only marking is Bengall on the tang. Nothing on the flip side.

Have a bigger one in the mail. Will post when arrives.

[SheffieldShaver]

May I join too?! I picked up my only Bengall a couple of weeks ago, from a bits-and-bobs-y antiques shop, for £7. It looked, to my relatively inexpert eye, completely unused. The rubbery scales are a bit rubbish, and took badly to a rinsing under hot water (old celluloid, is it, that can start stinking like burning hair?); I'm planning to try making some new scales for it. Only shaved with it once, but it shaved excellently, and look forward to using it again. Really small bevel.

[jscott]

i love my bengalls. infact i want a 7day set great balance of heavy blade, hollow grinds with great edge taking steel. they get my nod.

heres 2 of my 4. both 6/8th rounds.






~J

[Jimbo]

Those are all beautiful razors

I've always found the Bengalls to be stupendous shavers, and very amenable to the hone. In fact, my first razor was a vintage Bengall that belonged to my wife's grandfather and yes, they seem to be ubiquitous in Australia. So much so that sometimes I do pass them over in antiques shops - but I love the idea of a seven day set.

Oh and Sheffieldshaver - I'm no expert on this, but those scales sound and look like Vulcanite/ebonite to me. Vulcanised rubber with sulphur - earlier than celluloid. Avoid light, moisture and heat to avoid decomposition.

James.

[SheffieldShaver]

Thanks for the id on the scales, James

[Dewey]

I have a T R Cadman that is a great shaver (my first Sheffield) but I need to get a Bengall model! Nice posts, guys.

[momma]

Oh James, you are so eloquent I could read your posts all day

Strewth mate are you really an Aussie

....momma

[crichton]

My only one so far.....could've sworn I had another.....

[Kyle76]

A 6/8, a 7/8 and a 4/8 with strange wording on the back of the tang. Anyone seen one like this?

[Olav Vittfarne]

I might have one of those in the mail.
Borlänge is the name of a Swedish city and maskinaffär would be something like machine shop.
Looked a bit on the web and apparently they made bicycles called Bikupan, The Bee hive, in the begining of the 20th century.
Maybe that company had them specially made as a promotion thing, I don't know, just guessing here.
Sometimes it says "Genuine Bengall" on the box, "Äkta Bengall" in Swedish.

[Jimbo]

That's very interesting - I always thought Bengalls were a Cadman trademark, but maybe not.

I found some interesting information on Cadman and Bengall razors here. About half way down they start talking about the Bengalls. There's a neat little straight razor poem near the top.

James.

[JMS]

Hey james, I just picked up a wonderful reference book and here is a little information I found on Bengall:

[JMS]

And then there is this:

[SheffieldShaver]

James, that Hawley collection link is a great one; the whole collection looks very interesting indeed. I work at the University, but I had no idea that all that stuff was there - thanks again!

[Jimbo]

Originally Posted by momma

Oh James, you are so eloquent I could read your posts all day

Strewth mate are you really an Aussie

....momma

Thanks Momma - I work on the premise that if you can't be knowledgeable, at least try to make it sound like you might be..... . I *did* live in the UK for a few years at the turn of the century - I may have picked up some British traits along the way.

Originally Posted by JMS

And then there is this:

Thanks Mark! So, if I'm reading that correctly, other companies could also have been using the name "Bengall" up until 1876. After that it was just Cadman?

Originally Posted by SheffieldShaver

James, that Hawley collection link is a great one; the whole collection looks very interesting indeed. I work at the University, but I had no idea that all that stuff was there - thanks again!

You're very welcome, SheffieldShaver.

James.