[BenjaminB]

I have been commisioned to design the Cut Throat Razors in the Lonestar Theatre Companies production of Sweeney Todd. I need some suggestions about the razor. How did your production do the razor? Pipets? Don't like. Could someone tell me how they are designed to work? Please? Thank you very much!

[VALPACK]

Um, when we did our production 2 years ago my director was looking for a rental on the chair & they guy who had it rented it for like $50 (entire production & rehersal) along with two professional razors.....so I never had to worry about constructing them. But I'll ask my director what she was gonna do to make them cause she didn't even think that someone would give them to her along with the chair.....I'm sure she'll be able to think of something.

[BenjaminB]

Thanks you very much. I am in desperate need of one or how to make one.

[BenjaminB]

The original Sweeney razors had a two compartment brass handle. The lower compartment contained a "Sparklets" CO2 bulb and was separated from the upper compartment by a push button valve. The upper compartment contained the stage blood and fed a tube, perforated with a line of holes along one side, around which the "blade" was wrapped. Each Sparklets bulb held enough CO2 for one big two moderate shots of blood, with enough left for cleaning out with water afterwards.

They were made specially for the production at a cost of around £300 each; I think there were six in all. They were a bit heavy on Sparklet consumption and made a loud hiss when operated. You can tell in the DVD when George hearn slits the first customer's throatin Johanna(Act 2.)

I a buying some razors for a production my company is doing. Two razors are being made , the first being an oversized (about 6", open about 12") version of a normal cut throat razor, the blade slotting inside the handle and flipping open. The second blade was fixed in the open position, one half of the handle was a soft envelope in which you could insert a tube of theatrical blood, this connected to a thin perforated tube which ran along the top of the blade. So when slicing across the victim's neck, you squeezed the handle and the blood flowed, very gruesome.

Here are some pics of the razors. They look very nice. Hope they are!

[VALPACK]

Ooooooooo! pretty.....

Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner, but I didn't have time to talk to my director because of an accident a student in my class had............but she said she already had razors made with plastic eyedropers that we used in chem labs......are those "pipets"? Well, she had them fastened to the razor and all Sweeney would have to do is squeeze for the "blood" to come out......You also need a good "blood" too. It can't be watery or thick.....all you can do is just play around with it until you find the consistancy you like. Do the razors come with blood?


Once again sorry for the delay.....hope this helps......

[BenjaminB]

No, the blood is not supplied with the razors. They are being made by an artist by the name of Jude Heaton.

Do you think these razors are a good deal? I guess that really work well. From the video I saw of Sweeney Cutting the victims throats, it was gruesome. Blodd went all over the towel, neck, even the chair. I am paying around 465.00 dollars(U.S.) for a pair of two.

What do you think? Is it a good deal?

[VALPACK]

Hmm......they sound really nice, but they do seem a bit pricey.....

How many preformances will you be using them? Cause I think it's a pretty big investment for only a couple of nights......

[BenjaminB]

ERROR

[BenjaminB]

We are going to be doing Sweeney Todd for aproximately one month. About twenty-three performances.

It was a hefty royalty fee though, I'll tell you! We do have a big budget for the show.

[cabaretfreak]

^That is what I was concerd about when I saw the price! Your lucky you get a huge bugedt. My budget for Fiddler is $0!

I think the huge roltalty is due to the fact there is a verson on Broadway right now.

[BenjaminB]

Wow. That is not fair. Sorry, about your budget. I am going to buy the razors today. And Hopefully we will get them before we have or production metting.

[VALPACK]

That seems pretty good.....cause you would want the razors to be able to withstand all of the use....hope they come in before your meeting!

[BenjaminB]

Ordered them! They should come in the next two weeks, and our production meeting is in four...so we'll be good!

One question about the blood. Should it be very red? Pink? Thick? Thin?

[cabaretfreak]

a deep red would be good, just don't go to light or too dark.

[VALPACK]

Don't make it too watery so that it drips all over their necks & don't make it too thick so it wont come out of the razor at all......you just need to play around with it....

[BenjaminB]

Thanks for the suggestions! Bought some fake blood today, am going to play with it. The one I bought is way too thin, it's like water. How would you thicken it a bit?

[VALPACK]

Hmm, I'm not too sure. I know flour makes things thicker with foods, but it can become somewhat "paste-like" so I wouldn't want it to clog your new razors..............I'll have to sleep on it......

[BenjaminB]

I'll try experimenting some more. The blood is too thin, so i'll try some stuff. I might have to buy different blood.

[Chris aka Sweeney Todd]

Hello! I have been invovled with several productions of sweeney todd, so have learnt a few different ways of doing the blood and razors.

First your blood problem. fake blood can be very easily and very cheaply made to any consistency. there are many recipese out there many gelatine or soap based, but the best one i found was a syrup based one.

I pour one large jar of golden syrup - or corn syrup if your in america - into a bowl add to that a splash of condensed milk - this adds the murkiness of blood. then pour in lots of red food dye. the amount really depends on the colour you want. i also found using red and some cochneil(like red but darker) to give a good tone. you can also experiement with the colour by adding a few drops of yellow and perhaps a drop of blue. if you want to blood to look a bit older mix some instant coffee with a little water and add that it just takes the brightness of the red away. what you are left with is a thick sticky blood red solution. perfect for apintint on the body but not good for spraying. so simply add water to it until you get the consistency you want! i found this made me the perfect blood for our production and razors. the other recipes just didnt work so well.

AS for Razors

The National theatre used simple prop razors, and the blood came from somewhre else. the white sheets sweeney puts around the necks of his clients had plastic collars which had tubes running from them attached to which was a small squeezy bottle filled with blood. sweeney would pick the sheet up attach the collar around the clients neck and then just drag his razor across the throat, the acotr/client, under the sheet, would squeeze the bottle and blood would shoot everywhere. this was VERY effective in a large theatre, i would improves the effect by adding red makeup alone the blade so is leaves a nice slice wound as well as all the blood.

OR

An earlier post about the Original productions razors using sparklets is quite right, and they would be pricey, AND when i was designing some razors working off a similar premise i discovered sparklets are fairly hard to come by now, no where near as common as about ten years ago! so i had to rethink. I built a set of razors, that had highly pollished copper tube about 3/4 CM in diameter, the tube doesn't have to be copper it could be any i used copper because we had little budget and i got it for free it also polished nicely and looked silver under the lights. i made one razor like a normal cutthroat that opens and closes, but about 12 or so inches in length when open. the second was fixed open, and like the original production ones the blade was folded aluminun, that had a tube with holes running through it, thi tube came out the bottom of the blade and ran into the handle, and had a piece of heavy duty rubber tubing on the end. the handle was hollow and had a square cut out. a small nozzled squeezy bottle would be filled with blood then slotted into the handle, the nozzle fixing into the rubber tubing holding it in palce nd making liguid and air tight. so all the acotr had to do was put his fingers over the cut out square in the handle and squeeze the bottle inside and blood sprayed everywhere out of the blade - very effective.

I know this is a long rambling post but i hope there is something usefull in it for you!

good luck and take care
Chris

[BenjaminB]

Doesn anyone know where I can find razors that look like the original broadway productions? I like your second explanation of the razors. Do you know where I can find some that are like that?

[BenjaminB]

I just received the Sweeney Todd blood razors in the mail today and I'd have to say that I am greatly overjoyed. The blood flows so well. It loooks so reall! Here are some new pics!








What do you guys think of them?

[theatre4life]

"My them blades is chased silver, ain't they?"

I think they're gorgeous! Is there a website for this person that designed them for you??

[BenjaminB]

Yes, there is! Here is ze link!

www.heaton53.freeserve.co.uk/cosmart.htm

[Mrs. Love It]

[BenjaminB]

Of course you can.

When is the production?

[Mrs. Love It]

Excellent!!

We open on October 26 and close November 5th.
If we could have them a couple weeks before, that would be ideal.

What kind of rental price would you consider for about 4-5 weeks, total?

Did they work well in your performance?

[BenjaminB]

That sounds great.

The razors are wonderfully built. The blood flows as the actor uses it. Magnifi!

We rented the razors out right after the show and should be back tomorrow. We charged the company $50.00 a week plus shipping and handling. It totalled around $215.00. Is that a good price. We can always discuss this and see if we can come to a deal. They will be returned to my company our course after the run of your show. But then again, the company that we rented them too wanted it rush delivered and they only did the show two weeks as you are wanting the razors for about four. I hope that this helps.

They did work well in the performance.

[Mrs. Love It]

$50.00 a week plus shipping sounds reasonable. And I will send them back immediately after closing.

Will you have a contract for this transaction? Just let me know what you need from me. I'd be happy to send you a deposit, if need be--I just want to make sure we'll be OK when the time comes.

What theatre do you work for?

[BenjaminB]

I will draw up a contract today and see what I can do.

I would like a deposit, but it is no neccasary. And of course if the razors are broken in any way during the run, your company with have to pay for the repairs.

When would you like them?

I work for a small theatre company by the name of Lonestar.

[Mrs. Love It]

We would like the razors from October 6th until November 6th.
Will that work for you?

I am leaving tonight for a trip to New York--but I will be checking email and this message board periodically. If a couple days pass, without a reply, I just want you to know why. I return home on August 3rd.

Contract info: This is for the Theatre Arts Department at Mt. San Jacinto College (Menifee Campus) in Southern California.

A deposit is not a problem.

[BenjaminB]

The address for the theatre is as follows:

Lonestar Theatre Company

The razors work wonderfully. Glad to do business with you.

I have drawn up a contract, I just need your e-mail adress.

[TychoBrahe]

I will be getting one made for me this fall. I will post pictures when it is finished.

By the by, what is you take on those costumes, Mr. Zeitlow? As I mentioned, I fear some of them may look too plain. Say the word, and I can rush some new ones to you by the end of the week.

[BenjaminB]

The costume designs are wonderful, but they lack something. I don't know what, but could you have them be more Victorian? I would like it to be a little eccentric, but look victorian at the same time. Put some more detail into some of the costumes. Make Todd look like he is a demon in victorian clothing. I don't mean make him look like he is a demon, but make him look foreboding and quite grim. I love the Fogg costume, so don't mess with him. If you could do that, I would greatly appreciate it!

By the way, the set designs are wonderful. We have started building model and are going to start production on them by the middle of August.

Can't wait to see the razors.

How much do you think that it will cost for the razors to be made?

[TychoBrahe]

I thought you were ordering the razors?

And I will get on those revisions immediately.

[BenjaminB]

I did order and the razors and have received them. We have two pairs of them.

They work good.

I just woulls like to get a collection of razors for use on future productions.

[Mrs. Love It]

Thanks for the address.

My email is ltorok@msjc.edu. I look forward to getting the contract and details worked out.

Best,

Lori

[Whalelvr32]

Interested in any help in finding razors and the chair for ST. I have read the posts concerning the razor but have seen none for the chair. Would love to rent both.

[BenjaminB]

I have the razors, but not the chair. I can rent them out to you if you like.

[Mrs. Love It]

We have built a chair from a design used at Yale University. We will be using it until the beginning of November. After that, we can rent it out.

[BenjaminB]

Could you kindly expound on the barber chair design that you are using.

[BenjaminB]

Jude Heaton is the one who built the razors for me. I can give you her contact information so that you may contact her about making a pair of razors for you.

All I need is your email adress.

[Argive]

Hi, I would be interested in renting the chair and the razors for Sweeney if they are still available, or getting razors made. Please let me know what information you need from me.

[TychoBrahe]

Is this for a production? I work for a prop master who could build the razors for you. Please reply with your specs.

[BenjaminB]

I can rent the razors out for you, but I do not have a chair.

The razors work very well.

All I need to know is if this is a professional or amateur production. The Production companies name and adress.

The razors are made out of steel and wood. They release blood from the handle as it travels up the blade and spirts out. Very gross. The blades are blunt of course.

If you would like to rent them I can rent them out to you.

We can decide on a price later if you are interested.

Tycho...how much would it cost for the razor to be made. Your propmaster was making some for me, but didn't pull through due to his busy schedule.

I am trying to collect prop razors. I have two pair, plus one from a production done at the New York City Opera.

[TychoBrahe]

Sorry, he can get a little frantic. If you still interested, he should have more time know. Unfortunately, he doesn't like exchanging e-mails, he would prefer to speak to you directly. Send me a private message with your phone number, and I'll have him call you. He will want to know your specs.

[BenjaminB]

That's fine, TychoBrahe. The show went fine without the razors. But thank him for his time in trying to make the razors. It was really appreciated.

I just sent to a PM a minute ago.

Again, Thanks for everything that you have done.

[megg]

Anyone have a sweeney todd blood razor I could rent?

[maxegg2]

My theatre company is doing Sweeney Todd over the summer. We are having difficulty figuring out the chair. Could anybody send me designs they have of other productions? we are at a loss here. thanks!

-ME

[melalax]

I realise most of you posted here a few years ago, but i am wondering if any of you are still willing to offer your razors for rental.
Please respond
Many thanks
Mel

[BenjaminB]

The razors are still avaible for rental. Just shoot me a private message and we can discuss this further.

Thanks!

[sakkyoku]

I'm curious...did you buy the blood tubes prepackaged or did you make them? I haven't seen any that look quite like that. If you made them, would you mind sharing how?
~sakkyoku

[Kennedytech]

I am looking for Sweeney Todd razors to rent or buy. Does anyone still have some?

Steven