Thread: Swedish Fish

Where were the rest of you guys bidding on this? I've never picked up an eskilstuna razor, esp. not one made by EA berg, but I guess not many other people noticed this one.

Antique Straight Razor Made in Sweden Cartani with A Fish Symbol Mirror Look | eBay

Not exactly a $1 yard sale deal, but in good enough shape that I can give it the TLC that it needs.

If you bought that one, I hope what I see is just a little chip and not a serious crack. Hard to tell from poor pics.

Originally Posted by Hart

If you bought that one, I hope what I see is just a little chip and not a serious crack. Hard to tell from poor pics.

Yeah, a little bit of risk. I'm assuming that it's a scuff combined with a spot of corrosion right at the edge. I hope it is!

If I were a razor restorer, it wouldn't be worth the risk, but since it's just for personal risk, there's not that much to lose.

IIRC there was a thread on the Swedish Fish razors within the past few months ?

Yeah, I did remember correctly. Here is a thread with another Swedish razor decorated with a fish logo ....... whatever that is about ? The significance escapes me, but I know in Minnesota Swedes eat a fish that they age somehow, and you have to be raised eating it to be able to stomach it.

http://straightrazorpalace.com/razor...ng-tail-3.html

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

IIRC there was a thread on the Swedish Fish razors within the past few months ?

Yeah, I did remember correctly. Here is a thread with another Swedish razor decorated with a fish logo ....... whatever that is about ? The significance escapes me, but I know in Minnesota Swedes eat a fish that they age somehow, and you have to be raised eating it to be able to stomach it.

http://straightrazorpalace.com/razor...ng-tail-3.html

Lutefisk

Cod soaked in lye. You would see it in the stores around the holidays. Looked like a big, dead, decaying hunk of yuck. People who admit eating Lutefisk say it is OK if smothered in butter or something else to kill the taste.

I never tried it and won't.

Dave

Always had a soft spot in my heart for E.A. Bergs. However that little beauty slipped thru my grasp.

They're good razors, and swedish razors tend to be on the 5/8 side. Because of that chip you'll loose a bit of width, but it shouldn't be too bad.

Originally Posted by DaveW

Where were the rest of you guys bidding on this? I've never picked up an eskilstuna razor, esp. not one made by EA berg, but I guess not many other people noticed this one.

I already got one. 13/16"

Originally Posted by gugi

They're good razors, and swedish razors tend to be on the 5/8 side. Because of that chip you'll loose a bit of width, but it shouldn't be too bad.

Another reason I chanced it on that one is that it looks a little bit wider than most that I've seen, and hoping that spot of corrosion is just that, and will lose a hundredth or two of width before removing it (as opposed to mass damage control removal). I gravitate toward 6/8 razors almost completely.

Berg chisels have sort of a cult following in woodworking, but as much as they have had the "these are magic" label applied to them, the excitement has sort of worn off and they are now praised at a level that is appropriate given their actual capabilities. They still fetch big bucks if they're vintage and come in a set, though.

Of course, I *know* we never go nutty over little details in the razor community and elevate something to a higher plane than it should really be on, right?

Separate and asside, I have a japanese plane blade that is swedish steel. The attributes to it are very desirable, but it has more to do with the maker and hardening and tempering than it would so much swedish steel vs. something more commonly found in japanese planes (yasuki). The real question, and very legitimate, is whether or not I'd actually be able to tell it from yasuki white 1 or 2 if the maker made the plane iron in the same style? Probably not. I'll admit it. But I like the iron a lot and really love a simple plain carbon steel that's just at the right hardness to be reasonably hard but not chip. Same in razors. The steels that love a strop and a natural stone are my favorites. The extra super hard biting teeth type razors, not so much, they just don't agree with my routine.

Originally Posted by rolodave

Lutefisk

Cod soaked in lye. You would see it in the stores around the holidays. Looked like a big, dead, decaying hunk of yuck. People who admit eating Lutefisk say it is OK if smothered in butter or something else to kill the taste.

I never tried it and won't.

Dave

Or surströmming which is even more notorious.