Thread: Dubl Duck Shrimp? Who knew?

I've seen references to it. At one time one of the members had an original catalog from Pearlduck with all the models including the older ones going way back.

Originally Posted by pcdad

Question..is it the scales that make one razor diff. From another if it's 1 company making them?...DD wonderedge vs DD satinedge..scales differ but blade quality is the same?

Pcdad

Huge area of contention there

Some people say "No there is no difference"

Most people that have honed and shaved many different ones say "Yes there are very obvious differences"

For sure the temper on the WonderEdge was different.
There are obvious grind differences
The razors came from, different eras, and proved from different companies so honestly to say they were all the same is a bit of a stretch.. Even if they wanted to make them the same it would have been near impossible to do, just by the availability of large quantities of the same steel supply...

Some of the razors were advertised (keep in mind that truth in advertising laws really did not exist then) as Swedish steel others were not, basically I just don't see them being all the same, there is to much evidence to the contrary...

But like many other things in this hobby, you just don't know for sure

That would explain this. I have not had it in my hand yet but soon. I got it because it looked to be an 8 ball and I am from Mich. Oh and it's got Ducks.

?


"and so you have the DD or Bresnick logo on them the same as with many other razors where the retailer has his name on it and it has other markings relating to the actual maker. Maybe it's a matter of degree, I don't know since we don't know who made the DDs but the actual DDs don't have manufacturers names on them. All the ones that do are a different case. "

I think what you have there is someone using the DD logo. if they were dragged into court they could say the two ducks are not together like the DD logo so they are not in fact the DD logo. That's something a judge or jury would have to decide. Kind of like someone opening a burger joint and using 1 red arch. Think Mc Donalds would mind?

hmmmmm. Counterfeit eh ? I have an old guitar made in Japan that was so much a copy of the old Martin that it did go to court. They had to stop making them. Funny thing now is they are referred to as the illegal Takamine , limited in number and worth more. My uncle may be able to do some research on this for me as he is into Mich. history. (retired teacher ) I Googled J.L Ayres and came up with "0". One mention of Ayres in an article about Hudsons dept. store and I found out J.L Ayre was a large dept. store of the time and as popular as Sears, Macy's, etc. If I find out more I will pass it along. The razor is in great shape and smaller than the Satin Wedge I sent to Glen for some work. I have this attraction to the ducks for some reason and I have 2 in hand 1 with Glen and 4 more coming soon. I want to learn more but I think if I start collecting razors they will all be ducks. Am I daffy or what ? I will never start a business called Razors "r" Us that's for sure. That little "r" will definitely land you in court. When was that trade mark law passed ?

No, it's not counterfeit. They are not calling it a DD. Just using two ducks but slightly different.

Yes, I stand corrected. I used the wrong word . I guess there would be no 1 word description. Copy cat maybe.

The seller had some confusing (to me) comments about it and I quote,
" Have the collectors decided that Ducks were made by DOVO? I understand that PUMA was another candidate. In any case, this one was made for J.L. Ayre of Flint Michigan and is obviously a Duck with another name. The "Special No. 1", the pair of Ducks, the distinctive Catalin scales....if it walks like a Duck and quacks like a Duck....! "

Oh yeah it does use the term special #1 also. 2 trademark infringements?

In doing more digging I found J.L. Ayre dept. store headquartered in Indiana. A few more mentions of the one in Flint that had a fabulous tea room but that's it.

I don't know enough about straight razors to fill a thimble but I am wondering if the blade itself would be a tell tale sign. Shape, thickness, radius, lengths etc. I am not trying to make it something it is not just learning as I go . Maybe Ayres got a hold of some blanks between the German maker and Bresnick?

Anything is possible.

Bresnick was just a supply outfit. You would have to do a copyright search to see if he actually made it his own or not. Even if he did and someone else used it I doubt he would spend the big bucks to defend it.

The Pumas he sold are not ducks. It was like buying something in a store and it says "made expressly for..." They were just Pumas he sold and they put his name on it like TI has Eagle brand and a few others for various retailers.

They later established a relationship with Beau Brummel Werk. Who knows, maybe they made the razors for them.

I keep thinking there is a way to find out more about the history of these razors. I have spent a few hours researching and only find tid-bits here and there. Somebody knows something. I am going to look at patents and trade marks (when I find the time) and see what info or direction I can dig up there. I am not looking to write a book, just love the challenge of finding long lost knowledge once in awhile.

The last link was Pearlson and he died several years ago. As I recall one of his relatives was selling some NOS pieces a couple of years ago. There are old catalogs floating around somewhere. If you had a large library I'm sure you could dig up old ads from newspapers of the day. I'm thinking a place like the New York Public Library.