Thread: Does anyone know what this is?

It looks like a safety razor and a straight razor because the blades are not disposable. It says Kampfe Bros New York there are three patent dates on the razor. Aug 7 1888. Feb 26, 1901. and April 30 1901. It looks like a travel kit because it has some kids of brush in one of those tubes. Any help identifying this would be great! Thanks!

How about The First Safety Razor and Company History | Personna or Company History | Personna .

Bob

Gillette's business model was based on people not being good with small numbers over long periods of time

Those non-disposable blades weren't exactly cheap upfront, the razor was also not exactly free... and you needed to hone or pay someone to hone the blades for you. Gillette's package was (and still is) basically the razor as a loss leader and "cheap" disposable blades covering up the loss leader... all presented as a convenient way to shave. It's just that the company "forgot" about the "cheap" blades part of the deal over the years.

I saw a very nice set of Swedish non-disposable safety blades on the German ebay the other week, without the razor. You've got a nice complete boxed set!

Nice Catch!
Those "Safety" razors and many like them were started in the 1880's. They appealed to the traveler and military man. Often the only difference in out in the bush was that the white man shaved. They also were a great deal cheaper than the interchangeable blade straight razors. A couple regular straights could be dinged and useless thereby. A set and a few blades in addition would allow long stays and good shaves.
Your set is really nice. It is missing a couple lengths of handle and the stropper that was attached for stropping, at the end of them.
As far as who made the first ones...debate goes on.
Henckles had an early patent and so did others. Patents usually take one to five years to be enacted so the razors could have been on sale long before that.
Renew your set and send one of the blades to a good hone person (PM a Couple) to get it honed and then shave with it. They are scary but not any worse than a GEM or Ever-Ready SE.
Enjoy your bit of history!
~Richard