Markos & Bros razors were made in Germany. They don't have much intrinsic collector value, but it might be a decent razor.

There are literally hundreds and hundreds of now defunct razor brands out there. Many of them are no longer traceable.

It is unlikely you will be able to make this razor shave with the union hone. Mainly because it takes some time and practice to learn to hone, and you need to learn with hones that are known quantities, i.e., correct grit levels and properly lapped and prepared. Honing also take practice, and restoring edges is fairly difficult, an advanced honing task.

It took me 8 months of working on old razors several hours a day to get to a point where I can restore an old edge reliably. In addition, after working on hundreds of razors, I ended up discarding 10 or 15 which simply could not be made to shave (which is probably why they were in good condition!). Some of those were from very reputable makers.

My suggestion: Put your heirloom aside. Purchase a shave-ready razor from one of the vendors here, or from a honemeister, and use it to learn to shave. You won't be able to hone if you don't know how to shave.

Once you have learned to shave and have a good razor with a shave-ready edge, you will have some way of judging your progress honing. Then take out your heirloom and give honing a lash.

Just my $.02 worth.

Paul