A trip to an antiques store story

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03-29-2009, 09:49 PM
tadamsde

A trip to an antiques store story

Hello all,

So this weekend I took a little trip to a local antique shop to poke around (with finding a straight razor on my mind). Well I found a couple. I actually ended up buying 7 razors!!! And I am pretty new to shaving, so now I have 10 razors and only three shaves under my belt. Some were in pretty good condition, some have a bit of rust, and I typically avoided the ones that had larger patches of rust. Anyway, I found a couple that I could not find any information on. Let me know if you know anything about the company or particular razors listed below.

H. Boker & CO, TREE 106 (made in Germany)

F.J. Hesse, Preofessional (made in Baltimore MD, actually in bone handles!)

ERN Wald-solingen, 1720 (made in germany, and has a crown and sword symbol)

Ellava, REG. (I think this is German, but don't really know, it is in bone handles with an Ellavas inlay)

Anyway, I also found two 4/8th Pumas, and a J.H. Henckels 401. So I have been fixing them up all day (MAAS polish, steel wool pad, and I am about to try buffering and removing a little rust spot with the dremel) and right now I am waiting for the dremel to charge up, so I figured I would see if anyone on the forum has heard of these companies. Thanks for reading. And I have to say, I love this forum!
03-29-2009, 09:52 PM
gugi

yes, i've heard of boker and ern - i think right now i have about 6-7 bokers and 4-5 erns. large manufacturers.
03-29-2009, 10:30 PM
tadamsde

Quote:

Originally Posted by gugi

yes, i've heard of boker and ern - i think right now i have about 6-7 bokers and 4-5 erns. large manufacturers.

Awesome. Are they good shavers? And it sounds like you like to collect razors as well! how long have you been collecting razors and what are your favorite shavers? So I know what to look out for. Thanks for the input.
03-29-2009, 11:02 PM
pjrage

Nice finds!

You should really try sandpaper to remove the rust rather than the dremel. You can polish with the dremel, but still keep it on a low speed and don't let the blade get too hot. If the blade overheats, it can lose it's temper and the blade will be ruined.

Check out the wiki for more info about restoring blades using handsanding.
03-29-2009, 11:14 PM
zib

Quote:

Originally Posted by pjrage

Nice finds!

You should really try sandpaper to remove the rust rather than the dremel. You can polish with the dremel, but still keep it on a low speed and don't let the blade get too hot. If the blade overheats, it can lose it's temper and the blade will be ruined.

Check out the wiki for more info about restoring blades using handsanding.

+1 on the sandpaper, Wet to be exact, start out with 220, then 320, 400, 600, 800 and 1000 before attempting to polish. Be very careful with your dremmel. They run at slowest around 5000 rpm's. You really shouldn't go over 3000 when polishing, but it's usable. Just be careful when you get to the edge, feel the blade, make sure it's not getting to hot. Let the tool do the work and be very careful. you may want to wear eye proctection to be on the safe side. Dremel polishing compound is good, so is MAAS and Mother's believe it or not....I do a lot with a bench buffer/grinder variable speed. PM me if you need help....Rich
03-30-2009, 12:20 AM
tadamsde

Great advice

Thanks for the suggestions. I am definitely going to read into hand sanding techniques. The dremel was pretty good for the little spot I was dealing with, but one of the blades has some pitting on the spine (near the toe, pretty much running along the edge that rests on the hone) and I would like to eliminate that before it rusts out again, and to make it look pretty.

Thanks again for the input. I really appreciate the help.

Tristan
03-30-2009, 03:28 PM
khaos

Lucky find! I wish I could hit one of these famous razor jackpots....
04-28-2009, 08:45 PM
rayhesse07

F. J. Hesse razor

Hi: I can tell you about the F. J. Hesse razor as he was my great-grandfather. He owned three stores in Baltimore from 1854 to 1916; one on N. Holliday Street, another at 233 S. Charles Street, and another at 929 Hanover Street, all in Baltimore MD. Is the name of your razor a Leontine? That was his wife's name, and one of his favorite models.

Rayner Hesse
04-28-2009, 08:50 PM
Joeman

Quote:

Originally Posted by rayhesse07

Hi: I can tell you about the F. J. Hesse razor as he was my great-grandfather. He owned three stores in Baltimore from 1854 to 1916; one on N. Holliday Street, another at 233 S. Charles Street, and another at 929 Hanover Street, all in Baltimore MD. Is the name of your razor a Leontine? That was his wife's name, and one of his favorite models.

Rayner Hesse

Wow! That's really cool. I'm sure that once everyone reads this post you will be pinged allot. Really cool that the story can be told from someone in the family.

So I've got to ask, how many of his originals do you have?

Joe
04-28-2009, 08:51 PM
Lynn

Quote:

Originally Posted by rayhesse07

Hi: I can tell you about the F. J. Hesse razor as he was my great-grandfather. He owned three stores in Baltimore from 1854 to 1916; one on N. Holliday Street, another at 233 S. Charles Street, and another at 929 Hanover Street, all in Baltimore MD. Is the name of your razor a Leontine? That was his wife's name, and one of his favorite models.

Rayner Hesse

Any pics or additional information would be outstanding. That is a great piece of history.

Thanks!!

Lynn
04-28-2009, 08:54 PM
rayhesse07

F. J. Hesse razor

I own about 7 or 8. He also made scissors and other barber equipment. I even have the labels he used on the tonsorial and after shave bottles with his picture on it.

I also have the picture of his shop which has a 20 foot straight razor hanging outside the door.

I'd love to own more of the razors!

Rayner Hesse
04-28-2009, 09:00 PM
McWolf1969

That sounds like a really fun find.

Im with Lynn...i wanna see some pics! lol. Be cool to see how they look after you work on 'em too. :rock:
04-28-2009, 09:02 PM
wapienica

Quote:

Originally Posted by rayhesse07

Hi: I can tell you about the F. J. Hesse razor as he was my great-grandfather. He owned three stores in Baltimore from 1854 to 1916; one on N. Holliday Street, another at 233 S. Charles Street, and another at 929 Hanover Street, all in Baltimore MD. Is the name of your razor a Leontine? That was his wife's name, and one of his favorite models.

Rayner Hesse

thanx God for discovering Charles St. in Baltimore after visiting local college few weeks ago.
It would be so depressing to leave with the image of Baltimore based on some of the hoods
Water front is also marvelous
04-28-2009, 09:07 PM
rayhesse07

F. J. Hesse and John Hesse razors

I just came across someone selling John Hesse razors on ebay. John Hesse was Frederick's son, and also a cutler/grinder, as was my uncle, Fred, who took over the business (Fred died in 1974).

How does one upload pictures onto this site?

Ray Hesse