New guy with an old razor...

I'm glad I found this place. I dumped my plastic disposables and started shaving a while ago with a old Gillette safety razor and, while searching though some old stuff I had put away, came across a straight razor I've ignored for many years.

I've been doing a lot of web searching, but I'm not sure exactly what I have and where to go from here. On the case is "The Crown and Sword Razor Works Wald Solingen" though I am not sure the case actually goes with the razor.

The razor is sharp, clean looking with a few very small rust spots. On one side is stamped "GEBR.BELL SOLINGEN GR. GERMANY" and on the other side
"50 King Bell" with the image of a moose or an elk.

The scales are missing. I would like to restore this and put it to good use, but I'd like to find out more about it and possibly, what the original scales may have looked like.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

some hone wear but looks nice.. i say do it up, and see if you can get some one to craft you those scale caps also...they look pretty rad! good luck, i looked and have not seen that manufacturer! but the crown and swords is pretty well known so the box i think your right def does not go with the Razor!

do it up!

That will look great after a full restoration!

Thanks.

Thinking about it, I think (after I actually thought about it :p ) that I answered my own question about what the scales may have looked like.

The translucent cloudy amber bits under the caps are what's left of the missing scales. Duh! Like I said, I'm new to this. So I'm guessing that the scales were made of cloudy amber colored material. Celluloid maybe? There are also some very fine striations in the material that don't show in the pictures. I'm not sure if that's something natural like tortoise shell (which is illegal to use anyway nowadays) or an intentional pattern if it is celluloid.

Looks like I have some work to do. It's still sharp enough to take some hair off the back of my hand. I haven't had the nerve to try my face, though. :)

Translucent with striations sounds and awful lot like horn to me, but I'm not an expert, it could very well be celluloid as well. Off the top of my head, I know Max has done some pretty incredible work replacing bolsters and the like on new scales. Not saying that he is the only one who can, just the guy who comes to mind right away.

Should be a very good looking blade after some restore work.

Drew

Horn! I never thought of horn. I knew I registered at the right place.
Thanks.

yes this is a great site an community...it has it's issues like every dysfunctional family , but for the most part read learn, and you'll be amazed at the generosity and kindness of alot of the members! welcome aboard! i've been here two months i think and have a full intravenous straight razor addiction! so be really careful!

ciao
Wulfgar

Here is my King Bell....just so you can see what yours used to look like! I'm sorry that I'm 4 years late in showing you..but I just found this site/forum...while searching the internet for info. on mine. Your thread on this page is what led me here....and yours is the only one that I have located! (Which is really quite strange)
I hope this helped! It really is quite beautiful isn't it?!


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Four years later and I'm still hanging around.
(Well, sitting around...I just had a hip replacement :D )

That is so cool. I never got around to getting my King Bell rescaled. I still have it stored safely away and frankly, out of mind. Now I finally know what it originally looked like. I'm going to keep my eyes open at the local estate sales this spring to see if I can come up with the missing parts. Knowing that you're the only other person who seems to have found one, I'm guessing it'll be a long shot.

But, that's the fun of it.

Thanks for the post.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Menhir

Four years later and I'm still hanging around.
(Well, sitting around...I just had a hip replacement :D )

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You have been on here 4 years and have 8 posts?
That HAS to be some sort of record! LOL

GLAD you are still hanging around... :tu

Maybe I can shed a little light about your razor. The King Bell brand was made by Gebr. Bell (Bell Brothers) of Solingen, Germany. They sold their razors under their own name (see photo) and likely wholesaled their wares to retailers in the U.S. market. Your razor was purchased by the Arnold Co. (possibly the Arnold barber supply co. of Little Rock, AR) for resale with their company name stamped on the tang. This was a common practice used by smaller businesses to have their own brand of razor, etc. The German manufacturers were offering this service at a very inexpensive price and undersold the American competition.

The one thing that puzzles me is that your razor was stamped M. I. (made in) Germany and the Gebr Bell were located in Solingen. There was a distinction between the two as razors being produced in the Solingen area were held to a higher production standard than razors made in other parts of the country. That's not to say that other German razors couldn't have been made to same high standard, but it was not required.

Regards - Walt

http://i464.photobucket.com/albums/r...ps937f4e48.jpg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Chevhead

You have been on here 4 years and have 8 posts?
That HAS to be some sort of record! LOL

GLAD you are still hanging around... :tu

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It's been four very busy years. :rolleyes:

Walt, thanks for the new info.

I'm so glad that I left the option on to notify me of any responses by email, otherwise I may have missed all this. I'm lucky I can remember where I parked my car, let alone what I did four years ago. :D