fell into my lap

Hello all,

My name is Jeff and I am remodeling my house. Right now I am building a new master suite.

Today I was ripping up an old bathroom and in the wall I found a straight razor still in it's carrying case. It says on the case "the mehaz collection, solingen germany, straight razor 056 - 5/8"

I opened up the case and the razor was inside. it has a black handle and the blade says "SOLINGEN made in germany" on one side and on the other it says "MEHAZ international"

I ran my thumb across it and it seemed pretty sharp to me.

So I guess my question is....... what next?

Thanks for all of your information.

Jeff

What next? Pictures of course :)

+1 on the pics and next is a possible fresh honing and a shave...What next indeed...! :D


Mick

Why would a straight razor be inside a wall? And, why would you not surmise on this mystery in your original message, thus leaving us sleuths in apoplexy! :)

That is way cool...Do you have pics of the hole?/Razor...We like pics.... How come stuff like that never happens to me....?

Here is a link to current razors they sell

Spilo

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Originally Posted by LarryAndro

Why would a straight razor be inside a wall? And, why would you not surmise on this mystery in your original message, thus leaving us sleuths in apoplexy! :)

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A friend of mine remodeled his bathroom in a very old house here in No.Florida. He found old paper packages of Morphine from the late 1800's, still in tact, and readalbe...

I know safety razors were invented around the 18th century, so it's possible they had one of those razor blade holes in the medicine cabinet, and shoved the morphine packets down there...

Of course, it's silly to think a straight razor was shoved into such a small opening...So, why was a str8 in a wall....?

well I didn't bat an eyelash when I found it because the original owner of the house didn't believe in paying for garbage. He either dug a hole into the ground and buried it or stuffed it in the attic or walls. I have found plenty of garbage everywhere.

As far as the razor goes it was either in the wall or in the sub floor. I don't know becuase it fell into the basement, that is how I noticed it in the first place. There was really bad sub floor damage and was repaired sloppily so I am assuming that it must have gotten in there at that time.

As far as pictures go I have taken a few and will post when I get done with work.

The house was built in 65 and we purchased from the orignal owner. I am guessing that the razor is about 20 to 30 years old. I could be wrong.

I have always been intrigued with straight razors. I hate shaving with my mach 3. I am looking forward to this new journey.

Have a good day all.

Jeff

allrighty here. I hope this works.

Jeff

Wow! You lucky b@stard. That is in excellant condition. A good score indeed. I expected to see a rusted, moisture damaged razor. How wrong (again) was I?!


Mick

That is a nice find indeed! Your best bet would be to check the members services area of the classifieds for someone who can hone it for you. Then put that baby up against your whiskers and see how she cuts!

I just went and tore all the drywall out of my bathroom.
No razors. :(

How lucky am I? Is this a good razor? What is the razor heirarchy and where does this one stand?

How much is honing? And that stappy thingy? And the cup and brush thing?

I know, alot of questions huh?

I figure if I am going to do this thing I might as well get in the know.

Again, thanks for any or all information you dish out.

Jeff

I am reading the wiki. I am not seeing the ranking's on the razors though.

Razors aren't really ranked best to worst. Well not that I know of and I don't know too much about the brands. I do know that Solingen razors are held in good stead, so you should be able to rest assured that you have a fine tool in your possssion.
Costings for the other questions are best answered by other as well. Personally I own the razor (several actually), a brush, a strop (the strappy thing)...Um yeah...several of them too actually, and several soaps/creams, but no scuttles (cup and brush thing). Some things you don't really need if you don't want them. Many here will recommend everything you mentioned though. Each to their own really.


Mick

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Originally Posted by zib

That is way cool...Do you have pics of the hole?/Razor...We like pics.... How come stuff like that never happens to me....?

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Maybe you haven't knocked enough holes in your walls yet. Buy yourself a sledge hammer and you too can find the razors hidden in your walls.

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How lucky am I? Is this a good razor? What is the razor heirarchy and where does this one stand?

How much is honing? And that stappy thingy? And the cup and brush thing?

I know, alot of questions huh?

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Keep reading the Wiki's -- the answers are there. Especially the articles oriented to beginners.

The "Solingen" stamp usually means a good razor -- good steel, properly tempered. The Germans didn't make bad blades. There's no "hierarchy" in razors -- "fancier" (and more expensive) doesn't mean "better shaver". If it's good, it's good, and your razor is perfectly OK.

Honing will be around $15 - $20 -- check the "Classifieds" here. You can learn to do it yourself, but it's a whole new hobby; try it on your _second_ razor.

You'll need a leather strop, to use before each shave. Whipped Dog Straight Razor Sales sell's a "Poor Man's Strop Kit" which has a leather strop and "pasted balsa strop". That kit will keep the razor sharp for a long time, after it's honed. You can spend as much money as you want to, for larger / higher quality / fancier strops. But most of us damage our first strop, nicking it (or slicing into it) with the razor during stropping.

A brush can cost as much as you want -- $10 from drugstore, much more from specialty stores. Same with shaving soap.

Welcome to the club!

Charles

PS -- There's a useful Wiki article here:

Brands of Straight Razors to avoid - Straight Razor Place Wiki

Your razor is _not_ in the list.

PPS -- There's a long thread, on this site, by a previous Mehaz owner. Be sure you read to the very end! --

http://straightrazorpalace.com/honin...haz-razor.html

Hi Jeff!

What a find to find buried in your walls!

Any razor made in Solingen should shave excellently, so that one should work just fine, once it's been sharpened.

The strappy-thing is called a 'strop' and it's basically a long strip of leather. You'll need one if you're going to learn how to straight-shave. Mugs and bowls and brushes etc are also necessary for making the lather.

The razor will probably need to be honed and stropped before you can use it.

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Originally Posted by cpcohen1945

Keep reading the Wiki's -- the answers are there. Especially the articles oriented to beginners.

The "Solingen" stamp usually means a good razor -- good steel, properly tempered. The Germans didn't make bad blades. There's no "hierarchy" in razors -- "fancier" (and more expensive) doesn't mean "better shaver". If it's good, it's good, and your razor is perfectly OK.

Honing will be around $15 - $20 -- check the "Classifieds" here. You can learn to do it yourself, but it's a whole new hobby; try it on your _second_ razor.

You'll need a leather strop, to use before each shave. Whipped Dog Straight Razor Sales sell's a "Poor Man's Strop Kit" which has a leather strop and "pasted balsa strop". That kit will keep the razor sharp for a long time, after it's honed. You can spend as much money as you want to, for larger / higher quality / fancier strops. But most of us damage our first strop, nicking it (or slicing into it) with the razor during stropping.

A brush can cost as much as you want -- $10 from drugstore, much more from specialty stores. Same with shaving soap.

Welcome to the club!

Charles

PS -- There's a useful Wiki article here:

Brands of Straight Razors to avoid - Straight Razor Place Wiki

Your razor is _not_ in the list.

PPS -- There's a long thread, on this site, by a previous Mehaz owner. Be sure you read to the very end! --

http://straightrazorpalace.com/honin...haz-razor.html

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That mehaz thread is how I found this web site. I googled mehaz and found that thread. Then i joined. That sounds like alot of work.

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That mehaz thread is how I found this web site. I googled mehaz and found that thread. Then i joined. That sounds like alot of work.

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His problem was that he wasn't sure the razor was fundamentally OK, and didn't want to start from scratch.

Once you know a razor is sound, sharpening and honing follow a well-known sequence, and don't take a long time. "Sharpening" is only needed if the edge is really dull, or damaged. "Honing" is needed if the bevel is sound, and the edge is _almost_ sharp.

Honing time is measured in minutes (the $15 - $20 "honing fee" that people charge tells you it doesn't take too long). Sharpening time -- depends on how bad the edge is. I once spent over an hour on a blade that "Previous Owner" had tried to sharpen with a file or very coarse abrasive stone. I'm sure everyone on this Forum has similar stories.

All this is covered in the Wiki's. There's some skill involved in doing a good job. For a 'first razor', it may be wise to send it out.

Charles

You're probably better off having somebody experienced hone it. 'Pretty sharp' doesn't mean much because you don't have much reference to judge. When a razor is as sharp as your sharpest knife it's just the start of it approaching the region where it can shave, and to shave well it takes going over at least a couple more hones.


I've shaved with razors with their factory edge after they've been sitting for 30-60 years and they shaved quite well, but that's not the condition your razor is in. The edge is probably gone.

See if the razor can easily shave your arm hair if you move it a bit above skin level.

yeah. i tried that when i first found it. it didn't shave the hairs very well.

i will surely have to get it honed first.