Thread: Svenskt stål/Swedish steel

Has the antler-scaled blade been shortened?

Originally Posted by Kees

Has the antler-scaled blade been shortened?

I don't believe so,they are both the same length although it looks that way in the pic.

A nice C. V. Heljestrand arrived today. It's also labeled Sandvik-Bessemer Stal on the spine, which I understand is a steel making process. Time to do some research on this one. I'm curious about its age.

Originally Posted by Mrchick

A nice C. V. Heljestrand arrived today. It's also labeled Sandvik-Bessemer on the spine. Time to do some research on this one. I'm curious about its age.

It was made around 1890, plus or minus a couple of years. They clean up nicely and are great shavers.

Iberia Doble Temple #12 Straight Razor. This was made with Swedish steel believe it or not.

Thank you @doc47 !
I like the looks of this razor a lot and look forward to cleaning it up and using it.

My bigger Heljestrands,sorry about the pic quality...The MK33 measures about .845 and the larger 2 are about .890.All great shavers,my opinion.I wish they were stamped with model numbers through the years.One is marked KEN for some reason?Bigger Swedish razors are not too common it seems and tough to get a good deal on one.The smaller ones shave surprisingly well and are more common, having great scales along with them.

The one below the Royal Kindal is a MK33.

My largest MK is my C.V. Heljestrand MK 32 (19mm) Full Hollow. My C.V. Heljestrand MK 33 (17.5mm) Full Hollow is significantly smaller, about the size of most MK 31s. Then most of my MK 31s are 15mm blades about the size of a typical MK 30. The company was all over the place in regards to numbering their blades, especially toward the end of the business (IMHO). My best Heljestrand shavers are my 15mm blades, they are amazing and fun to use. Royal Kindal is still in business, but doesn't make razors. The razors were made for them by Heljestrand at the end of that companies history in an attempt to develop an export market, but it wasn't enough to keep Heljestrand in business. I have had sets of MK 31s that were packaged in Kindal cases, but have never owned a Royal Kindal. I currently have 23 C.V. Heljestrand razors, guess what my favorite blades is? What can I say, I'm a sucker for thumb notches...

Is this common knowledge among Swedish razor enthusiasts:
"A small manufacturer of razors, Edvin Neiström spent the years from 1917 until his death hand-making every razor that left his factory himself, or with the help of his son and, eventually, one worker. This tradition was continued by his son until the company folded in 1970." I love My Neiström 57 as much as any razor I own and it shaves like a dream. So I just bought a second one...razors hand made by the owner, some concept!

This is what brought the Heljestrand's as much or more praise in Sweden before their razors.