Thread: The Orphanage

This is a club/thread for those razors that you end up with that either have no name at all, or a name that you never heard of and can't find any information about. Or even if you find out a little, it's not very revealing. These are the razors that everyone forgot about. Maybe in 1924 they were well known in some town or region, but the companies went under, the razors stayed in drawers, ended up in estates or antique stores, until YOU came along and spotted…potential.

Under your careful, loving tutelage, maybe your touch on the sandpaper or buffing wheel, your care with the hones and strop…and your no-name razor, devoid of fame, lacking pedigree or papers, becomes a first-class shaver. Maybe your no-name absolutely shames your Dubl Duck Goldedge, or bashes your Boker, or out-whacks your whackers, without butchering you the way your Wade and Butcher does…

…your razor might be unknown, or little known, or little respected, unsung, ignored, forgotten…but you know it's a star!

This, friends, is your club.

Let's see those no-name razors, those generic Solingens, those shiftless Sheffields, those vagrants and lost souls of the straight razor world.

Who knows, maybe a new lease on life is all some of these razors need!

Here is one i picked up today. I hope maybe someone knows something about her. It is a Hijo De Garrido 15/16

Originally Posted by nicknbleeding

Here is one i picked up today. I hope maybe someone knows something about her. It is a Hijo De Garrido 15/16

Looks a lot like a Filly 14 to me...

I think this club is a great idea. I like to know as much about the history of a razor as I can. Here's a couple that have a name but not sure exactly where they came from or when they were manufactured.

First is a John Bingham, almost wedge, 6/8, bone scales.

Second is a Ramapo Co. No60 Warranted, almost wedge, a little over 8/8 at it's widest, wood scales. I'm assuming it was rescaled.

Originally Posted by nicknbleeding

Here is one i picked up today. I hope maybe someone knows something about her. It is a Hijo De Garrido 15/16

Thats a real beauty .

the one that gave me the idea for this club in the first place

Here's a razor I love, but which has no pedigree other than just "solingen." NOS, it honed up nicely and shaves beautifully.

I have some old razors that I found at antique stores with no name, or names that no one seems to know.

1. This one says Hollow Ground Germany on the tang, and the blade is etched with German and Russian. The German inscription translates to "Finest Silver Steel," and the Russian to "Guaranteed for 3 Years." Other than that, there are no markings as to a manufacturer. It did not require much clean-up. A few trips across the hone, and she was good to go. Pretty decent shaver.

2. The second simply says Puritan on the tang. It looks as if it was blued on the tang, and possibly spine. Again not much clean-up, and it honed up fairly well. Not the best shaver in my collection, but it does ok.

3. The last one says Radium on one side of the tang, and I. Issacs Wilkes Barre, PA on the other side. Seems to be a good razor. She honed up nice and gives a pretty good shave, as well.

I have not been able to find much, if any info on any of these razors, but they look ok, and shave good. That's enough for me.

Nice razors Bandman. Somehow that Puritan razor seems to be aptly named. Plain and suited to it's purpose.

This blade came in with a "lot" I bought that had one nice Robeson in it. The scales were shot, but from another in the lot I had a decent pair of scales. The blade had to be sanded and then I gave it about a day in my brass tumbler with fine walnut media and a mild polishing compound. Nothing special, but it meant I didn't have to do all the work!

This blade has no markings or devices of any kind, but it honed up very nicely and shaves well. It's a hair smaller than most straights.

From how it felt on the hones, I am thinking the steel is Sheffield. Does that make sense?