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Does anyone have one of these Smith & Hemenway Red Devil 427 razors that were forged out of twisted wire? I came across this ad from a 1904 magazine. I assume that stamping a razor out of twisted wire would give it kind of a Damascus look. If anyone has one of these razors could you post a photo for us to see. Don't confuse this with a Engstrom Ran-Tan-Ka-Rus Red Devil. Thanks
Regards - Walt
http://i464.photobucket.com/albums/r...pse724dd36.jpg
True Cable Damascus is a thing of beauty and can vary incredibly in appearance, a razor crafted from it would be a real work of art!
Some awesome examples below!
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Attachment 138135http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/at...836763&thumb=1
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Would also be greatly interested in pics of the razor the OP speaks of if anyone has one!
I want to see too.
Unfortunately my Time Warner cable is down right now or I'd post some pics ofy Red Devils. Neither of them look like those knives pictured above.
I'm not sure it's so easy to separate those S&H Red Devils from the Engstrom ones though. There is a Luthe Hardware advertisement floating around that also shows the wire-made Red Devils too... and it goes on to emphasize the fact that they're made in Sweden. Given the timeframe it's likely that it was Engstrom who was making these and having them distributed through S&H and Luthe.
What I can tell you for sure is that both of my devils are nearly identical to each other and the Luthe advertisement (in that they're both hollow ground swayback smiling blades). One has the Engstrom stamp, one just says Made in Sweden.
...and I should also point out that the one with the Engstrom stamp also has its original scales that have the RanTan KaRus devil moniker-- which just happens to match the RanTan KaRus devil box which also sports the S&H Co. imprint.
Perhaps they just need a cheeky wee wipe with some etchant to reveal them in all their glory...Quote:
Originally Posted by velocityboy
That actually has crossed my mind before. I'd be hesitant to do that to the Engstrom stamped one because it's pretty minty. The other one is a little rough and sitting in my "to be restored" pile. ...maybe I'll experiment w it!Quote:
Originally Posted by hollowground
That is pretty strong evidence that this razor was made by Engstrom and retailed by S&H. I wonder if it is just the S&H model 427 and the Luthe "Little Red Devil" that were made using this method. The reason I originally excluded Engstrom was because my Ran-tan-ka-rus Red Devil has a different profile and the steel appears to be of the standard variety (no variation in grain). I would expect that a blade made using the twisted wire method would have some type of grain. Maybe someone who forges steel could lend some clarification to the subject.Quote:
Originally Posted by velocityboy
Regards - Walt
I'd be interested too. The description on the Luthe ad describes them as "full polished and glazed" so i assume the grain can be/was polished out.
Just out of curiosity is your "regular" Engstrom devil full hollow ground or would you say it's closer to half hollow?
I ask because I've had a couple regular devils pass through my hands and they were both closer to half than full hollow ground.
These swayback smiling devils are full hollow ground and really pretty light in weight compared to the half hollow straight back Devils.
I once saw another ad for Swedish Red Devils (I can't for the life of me remember where i saw it) that offered a special "heavy duty" version for tougher thicker beards. ...This heavy duty version was actually a few bucks cheaper than the other devils listed. ...it could be the straight back half hollow Engstrom devils are those heavier "heavy duty" ones ...and the cheaper price reflects the regular blade stock used for them instead of the wire method.
All the above is just me trying to reconcile our devils as they pertain to this somewhat nebulous history... but that's my take.
Mine is a full hollow.
Regards - Walt
http://i464.photobucket.com/albums/r...-tanKa-rus.jpg
These are very good shavers. Esp the little one!
Ohhhhhhhh, the RAD sharks are swimming in my head. ;)
http://video.search.yahoo.com/video/...sigb=13jah2298
MIke
Can't make out the maker from your photo. Is one or both of these a S&H 427?Quote:
Originally Posted by sharptonn
Regards - Walt
They are both Engstroms. They wound up in ivory!Quote:
Originally Posted by Walt
Ok sorry to bring up an old"ish" thread, but in doing a bit more Red Devil research for a recent razor buyer, I stumbled upon this!!-
Essentially, it just confirms our suspicions that Engstrom was the one making these blades for S&H; and that they were made in two varieties.
Hardware: A Review of the American Hardware Market - Google Books
For those who can't be bothered to read the whole thing, here's the important bit:
"In addition to manufacturing a complete line of American razors, the Smith & Hemenway Co. are sole importers in the United States of the celebrated John Engstrom frame-back goods and the Ran-Tan-Ka-Rus "Red Devil" razor, which is made in two patterns, a straight barbers' pattern and a curved pattern for individual use...
So that answers that.
Also, it should be noted that the Smith & Hemenway Company went on to be renamed what is now Red Devil Inc. In their "about us" section of their website, it says this:
"During a buying trip to Sweden, the company's founder, Landon P. Smith, heard a blacksmith remark "those little red devils" after sparks from a forge singed his arm. The name stuck in Smith's mind and upon his return to the States he began to label many of the tools he sold with the RED DEVIL® trade name."
I'd imagine that Swedish blacksmith was Johan Engstrom.
Somewhere along the lines Luthe Hardware must have gotten in on the action too, but as this S&H info tells us pretty much what we were wanting to know, I'm done searching.
"Those little red devils" would in Swedish be "De små röda djävlarna".
Red Devil - Röd Djävul
