New here, looking for some information (history of the companies, dating,...)
Hi everyone
A few days ago I posted this same thread on some other knife-related forums showing the razors you'll see below. Since I got no additional information, a few members on both sites showed me the way to this forum, thinking you guys might be able to help me out. So here's the story behind the following razors...
I'll commence with a bit of a backstory. My great-aunt is currently aged 86, but her health conditions have been worsening. Doctors said she couldn't live in her house anymore by herself (she's a widow) and since she lives far away from the rest of the family, she will move into a retirement home nearby. She said herself that she can't live on her own anymore and that she needs help. The retirement home where's she's going now is only a few blocks away from where she was born and lived until she was 19, so she's happy to come back to a known environment close to her relatives.
Of course, she can't take everything with her and together with her we're sorting through her stuff. What can she take with her and what does she want to take with her? Among her personal possessions were two straight razors that belonged to her husband. He was a barber until 1979, when he retired. He died back in 1996 or 1995, can't remember since I was 5 or 6 years old then.
Long story short: she didn't really care for the razors anymore and she seems to be more fond of pictures and the like to take with her. I could have them.
So here they are!
First up is the one that's been used the most. There were even little hairs left in the pivot and all that. It's stamped 89 Fram, Solingen on one side and Mandler, Solingen-wald on the other. What I found on the web was that -among other brands- it was made by C. Friedrich Kratz & Co. That's all I know. I don't know anything about the quality of the products by this maker, year of production or anything. This one does need some cleaning up. It has red rust all over it.
http://imageshack.us/a/img191/7271/htm0.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img20/6854/k1gm.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img707/7852/o4ib.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img42/6686/3w7e.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img834/1049/7e3t.jpg
(continued)