Thread: SSA Eskilstuna Identification

Greetings All.

I am a novice straight razor user and brand new to this site. I am hoping to get some help with identifying/dating this razor I bought today at an antique shop. It is an SSA. All of the SSAs I have seen online have "Mellgren" stamped on the end of the tang. This one does not. I do know that the Eric Mellgren Co. was the sole U.S. Distributor of the SSA razors from 1918-1920. Does this mean that this razor is newer, older, or possibly not originally purchased in the US?

Also, I would like opinions on its condition and what I should expect to pay to have it restored to useable condition. the edge has no nicks and is still sharp enough to take a curl off the back of my thumbnail. the tang is straight and the pins are still good and tight.

Thanks!

Hi lumberhoarder. welcome one the forum!
Grat for acquisition, this is a good razor, in good condition.
I had a few SSA, i know the SSA is the predecessor of famous Heljestrand, but maybe i know wrong.

Looks to me to be in great condition. The first thing I do with a razor that is in great condition is give it a good polishing with metal polish and a rag. It will usually give me an idea of what needs to be done. I don't think that one would need much other than a good polishing which you could do yourself and then a honing which I would suggest sending out for if you haven't honed a razor before. If you do decide to polish it be careful with the etching on the tang it looks like a frosted etch and metal polish might remove it. It should turn out to be a fantastic shaver.

Yea, she looks to be in good shape and would take little to get her up and running like new. The one I have, a Mellgren marked one, is a very good shaver. If you check post #9 http://straightrazorpalace.com/razor...sa-razors.html you will find some info . Congrats on finding a nice razor.

Bob

Thanks Gentlemen. I'm glad to know that my feeling that this was a good razor was correct. I figured it was a worthwhile gamble at $10.

As far as honing, I have an appointment this weekend with a honemaster in Milwaukee who has graciously agreed to "show me the ropes" of straight razor shaving. I will turn it over to him to be properly restored.

So, if my razor doesn't have the Mellgren stamp, does that mean it wasn't originally sold in the US?

Originally Posted by lumberhoarder

So, if my razor doesn't have the Mellgren stamp, does that mean it wasn't originally sold in the US?

I think that it would be hard to say one way or the other. You really have two possibilities that I can think of. Given that the USA has had immigration it could be that an immigrant brought it with them or a resident bought it out of country. Don't know if anyone sold these in the USA before, after or unofficial during the time Mellgren was the official importer.

Bob

Originally Posted by zozo

Hi lumberhoarder. welcome one the forum!
Grat for acquisition, this is a good razor, in good condition.
I had a few SSA, i know the SSA is the predecessor of famous Heljestrand, but maybe i know wrong.

That's a bit off I think, Heljestrand is a lot older than SSA and operated at the same time.

I've read from the forum that Johan Engström's facilities were bought up and renovated to create SSA, so if anything, it's a successor(not predecessor) to Johan Engström