Thread: First Straight Razor Purchase, Can anyone ID this razor/Was I had for the price?

Hey everyone,

First post here, you guys seem to be the go-to for anything straight razor. I have been wanting to try my hand at straight razor shaving, I just recently went to the "Art of Shaving" and bought my first safety razor but really wanted a straight. They didn't have any in stock and my wife and I just hit the flea market where there was a small selection to choose from. I searched around and did a LITTLE research on names i should look for and came upon this razor. It's a Solingen that looks to be in good repair, no nicks on the blade, no evidence of rust or blemishes, and it was able to take the hair off the back of my hand. It says "Garantie Solingen" on the tang. I got it from the vendor for $40 and I'm not sure how well I did as far as pricing goes (then again, I'm not too concerned anyways, it was worth that to me just to get started and it looks good to me)

Thoughts on this razor? Any ideas who made it? I saw Solingen on a few of them but most had another name with it, this one doesn't as I am under the impression that the "Garantie" is just french for guarantee.



ANY information/opinions are appreciated! Thanks!

Solingen is good German steel. The scales look to be in good shape. Love a three pin razor. Do some more research on the "other" names you saw on the razors and you might want to go back and buy up a few. Check SRP's list of good razors before you do and save yourself a lot of grief. We don't discuss price or pricing on the open forum. It is always a case of what you are willing to pay for a specific razor, etc. Make sure you have it professionally honed before your first use so you will know what a proper shave with a straight is. The hair test is not always indicative of shave ready. Good luck.

Originally Posted by Razorfeld

Solingen is good German steel. The scales look to be in good shape. Love a three pin razor. Do some more research on the "other" names you saw on the razors and you might want to go back and buy up a few. Check SRP's list of good razors before you do and save yourself a lot of grief. We don't discuss price or pricing on the open forum. It is always a case of what you are willing to pay for a specific razor, etc. Make sure you have it professionally honed before your first use so you will know what a proper shave with a straight is. The hair test is not always indicative of shave ready. Good luck.

Thanks for the input. I'll check out the list, the flea market will be back in a few weeks and I may head down to pick up a few more. I'm happy paying $40 for a good razor, assuming it's a good one, so I guess it meets the criteria of "what I was willing to pay". I saw in a few other posts that there are guys on here that do great honing work, I'll be sure to have it done right before I actually use it. I DO want to learn how to hone myself, I don't like relying on others too much, and there were quite a few older razors that weren't in good shape the guy had for $10 a piece that might serve well for learning to hone. All in due time, I suppose. The scales are good, all pins are tight and no chips/cracks in the scales themselves.

Very nice, nothing wrong with that blade at all and you definitely got it for an excellent price.

As Razorfeld mentioned, that's a nice 3-pin blade, and the scales look great.

Now, send it out and get a professional, shave ready edge put on it!

Out of curiosity, what is the double-edged that you bought at AoS? Lots of us here like our DEs along with our straights.

Originally Posted by deepweeds

Out of curiosity, what is the double-edged that you bought at AoS? Lots of us here like our DEs along with our straights.

I bought a Muhle R89. I like it, the weight of it feels right and it gives a great shave!

Welcome to SRP

Yeah noting to indicate the maker, so it's a generic razor made in solingen for the french speaking market due to 'garantie'.
If it's vintage the chances are it's fairly good.
The edge may be good or not, there is no way to tell by your test, and you don't really have the experience to evaluate it properly. You could decide to give it a try anyways, or if you want to be on the safe side, find somebody experienced to help you out. Here is a list of people who have put their name up willing to help Local Help - Straight Razor Place Library
but you will likely find more on the forum.
If you don't find anybody local to you you could mail the razor out for evaluation and if necessary honing.

You will need a quality strop too.

Have fun.

I'm getting word that it MAY be a fake. Apparently there are some makers who are shipping in cheap Pakistani blades and assembling them in Germany and slapping the "Solingen" on the blade. I'm legitimately concerned now that I may have a cheap piece of steel. If it is, it's not a huge loss, I didn't have to put much up to purchase it, it's the principle of it. I'll still be sending it off to get it honed and we will see what happens.