C.V. Heljestrand awesome old razor questions

My grandfather passed away in the 60's and this razor has been in the family for years. I have been using a strait razor for years and the other day my sister noticed my strait razor and blurts out..."oh I have gramdpa O's old strait razor." I was floored when I looked at it. I have tried finding one like it but.....

I'm looking to the strait razor experts here and asking a little help on the the history/ year/ age / place of origin/ value of this razor? ANY info would be awesome..


Thank you,
NorCaljoe

It's a good brand. They are well known for premium razors. It is as the stamp says made in Sweden. It has the country and not just the place so it will be after 1890 when the originating country became mandatory. There is no nicer razor than an heirloom piece. Enjoy it, I do mine, it comes out for special shaves and when I'm feeling a little nostalgic.

P.S.
No evaluations are permitted. For the record it is priceless anyway.

Yes! Aside from the etch, pretty common faux-frameback Heljie. Best part is it is an heirloom and can be used. Neat! :tu

Beautiful blade!

That one makes me drool!!!! What a very beautiful piece of history & an heirloom on top of that. Your grandpa was certainly on top of his game! That is one piece to cherish until you pass it on down to your kids & grandkids. I'm truly amazed!!!!!!

I have one made in the same place. In Denmark these are quite common. Mine is from 1920 - 1940 yours would be about 1920 I guess.

The Swedish steel are still used in Dovo razors and the quality is great. The last razor in Eskiltuna was produced around 1960.

Properly honed it will hold a edge for at least 30 shaves. It a great razor. I love mine.

Nice story and nice blade too! :D Heljestrand was on top of the "food chain" and closed shop in the 1980s in Eskilstuna. Framebacks in general where manufactored rather late in Sweden, as told earlier and yours are a really nice looking piece! Most common etch was with dates and years from exhibitions, but Heljestrand also made them with masonic ecthes (got one of those :)).

I have an old CV Heljestrand that was purchased at an auction by my father in the 70's from a very old very rich German Doctor.
My dad had bought an old desk that contained some random items. One of the items was this old razor which I have just looked at for the first time in 35 years. When I was 14 I had no idea what I was looking at and now that I am 49 I still have no idea what I am looking at. I am not a strait razor expert...I have tried to contact many strait razor companies but I have not been fortunate with finding the right person that can send me in a direction that would be of professional help with regards to finding out the origins and history of this razor. I do not know the year, number, size ect of the razor and am hoping someone here can give me information that will allow me professional help. I realize that evaluations ect are not politically correct on this site and that is not what I am asking for here ...I am asking for direction to go....so I can get the evaluation/ appraisal ect....does anyone know where to go to get an evaluation / appraisal? Is that ok to ask? Who? Fee...no problem....jsut where do I go? who's the man?

I was wrong this is not the razor from grandpa....this was bought at auction in a desk in the 70's

Well, in France anyway, there's no such specialist in antiques that can tell "this razor worth ... $ for sure".

They'll give you a range (more or less pertinent), and the final price will also depend of the place you put the razor for sale etc...

In my opinion the ones that are the most competent in telling a value are the collectors, 'cause they're spending a lot of time looking at how much does this razor went last week on ebay etc..

And it's also quite variable depending on the period of the year, the condition / type of the blade, material of the scales...

There is no such thing as : the right price for this blade, there is a range of correct prices that could attract a buyer and satisfy the seller.

But the easiest thing in my opinion if you want to sell, is simply put it on ebay.

ok thank you that makes sense. Maybe the question I need to ask is more along the lines of has anyone seen this type of razor before. Is this one of a kind? Is this one common? Does anyone know the number / modle number? Where would I get that info?

Thanks again.

Sorry, appraisals not allowed on this site. Look on eBay for similar razors. Go to completed items to see what they are going for. Remember value is in the eye of the beholder. Good luck.

For me it's a nice model, with a nice engraving, but it's not one of a kind.

This razor is a "frame-back" type, those are not the most sought after from Heljestrand, but it however makes excellent shavers.

I'd say it's a razor from between 1870 - 1900. (Well, the last date engraved is 1883, so 1883 - 1900)

Are you not interested in getting it restored and use it yourself ? You probably won't make billions by selling it.

That razor is nothing special just a regular frameback heljestrand

It certainly is not a rare model, I've had a couple of these. Very nice shavers like all Heljestrands, and yours is in fairly used condition to be of high value as a collectable.

As for the manufacturing - late 19th century. Those cities' names on the etching are expositions, I think the ones where the company won awards, so the latest one could give you a good estimate for when it was produced (looking quickly I see 1883, so after that).

We don't do valuations so you could take a look at the completed auctions on ebay for similar razors. The condition plays a big role and that's probably something you can't evaluate too well, but also the big variations in supply&demand. So you'll probably see a rather wide range, and that's part of why we don't do valuations.

BTW, have you considered trying this type of shaving, or we look like a bunch of crazies?

Yes not an uncommon razor .. Good brand but they are common ,, look at it this way , it's a good razor to shave with and all you need do is send it out to be cleaned up a bit and honed right , and there you go. Tc

CVH common...got that....my razor....mass produced with this etching? ....no? Yes?

I love strait razors....i even bought one for my boys.I will never shave with anything else. I have to get the upper lip part down and the left part under the ear.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by NorCaljoe

CVH common...got that....my razor....mass produced with this etching? ....no? Yes?

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Yes is the correct answer.

Yours is a good user with some family ties. Were it mine, I'd use it.

strange to ask the same question twice.

Merged the two threads on the same topic. Moving from beginners to razors.