History or info on razor?

Hello I received this razor from Larry through whipped dog. After many internet searches turned up with no information, I figured coming here might be the best bet.
my question is, can anyone provide me with any Information or history from this razor? A link or anything would be greatly appreciated, also if you have ever used one if it is a good shaver or whatnot.

From the box it says J.A. Henckles "emperor"


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You may find some information on your razor box here, but you will need to search for the name listed on the razor (i.e. "Melchior Bros B.S. Co"). I saw a few hits on the web, but not much. Good luck with your search.

Welcome to SRP. That is a Melchoir Bros razor. I know nothing about the company. It is not at all unusual to find razors mismatched with boxes. That looks to have been rescaled, or someone did a poor job of tightening the pivot pin. Hone wear is a bit excessive at the point, but might make a good shaver if honed up to shave ready.

Pretty much all Solingen or Sheffield razors from that era are good shavers, even if they are from obscure makers. Check out our beginner's guide to make sure you start off on the right foot. Straight Razor Place Library - Straight Razor Place Library :gl:

I believe what you have is a Henckels Emperor box but the razor itself looks like a german made razor for a US Barber Supply company. It is hard to know who made the razor for them but with some research you may be able to find out. I do not, however, think it is a Henckels blade.

Thanks for the info guys, love the reply speed!
The thought never crossed my mind that the razor and box could be mixmatched.

Did an 'advanced search' for Melchior and came up with a quite a few threads. Not much to go on though. There was a 'Max Melchior', and a Carl Melchior. May or may not be related, but probably the brothers. Here is one post by one of our resident historians, manah .......... http://straightrazorpalace.com/razor...tml#post792213

Melchior Bros B . S. was formed by Hugo, Ernest, Edward and Frederick Melchior in 1880. The B. S. stands for barber supply, and in their time they rivaled other major players in the market like Koken.

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The company traded to at least 1980. An 1894 Omaha directory shows the breakdown:

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Hugo went to Nebraska in 1897 but kept his affiliation with the parent company until he ceased trading, for whatever reason, in the 1930s. Note that this has prompted less diligent researchers to report that the whole company stopped trading for good at that time, but it did not.

I feel that they all came from Omaha, as a census for 1900 reveals that Peter Melchior was the father, and Frederick (whose name was originally Ferdinand) was his son, both hailed from Germany. Therefore I guess that Frederick/Ferdinand was the senior figure in the Chicago company, and the others were his sons or relations. Could very well be mistaken though.

Regards,
Neil