Thread: Ernesto Solingen = Heljestrand?

thank you all very much for your contributions! unfortunately, i was not able to find more information about Ernesto razors, except for two pictures of straight razors with the "Ernesto Solingen" stamp. both are shoulderless with 6/8 or wider blades and wide tangs (unlike most heljestrands).

Originally Posted by BobH

I don't know, you might be on to something there. I think most Solingen makers used the last/surname of the company founders on their razors. I don't believe Ernesto is a German family/surname and the German equivalent first/given of Ernesto is Ernst/Ernust Behind the Name: Meaning, origin and history of the name Ernest .

as i mentioned above i found an older post on a german forum where a member got in touch with a person in solingen, family name "Kalkuhl". this person's grandfather was Ernst Kalkuhl who run a business in solingen. the company sold all kind of cutlery, razors included, mainly to south america, hence the brand name "Ernesto" or "Ernesto Kalkuhl", which is "Ernst" in spanish, italian and portugese. however, it remains unclear if the razor the OP inquires about, was really sold by this company.

as promised i'll post some picutures as soon as i receive the razor. should be next week. i will also be able then to compare it directly to an MK 30.

hans

Originally Posted by brightred

as i mentioned above i found an older post on a german forum where a member got in touch with a person in solingen, family name "Kalkuhl". this person's grandfather was Ernst Kalkuhl who run a business in solingen. the company sold all kind of cutlery, razors included, mainly to south america, hence the brand name "Ernesto" or "Ernesto Kalkuhl", which is "Ernst" in spanish, italian and portugese. however, it remains unclear if the razor the OP inquires about, was really sold by this company.

It would be interesting to know what type of "business" Ernst Kalkuhl ran. If it was manufacturing razors or just a cutlers shop selling products made for them by others with their own brand on them. I can see Ernesto being used as a trademark for selling into markets where the Spanish, Portuguese and Spanish languages were spoken. I believe, for example, that the Arbolito marked razors from Boker served that purpose. I am not certain Ernst Kalkuhl was an actual maker of razors. In any event there are too many ways to interpret the markings to come to a definitive conclusion. Interesting and enjoyable puzzle all the same.

Bob

the razor arrived yesterday. it had more rust and stains on it than expected. after removing the bakelite scales i cleaned the blade and made some pictures. the second blade in the photos is a Heljestrand MK 30 for comparison. The Ernesto blade is a bit longer than the Heljestrand blade, but smaller than a MK 31 blade.

i still don't know where this razor comes from. but then it is just a nice straight razor (with a straight blade!) that did not cost much, so i am quite happy with my purchase.

last three pictures: after i had taken the picutures of the blade i restored it slightly as well as the scales, set a brass bushing as the hole in the tang is too wide for the pin, and mounted the scales. then i set the bevel on 1k and 5k naniwas and finished on a nakayama and a narutaki. gave me a pretty decent shave this morning!





















hans