Thread: Solinzen?

K99K also is written similar to K55K stamped on Kaufmann (currently Otter Messer) Mercator knives.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfFZbXBhBf0

Originally Posted by BobH

Almost sounds like whomever is making these is using a deliberately close spelling to Solingen to cause some confusion as Solingen has always had a reputation for quality products.

Bob

Landon Fog Coats
Bobburry Coats

There have been lots of near forgeries over the years.

Originally Posted by rolodave

Landon Fog Coats
Bobburry Coats

There have been lots of near forgeries over the years.

I remember Nonna (old times fashionist) also had a pair of "Solange" (a common Portuguese female name) scissors, too lousy to serve as working tool, so it was used to cut spaguetti and gnocchi. She used to swear a lot and get dramatic when my little brother and I assaulted the kitchen to steal uncooked gnocchi before lunch time. Good times.

I have seen this spelling occasionally on old carpentry tools made in the US with Solingen steel and in several old books from the US and Britain.

I have heard two good reasons for this misspelling:

1. Up until the 1940s, Germany was using a gothic style alphabet instead of the Roman alphabet. The gothic German g looks very much like the Roman script z. So an uneducated person could very easily mistranslate the spelling especially if they were translating from poor handwriting. Personally, I'm surprised I haven't seen it spelled Golingen because the capital gothic G and capital gothic S look almost identical.

2. It was a marketing ploy to make the item seem more exotic. That doesn't explain why you see it misspelled in texts though.

Another possible clue on this razor is the etching. The etching on the blade(not on tang) is reasonably deep with a gold color to it. I'll ad a better pic when I get a chance. This gold color seems to be a fairly common on Japanese blades. The other two blades I've found with "Solinzen" were both on Japanese auction sites.

Maybe it is advertising for the state of zen that you achieve when using Solingen steel.

I'm pretty confident now that it's a Japanese blade. I saw this one marked HUNTER SOLINZEN. The reverse sideis marked "FOR BARBERS' USE FIRST QUALITY". I've seen this stamped on many Japanese blades.