Thread: Bismarck Registered

I understand this is an older razor pre Dovo. Does anyone have information on this razor? Looks real nice.

A picture would help a lot

My razor of choice. I have a few of them.



They hold a good edge, very similar in grind to a Kropp. If It's an early one they hone well and they shave like just about every other basic razor of that time. Perfectly.

There are a few variants.

5/8 and 6/8 full hollow, stamped registered or Ges Geschutzt are common. Black or cream scales, And a nice box with the Wiesbaden stamp. These make good buys but not premium buys. Perfect every day razors with no fuss about them. There are also some 4/8 and 3/8 and long variants that I assume are women's razors.

Most have a round point but square points do exist.

The early Bismarcks all look similar, same scale design, same stamping and grinding. And most have the round point and a double shoulder, With nice clean jimp work. 1910-193X



The later Bismarck can appear in lots of designs, Square points, fancy tangs and some are stamped Bismarck, others are stamped Bismarck works. There are a lot of later ones on ebay in Japan. These can vary wildly,5/8, 6/8, 7/8 extra hollow, gold etch, fancy spines and tangs. Some have really fancy inlays, Or more exotic scales. Some look very close to the original, I feel the company (Dovo) was attempting to save itself against stiff competition and a dwindling market. These razors can be worth a fair bit more, and are generally fine examples of what a razor can be like. My own 7/8 is an absolute beauty to shave with. Keen, and holds a fantastic edge. And the grind is about as thin as it gets.

I believe these razors to be Dovo's earliest use of the brand that it picked up in 1957, And could well be of the same line as other Fritz Bracht razors like Tennis. The scales are always inlayed with Bismarck Solingen from this period. These razors also often have a number stamped on the tang. Often the Jimp work is less defined and less deep that on the originals.



Dovo picked up the brand again in the 1970's and relaunched with the Bismarck super, A razor that looks like the original but with a 3 pin scale that is printed rather than an inlay. It's also got a reduced shoulder. The supers are crap avoid them. The prima stamped supers might be better, but the one I have just will not hone to a satisfactory bevel. It crumbles. Since the scales are printed they often have no paint left on them and appear blank.

The modern Bismarck is a new design that is only the trademark of the original. There is no parity in the designs. In it's own right the Dovo Bismarck is a very good razor, interestingly Dovo use a similar blank and grind in several designs. The Bismarck, The Carre, The La Forme, and the Bergischer Lowe. Each razor is has slight differences like the Bergischer Lowe has a finer grind, square point, Square tang with deeper shoulder cut out. There are rare 1957 era razors that have a similar design to the modern Bismarck.

Occasionally a bad one slips out due to mass production I think Phrank on here has a bad example that will not hold a decent edge. Mine on the other hand is fantastic. Typical of new production buy new so you can send it back if it's a dud and refuses to hold it's edge. They also love to rust. Any moisture where the gold is damaged, or meets steel it'll get spots of rust in a couple of hours.

Some of the Dovo razors use a black card box the same as the original or a plastic box with a similar to original label. The modern ones are in the Dovo blue tins with a grey sleeve.

As an original company Bismarck is a Pre WW2 company that looks to have had a favourable period trading to the occupied regions of southern Germany after WW1. We see more English than German stamped blades, And Wiesbaden was a booming spa and tourist town in this period. So it is more than possible that A Muller the known owner was catering to tourists with the razor. Some of them are also stamped Sheffield steel. The company vanishes at the start of WW2. I've never found out what happened to the A Muller, but I assume he either died, escaped, or enlisted. 1910- 193X.

http://straightrazorpalace.com/razor...-bismarck.html

Originally Posted by Iceni

If It's an early one they hone well and they shave like just about every other basic razor of that time. Perfectly.

I thought I knew something about Bismarck razors before I read your post .... but I was mistaken. I have a few of the pre WWII and mine are as you describe them.

Great review !!

Glad you liked it.

I've edited it a fair bit since I posted, Some of the information I posted wasn't as clear as it could have been regarding production and ownership. I should have originally specified that "Later Bismarck" wasn't the original company but DOVO.

I shouldn't post this stuff... All it does is push the price up on my cheap little no names!

I have one of Arthur Muller's original Bismarcks, a 6/8 full hollow, although by sight and sound on the linen and my face, I would say extra hollow. I have some nice razors, but if I could only keep one, it would be the Bismarck. Easy to hone, keeps it's edge, and is hands down the best shaver in my lot.

I normally go off this chart.



There is a lot of confusion in explaining grinds. Full hollow from that chart is how I would describe the original Bismarck. The blade is thin enough to deform a reflection but only with a moderate amount of pressure.

The 500 German extra picture I posted is an extra hollow on this chart (it doesn't have a defined ridge although the blade does thicken a little before going back to paper thin). If you touch the backside of the blade in the light you can easily move the reflection... It is very very thin.

The one I bought has cream scales and a round point and looks like the early one you have posted. Thank you for your post it is very helpful. I will post pictures as soon as I receive it. I bought it at a very good price on Ebay with the idea of using it to practice with my new Jnat and Escher stones. Know that I know it is an older razor, I will use much more tender love when working on it.

Provided it's in good condition it'll have no problems holding an edge from either of those stones.

They don't need tender love, If it's an original one there durable every day razors.

Report back on how you are finding it, and with some pictures.

Hi everyone
I have just bought another razor to do up and use. It looks like it will clean up nicely It is a Bismarck registered as you can see. Looking at the originals on line none have the name Muller on the tang, mine does. Solingen (on top) and made in Germany (underneath) on the tang are opposite way around to all the other Bismarck i have looked at. The Bismarck brand was owned and started by August Muller apparently before Dovo brought it out and started making their own Bismarck range. Would anyone know if it is an early or late one from the Bismarck range? Thanks Cheers Steve