Thread: Solingen- Actually better or just a bandwagon fad?

When you start talking "made in" unless you have access to the actual laws you really don't know. Many products to be labeled made in only need to have a certain percentage of craft performed on them to make an Eastern Piece suddenly turn into a made in Germany Piece. It all varies from country to country and region to region.

I know in watch making for a watch to be labeled Swiss Made it has to meet certain guidelines however the entire watch does not have to be of Swiss origin. Swiss watches marked Geneve up the ante as to what operations and parts have to be of Swiss origin. That's a regional thing similar to Solingen. The question is if regional authorities can exercise such control over production.

If it's a branding fad, it's been one for over 100 years. I'm not sure that fads last quite that long.

Originally Posted by Uzi

If it's a branding fad, it's been one for over 100 years. I'm not sure that fads last quite that long.

Bob

I think someone could probably write a book to answer this question, but the short answer is that if it has Solingen on it then it was manufactured under quality control guidelines and overseen by a master cutler. You can live in Solingen and make wonderful razors in your house, but if they don't meet the Solingen Decree guidelines then you cannot stamp Solingen on them.
It was pretty much the same way in Sheffield, England and Heljstand, Sweden. If your work didn't meet the city's (cutler guild's) guidelines, then you couldn't put the city name on your product.
And if you were/are caught faking the name on a product, the fine is pretty steep and in some places punishable by death. (I don't think they kill people anymore though).

To me, if I see Solingen or Sheffield or Heljstand on a blade, it gives me an idea of its quality and its feel. All three will be of high quality, but all three will have a different feel to them. I happen to like Solingen steel, so I will choose a Solingen blade over a Sheffield just about every time, but I haven't really noticed a price difference just because it says the city name on it.

I can say, from experience, that the Germans love have standards on things. Almost as much as OSHA likes to add rules. As far as the consequences, I'm sure they would be pretty steep. How strictly the razors are inspected and what that QC process is, I can't tell you.

One thing that may interest many of you: I can say that manufacturers there and in the US have been complaining of increasingly poor steel quality over the last 20 years. This is especially with steel that is going to be heat treated or welded. It's become less reliable for the same steel from a different batch to react the same from a certain hardening process.