My great-granddad's razor

Hello,

I visited my grandfather yesterday. He turned 85 today. We had the small chit-chat as usual. So when we were done talking about my grades and how it was going at home he said "Frank do you know what a barber is? " I told him "yes, they cut peoples hair and do some occasional shaving" "exactly" he said. So he started a story about his dad and how he served in world war one. My great-grandfather worked for the germans at that time. He knew someone who worked at a facilitary unit of the german army. This man handed out clothes to mostly new soldiers. As it turned out most men that came to get clothes were around my age (19). Often not really paying attention to their appearance and would get a shave on their way out. This man, the man at the facilitary unit, was a professional barber. HE gave one of his blades to my great-grandfather, which gave it to my grandfather which now gave it to me. My grandad never used it because he could not master the technique behind it. The blade itself is one of the sharpest blades i have ever laid my hands on. Unbelievable.

Now, i would not be posting here if i already knew what i am looking for. There are a few things i do not know yet. For example i can't really find anything about the branding on the razor.

As stated on the razor it says "Royal Oak fine hollow ground". This looks like it is engraved. On the back it says "Made in Germany" this is probably machine work. There is also a number on the metal which is 12. Maybe this indicates some sort of series? The handle is made of black plastic. The box is original and my great-granddad repaired the top with some leather. There seems to be some red writing/imaging on the box which is faded.

Furthermore It could be that the barber and my great-granddad became friends and he got it after World War one maybe even World War two. My great-granddad died in 1954 he was 64 years old at that time.

So aside from this story is there something you guys can tell me about the razor? Is it a one of a kind? which year was it made in? That kinda stuff.

Thank in advance!

Pictures were taken with my phone. I also have a camera which has better quality but i think think these will suffice.
High Resolution pictures can be found here: Imgur: The most awesome images on the Internet

Welcome aboard,,,,,,,,,,,Attachment 238838

That's a nice story & a fine looking razor. Give the guys some time & information on your razor will start rolling in.

Was the barber here in the states? All the writing is in English, something sold here. Tc

Welcome aboard mate,
it is great to have an heirloom to use, it is just something about sharing a piece of family history
it looks like it was well loved and would still clean up to a good shaver
as for one of a kind, well will be others made the same with similar markings etc, but not the same story
so yes it most certainly is a "one of a kind"

Quote:

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Originally Posted by tcrideshd

Was the barber here in the states? All the writing is in English, something sold here. Tc

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Well i'll just assume the barber was german as, according to what i know, you were forced to do something in favor for the army if you were German. My great-grandfather on the other hand was dutch and served as a "normal" soldier in the German army which might have been voluntarely although i highly doubt that.

The razor pictured has a marking "Made in Germany" which would make it more likely the barber was German.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Substance

Welcome aboard mate,
it is great to have an heirloom to use, it is just something about sharing a piece of family history
it looks like it was well loved and would still clean up to a good shaver
as for one of a kind, well will be others made the same with similar markings etc, but not the same story
so yes it most certainly is a "one of a kind"

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I do not know much about straight razors (obviously) and well i had to promiss my grandfather i would not use it since it requires a certain level of skill i do not master.
However i tried it on my arm and i did not only remove my hair it also took off a nice layer of skin aswell. Given i applied zero to none pressure i don't think it would be wise to use it.
Aside from that my grandfather lost the (literally translated) "oil stone" which should come with it. He said my great-grandfather sharpened it once a week (on monday) and would afterwards use it on a leather belt which would also sharpen it i believe. The razor was so sharp it would literally cut pieces out of the leather. So even if i would decide to use it i could not sharpen it.

One of a kind because its a family heirloom. I would have to shave with it myself after learning to do so of course....