Thread: Filarmonica Fakes

Hi guys, I've been meaning to post this for ages now but never got around to it. i bought a filarmonica on ebay from Japan about a year ago. It was advertised as a 'NOS' razor basically near new condition. It was a sello oro number 13 and i paid a fair bit for it because i'd always wanted a 'filarmonica' and heard such good things about them. Well it turned out to be the worst razor that I ever owned. It doesn't hold an edge and basically you can't even get to give you a comfortable shave. It's a worthless piece of junk. I was always convinced it was a fake and i still believe this. I makes sense these blades would be easy to counterfeit and demand high prices for like this one did. I have since seen other brands of razors mostly originating from Japan that are advertised as near new. Brands like duck and puma that seem too good to be true ( to be new, the price is still high). Whilst i can't vouch for their quality i would advise people to buy with caution because i really believe there's a market for some of the old razors that demand high prices to be counterfeited.

Can you post a clear photo of the razor with the blade exposed? Another with a close up of tang stamps & any blade etching ? I've yet to see a counterfeit filly, but anything is possible.

Hmmm. I have a Sello Oro (what does that mean?) 13 and it is quite good, to me.

Lots of stories have circulated about Filarmonicas, old and new. Where they were actually made, etc.

I think hype contributes to too much of it. Just me...

Ok....Just looked..Sello Oro. The Spanish-made stamp of gold, as I see it.
Must mean the gold wash on the blade!

Also before i bought this it did cross my mind. I looked up on this forum and people were saying that they had never seen a counterfeit before and that put my mind at ease a bit so i went for it. I don't see why people wouldn't think that it's a possibility that counterfeits don't exist of such an expensive item that could easily be reproduced...

Originally Posted by aquapura1

Also before i bought this it did cross my mind. I looked up on this forum and people were saying that they had never seen a counterfeit before and that put my mind at ease a bit so i went for it. I don't see why people wouldn't think that it's a possibility that counterfeits don't exist of such an expensive item that could easily be reproduced...

I'll defer to those more familiar with that model to check out the photos. It does look genuine to me, but I sold all my Fillys years ago, and don't have one to compare at hand. Do the scales have the embossed harp ?

yes it does in gold.

Originally Posted by aquapura1

yes it does in gold.

Anything is possible, but I find it difficult to believe that someone would do a one off counterfeit of a filly, or whatever. Was it honed by a professional ?

I don't think they would be one offs... they could easily make a batch. No it wasn't but i can get all my other razors sharp, Dovos, TIs, a wedge and shiefield razors.. I don't see why this would be any different to the others.

It's not a fake, in fact I don't think there are any fake Filarmonica's, the razor is one of the last models which come in the black coffins there's a big question mark over the QC and the steel used in the production of these razors.

Originally Posted by aquapura1

I don't see why people wouldn't think that it's a possibility that counterfeits don't exist of such an expensive item that could easily be reproduced...

I am always amused when I see the counterfeit razor hypothesis being thrown when a filarmonica razor fails to deliver. I hate to disappoint you, but there is nothing exceptional about this brand. The only reason it is an "expensive item" is because of hype that has been generated on shaving forums. Hence:

Originally Posted by aquapura1

;It was a sello oro number 13 and i paid a fair bit for it because i'd always wanted a 'filarmonica' and heard such good things about them.

Sure, some are nice shavers, but no better than a plethora of other razor brands. Just look on eBay, they are certainly not rare. They were mass produced for export and sure, there will be duds among them, but not counterfeits.