Thread: What's this about

Looks like it could have been clamped in a vise. I would think that would have to be done before heat-treat. It seems like anything striking it hard enough to create those indentions after heat-treat could shatter it.

I don't buy the Germany thing. There were zillions of razors made in Germany during that time and if there was such a hysteria they all would have had the script changed but it simply isn't commonplace and only a few razors have it.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

I don't buy the Germany thing. There were zillions of razors made in Germany during that time and if there was such a hysteria they all would have had the script changed but it simply isn't commonplace and only a few razors have it.

I wondered about that too. Unless there were not many razors made in that period, I guess all manufacturing and much of the steel would have been focused on the war effort. Ironically now it is almost a guarantee of quality and we seek out German blades.

I do think the fact that there are so few razors like this adds to the mystery and actually it's that history and that wondering who has used it before that makes vintage blades so attractive. Well at least it is for me anyway.

I know a guy who has cut side jimps into one of his razors. He uses that razor to trim/shape his beard - and by beard I mean full on ZZ top style beard. When he trims his beard he does it against a comb to get it straight so he has to turn the razor 90 degrees to the normal shaving hold and the side jimps give him better grip.

So there is one more possible answer, side jimps for cutting hair.

I use an unusual grip on my ATG passes as I shave cross-handed on these strokes. Essentially I grip the sides of the tang with my tumb and the side of my index finger, meaning that it isn't inconceivable that someone might want jimps carved into the sides of their razor tang. Of course, I think the number of guys who use this unorthodox grip are probably few and far between and, speaking from my own experience, the inclusion of jimps isn't at all necessary.

Actually, on the subject of jimps in general, I have a number of different, vintage razors with varying jimp designs. For my part, as a guy who normally uses my index finger and thumb to hold my razor, I have no trouble with any of these razors and actually have a very slight preference for the jimpless razors in my small collection.

I think the germany thing may hold more validity than we think. Razor manufacturing during the actual war would not have been high priority. Editing the name Germany off of the blades wouldnt have happened before the war, and most likely wouldnt have happened after. Again, I could be wrong but I like the logic of the reduced production accounting for fewer edited blades.