Thread: Just out of curiosity, No Names and Pleasant Surprises

I should also mention again (because it's confusing and I think that was their intention) this blade does not say the Dewey Razor Company but rather is engraved "The Dewey Razor" apparently piggybacking off the Dewey Razor Co. name. That is another reason why I suspected it might be fancy junk. By the way, I shaved with it this morning and again it shaved flawlessly.

Its probably not a Paki, then. I've got one, and you'd be lucky to finish the first pass, before the edge gave up.

The razor is/was a tribute to Admiral Dewey.
The razors Majeeb Malluck sold were quite fancy, I think.
Not the sort of thing American makers did. Still, they were quality blades FME.
I think, being importers, they had them made in Solingen.

At the time these razors were made I don't believe Pakistan even existed coming into being in 1947. Pakistan made razors came into being due to the current interest in straight razor shaving and globalization of trade. Also at the time these razors were made they were in wide spread general use so an inferior product would not last long on the market. It would not make sense to import junk unlike today when the knowledge of straight razors is pretty limited in the general public. I still think the best bet is that it was made in Germany as Solingen was known for making made to order razors for importers in North America. I only mentioned the possibility that it could be American made as the country of origin stamp may possibly not be required if the product was for sale in the home market and not an import.

Bob

Originally Posted by sharptonn

The razor is/was a tribute to Admiral Dewey.
The razors Majeeb Malluck sold were quite fancy, I think.
Not the sort of thing American makers did. Still, they were quality blades FME.
I think, being importers, they had them made in Solingen.

I resemble that remark ....

Here’s one that I’ve never seen before or since. The tang is stamped ‘M. Abdallah Phila’ on the show side and ‘57 Germany’ on the other side. As you can see, it’s quite ornate with an olive branch (I think) and hammer etch on the blade and ornate scales. Kind of a middle eastern theme.

I’ve searched on ‘Abdallah Philadelphia’ and get lots of hits, but none of them related to barber’s supply, razors, cutlery, import, etc. If anyone knows anything about it, please post!

Originally Posted by BobH

At the time these razors were made I don't believe Pakistan even existed coming into being in 1947. Pakistan made razors came into being due to the current interest in straight razor shaving and globalization of trade. Also at the time these razors were made they were in wide spread general use so an inferior product would not last long on the market. It would not make sense to import junk unlike today when the knowledge of straight razors is pretty limited in the general public. I still think the best bet is that it was made in Germany as Solingen was known for making made to order razors for importers in North America. I only mentioned the possibility that it could be American made as the country of origin stamp may possibly not be required if the product was for sale in the home market and not an import.

Bob

You're right that Pakistan as such did not exist then. It was part of India so to say "Paki" is technically incorrect although in reality the area and people did not just magically appear in 1947. They just called it something else. I am quite sure that this was made after The Battle of Manila Bay in 1898 because that is what Admiral Dewey was famous for. It just seems like if it were made by a reputable German company they would have put the country of origin on it. Although perhaps it was left to the importer to do the stamping. Still wondering why I am hearing Germany. Were they the only ones making razors for other companies? I know Ern ground for many others but did they not do that elsewhere? US for instance?

Originally Posted by PaulFLUS

You're right that Pakistan as such did not exist then. It was part of India so to say "Paki" is technically incorrect although in reality the area and people did not just magically appear in 1947. They just called it something else. I am quite sure that this was made after The Battle of Manila Bay in 1898 because that is what Admiral Dewey was famous for. It just seems like if it were made by a reputable German company they would have put the country of origin on it. Although perhaps it was left to the importer to do the stamping. Still wondering why I am hearing Germany. Were they the only ones making razors for other companies? I know Ern ground for many others but did they not do that elsewhere? US for instance?

Yes, Pakistan was part of India and as such part of the British Empire. Britain had a policy of exporting British made goods to the Colonies while importing raw materials from them to make manufactured goods. I doubt they would look kindly on competition for Sheffield from the Colonies.

Yes, other countries did make razors for US importers but I believe Germany was the main supplier of contract razors. I have already said why I think it might be possible that it could be US made too.

Unfortunately, it is unlikely that you will get a clear cut substantiated answer to country of origin or maker for your razor. Due to lack of info it will all be a best guess scenario.

Bob

Well at some point In a search one may find themselves out of answers and have to resign to not knowing. At the end of the day it is rather academic anyway. For the purposes of this discussion it is a good razor that shaves well so I'm going to keep it honed and shave with it until I'm too old or too senile to remember to shave.

Here's another no name that turned out fairly well. It's an L. Löwe and Company. This was another German made razor for a barber supply out of Milwaukee. It came in a lot and it had a pretty pronounced frown to the blade.



I corrected that and honed the daylights out of it to get the edge back and it shaves pretty darn well. if you run your finger along the rib you can tell there's some imperfection in the grind (high spot in the hollow) near the spine but it doesn't seem to affect how it sharpens or shaves. I wonder if some of these were line rejects but considered good enough to sell off as contract razors.
Here's an ad I found in The Barber's Journal from 1903. I know that's inconclusive but seems to confirm my feeling that it was likely from the late 19th to early 20th century.



Again it has scales that were probably once black but now brown and seem to stain with water and handling. These are still fairly pliable.

Here's a no name I quite enjoy. Only stamp reads Solingen. It's a type 14 blade in 7/8 that I bought NOS.

It shaves like a dream and if stamped Filarmonica, it would have cost me at least 3 times what I paid for it.