Thread: Question about Solingen razors, with gratuitous Puma and JNat shots and review

Originally Posted by BobH

You are welcome but to be fair I think Robin mentioned it first in a prior post.

Bob

Yes, good catch. Thank you RobinK for the tip about rust. And your informative and common-sense reply from a local, on-the-ground perspective.

I do tend to view these tools as objects of art. Razors and (and maybe firearms too) can be used as 3D steel maps or sculptures of technology over the past 200+ years. They were built as tools to do a job, but also came to symbolize the era and country they came from. Mechanical watches have a similar vibe in that they are just tools, but very personal, and incorporate a lot of period technology and style in doing their job.

Originally Posted by Badgister

...
So to answer your question, "Are there Solingen brands that are well-respected by everybody, including the old hands from Solingen? "

Yes, one that comes to mind is Bergfeld and Sohn. They made Globusmen and Sahara " Camel rider " razors. They are hard to find in mint condition, but they are a fine example of Solingen razor craftmanship...

Well it isn't mint and has honest wear (not abuse or corrosion), but I did manage to snag a Bergfeld & Sohn Gloubusmen in 6/8ths off eBay in pretty good shape, thanks for the tip!

I haven't honed or shaved with it yet, but it arrived pretty much shave ready and popping arm hair, without even being listed as shave ready. Very hollow ground, as is apparent from the last photo in the series below. It has wear but appears to have been lovingly cared for, and has a certain heft and gravity about it when I pick it up and inspect it, a serious piece. Hard to resist a 3-pin Solingen razor that has been used but well cared for.

It seems it will only require a good cleaning and final touch up on finishing hones before I shave with it, but I will post a review when I shave with it. There were only two on eBay when I did a search, and the other was actually the identical model but in much rougher shape with a lot of corrosion, so I feel I really lucked out on this one.

Congrats on your new razor. Looks like you bought this one : https://ebay.us/3sU130

The seller who appears to be a professional seller mentions it as shave ready both in the item title and description, so I would at the very least hope it pops arm hair.

FYI, this model you purchased comes originally with a gold etch on the blade. My guess is that the seller already did a serious sanding job on this razor. So I don't see how a further cleaning would make much of a difference.

I'm not sure what the old hands of Solingen think,

I do however have opinions about certain brands that are highly regarded on the forums that I've come to dislike and will never buy again, yet those razors demand serious premium prices.
I've had 3 razors by a certain make that all had a bit of a warp in the edge / blade (This was on a couple of NOS blades). I've also had some without by them, so yeah.

Aside from those all my vintage Solingen blades are well made and shave and hone up really well. I'm not a brand man, but call me a fan of Solingen and Eskilstuna make blades in general, again not all are without issues.
I tend to favor the ones that aren't highly sought after, but thats just me, with the exception of Henckels, I like my really old Henckels.

Originally Posted by Badgister

FYI, this model you purchased comes originally with a gold etch on the blade. My guess is that the seller already did a serious sanding job on this razor. So I don't see how a further cleaning would make much of a difference.

Neither do I.



But Bergfeld & Sohn made nice razors. That said, someone in a German forum made a joke (yes, Germans and humour don't mix) about another one of their brands being super special, and immediately afterwards, their prices on eBay went through the roof because US buyers... well...

Oh, and their razors and razorblades were bigly popular under National Socialist rule. Here's one of their ads from the time - very supportive of the state...

Well, there probably weren't too many Solingen makers who did not have some sort of contract to produce for the National Socialist government at that time.

Bob

Well, they didn't go full Louis Perlmann, but that advertisement is quite something.

Originally Posted by Badgister

Congrats on your new razor. Looks like you bought this one : https://ebay.us/3sU130

The seller who appears to be a professional seller mentions it as shave ready both in the item title and description, so I would at the very least hope it pops arm hair.

I stand corrected. I must have mistaken it for one of the other razors I've bought recently that weren't listed as shave ready. I've been on a buying jag lately.

Originally Posted by Badgister

FYI, this model you purchased comes originally with a gold etch on the blade. My guess is that the seller already did a serious sanding job on this razor. So I don't see how a further cleaning would make much of a difference.

Thank you for pointing out all the issues.

Originally Posted by RobinK

...Oh, and their razors and razorblades were bigly popular under National Socialist rule. Here's one of their ads from the time - very supportive of the state...

Sorry, was this really necessary? It was apropos of nothing in the discussion; I was just shopping for and posting a Solingen-made straight razor, not National Socialist memorabilia. It's completely off topic, as stack ranking German companies who shilled for the National Socialists and those who very actively facilitated and participated in their crimes is almost endless and a discussion for a different forum entirely. I was just trying to talk about a razor. On a razor forum.

Originally Posted by FatboySlim

Sorry, was this really necessary?

That depends on your definition of necessary, I think.

Further up in this thread you mentioned your interest in Solingen. Well, that piece of its history is part of the deal.

Originally Posted by FatboySlim

It's completely off topic, as stack ranking German companies who shilled for the National Socialists and those who very actively facilitated and participated in their crimes is almost endless and a discussion for a different forum entirely.

You seem to have researched the issue thoroughly. And come up with information I've not come across before. Granted, I've only lived in the area for a few decades, and have a stack of contemporary books about Solingen and its knife makers, including ones with hundreds of contemporary advertisements that contain no "shilling", but I'm sure you'll be delighted to share your sources.

Originally Posted by FatboySlim

I was just trying to talk about a razor. On a razor forum.

And you succeeded. We're talking.

As an aside, Badgister mentioned the Camel Rider brand. That's actually the brand about which the aforementioned joke was made. They were not produced for the Shah of Persia. But some people believed that and paid completely insane prices.

So there. That's your background info. You may decide to ignore it, but it's accurate.

Have a great weekend,
Robin