Thank you all for the thoughtful replies. Very much what I was hoping for. The history of all this, and places like Solingen (and Sheffield for that matter) are very interesting to me. I think it is why I have relatively few modern razors. There are certainly good ones, but I think shaving with a piece of history and getting an excellent shave in the bargain just adds an extra intangible for me.

BobH, thanks for the tip about oiling under the rubber tang grip. I have a small plastic oil bottle with a long steel needle tip which should do the trick.