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Thread: Proof vs Myth

  1. #21
    Razor Vulture sharptonn's Avatar
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    Looks like these twins are conjoined with an arm and a leg and each has a testicle?

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  3. #22
    Senior Member blabbermouth ScoutHikerDad's Avatar
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    That's funny, Tom-As for the "Barber's Notch," or whatever it was originally called, I don't really care what they were originally supposed to do (though Outback Mike's mustache theory makes sense given how men in the late 19th and early 20th centuries often sported a walrus mustache that would have needed some maneuvering around to clear). Like tail-fins on an old Caddy, the vent rib on a Colt Python, or the lines on a Gibson Flying V, I just think they look cool!Probably 2/3 of my blades sport a notch.

    And yeah, I remember when I 1st started on here about 10 years ago, the let the blade rest theory was still being sold as an actual thing-never made much sense to me.

    Of course in those days the general consensus across the various fora was that you couldn't finish a straight on an Arkie unless you were some kind of masochist. I guess that wasn't so much a myth as it was just a mental barrier before some started experimenting and sharing ideas on how to make it more efficient/doable.
    There are many roads to sharp.

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  5. #23
    Razor Vulture sharptonn's Avatar
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    Was reading above. Dovo made lots of razors for others.
    Like Hess.

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    A very late one. Seems Hess could not do the tang stamps as their orders were shrinking.
    They settled for some cheap scales with Hess on them. This did come in a plastic Hess box.

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  6. #24
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    Quote Originally Posted by tintin View Post
    I lean toward the decorative purpose myself. Another myth is that a razor needs to rest between shaves so the edge "fin" can straighten. Though i've heard that there's no proof it still is mentioned the paper that comes with some new razors. I should say though that some times i wonder if it is true when i pick up a razor that i haven't used for a while and it seem sharper than i remember.
    Oh, yes I remember worrying about that one when I started

    A much worse myth I found online was "sharpness doesn't matter that much, it's all in your shaving technique". Presumably from some company selling dull razors. I could have murdered whoever came up with that
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  7. #25
    Razor Vulture sharptonn's Avatar
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    I always let mine rest a few days before stropping it up and putting it in it's spot.
    Might just be good. Most good ones get better and better. It IS microscopic stuff.
    No microscopes here. I just don't want to see!
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  8. #26
    Nemo me impune lacessit RobinK's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by gssixgun View Post
    Another is the #14 story that says all #14 blanks were made by one single company in Solingen Germany,

    Great story but there is no proof as of today, not one shred of literature from that era
    While I'm all in favour of getting objective, verifiable proof for things, there are two issues with your claim here:

    1. No one ever said they were made "by one single company" as far as I can remember. That said, I did call one drop forge, and they said that "or course" they made blanks for the LatAm markets (yes, not just Spain). And a friend of mine (who also happens to have actually made razors) asked some old craftsmen still alive at the time, and they said that "of course" they turned those blanks into razors for the LatAm markets. They also added one of my favourite quotes, "we did not speak Spanish, so we put whatever sounded good onto the blades, which is why some of them have funny stuff on them." As an aside, the drop forge also had an old bill that showed that they were selling blanks to Spain, but refused to let me take a picture because they couldn't be bothered with the grief they expected to get over it from online fora. Fun fact: Shortly after my inquiry, someone else from this forum called them, too, and was told the same. We never heard from him here, though. Odd, isn't it?
    2. Razors were the equivalent of milking stools or toilet plungers. You will not find much historical information about either in books, will you? And there's your problem.

    So this is where we are (and have been for around decade). Barring the unexpected discovery of an investigative book about the dark secrets of Solingen mass production of everyday household items almost a century ago, we can either believe the conjectures whacked together by people in online fora - or we can apply Occam's razor and stick with the simplest solution that is most likely the right one: There is a well documented history of these blanks and blades being made in Solingen, and there is none for them being made in Spain. So please prove ("evidence sufficient to establish a thing as true, or to produce belief in its truth") that they were made in Spain. Because that would be the logical thing to do.

    As for the Dovo/Pumi issue, I've said it a few dozen times before, but I'll gladly say it again: All the big razor makers made razors for others at some point in the past. Some craftsmen made razors on the side. Some small manufactures worked for several large companies. That is why some razors look alike, and some are better (or worse) than others from the same period. Talk to the very, very few remaining craftsmen and ask them. That'll be as close to "proof" as you will get. I did, because I come from the area. I have no reason to believe hobbyists in an online forum more than the men who actually made these razors. Have you?
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  9. #27
    Senior Member blabbermouth
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    I have come to the point now that the history behind who made what is not so important as how they shave for me. It would be nice to know in some certainty but history don't shave.

    Bob
    Life is a terminal illness in the end

  10. #28
    Nemo me impune lacessit RobinK's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by BobH View Post
    I have come to the point now that the history behind who made what is not so important as how they shave for me. It would be nice to know in some certainty but history don't shave.
    As I said, I come from the region, so was naturally curious as to how much could actually be found out. But even the local Klingenmuseum (blade museum) did not have much information about razors. An often overlooked fact: razors were a niche market. Solingen mainly produced cutlery, (kitchen) knives, and they do so today.

    What has always irked me are the insane (in my not quite so humble opinion) prices certain razors fetch. My pet peeve being so called "Fili's". Until the venerable Maximilian posted one of his fabulous SOTD pictures showcasing an EPBD, they went for what I still believe they were worth: under US$100. There is nothing remarkable about them. I have a few other #13 and #14 blades that are better made, certainly have better scales, and hone and shave just as you would expect them to hone and shave. Yet the popular lore around them has driven their prices through the roof.

    Now riddle me this: With Filarmonica razors among the most readily available razors on eBay, how could the mythical Seņor Pou have made all them? And if it was not him (spoiler alert, it was not, otherwise there wouldn't be dozens of them on eBay at any given time), who else made them? Where are the traces of that super secret underground razor cave where Filarmonica hid their drop forge, and the grinding gear, and the companies providing scales and etchings? It simply does not add up. At all. But here we are.

    I blame it all on Max and his mad photography skillz. Yes, really.

    Last edited by RobinK; 10-03-2019 at 05:28 AM.
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  11. #29
    Senior Member blabbermouth RezDog's Avatar
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    Apparently German razors were the gold Dollars of day gone by, at least that is what is being said.
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    It's not what you know, it's who you take fishing!

  12. #30
    Razor Vulture sharptonn's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by RezDog View Post
    Apparently German razors were the gold Dollars of day gone by, at least that is what is being said.
    The one caveat is that they were quality. The result of many generation's education.

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