Thread: Gieston & Forsthoff Adoration Solingen

Got this in the other day.


It's not as clean in person as it looked in the pictures on eBay but still not too bad really.
It had some rust on the spine and a fairly insignificant amount on the blade.

Dang it! I neglected to take before pictures but you can still kind of see where the pitting is In the after pictures. After looking at the box and the razor itself, I don't think this thing was ever used. I can see no signs of hone wear at all and It looks like the factory edge I guess. The bevel is very, very narrow. The box looks very crisp.

There is some chewing which looks like from silverfish but it appears to have hardly even been handled at all. The scales are not scratched, not even surface scratches. I used Mike's method and went after it with the polish and a scotch brite pad and then the rag with the polish for about half the intermission and one full period of the game which would have been probably about 40 minutes and it looks fabulous. I'll probably hone it up tonight and shave with it tomorrow.

Is it a bellied hollow ground blade?

Bob

Yes. It is so thin at the edge it's a little hard to tell but yes it is.


Edit: this appears to be a vintage one. I've had trouble finding anything definitive about dating but my guess is it is at least 40-50 years old. My understanding is that the new ones are Chinese junk with at least a small amount of the work done in Germany which makes it legal to call it made in Solingen. I don't think this is one of those.

Thank you, I had a hunch it would be a bellied hollow. Yup, it appears to be vintage to me also and they are normally great shavers. Heard the same thing about the modern G&F straight razors but I think that is just guess work on most peoples part. Enjoy your new find.

Bob

Definitely vintage, that is one sweet grind.
They are a pleasure to shave with, just take your time on the hones. Even with the belly, the edge is so fine it will flex. Less pressure, more strokes.

Nice find.

Yes, very nice find and shaving razors. As said watch the pressure when honing, they flex easily.

So few survive due to cell rot. If the rust pattern was a very fine orange rust, it may be early cell rot, keep an eye on it for a couple of months.

The rusted Adoration inlay may also be a clue.

The rust doesn't seem to follow the cell rot pattern. It was all on the top of the spine almost and not inside the scales. Still I'll keep.an eye on it anyway.

Boy is it ever thin. If you run your fingernail on the underside of the of the edge you can see it flex through the edge.

Originally Posted by PaulFLUS

Boy is it ever thin. If you run your fingernail on the underside of the of the edge you can see it flex through the edge.

To grind a blade that thin with a belly in it is not the work of an apprentice grinder. It take a lot of time and skill to be able to consistently turn out successfully blades like that. Personally, I prize those blades more than the heavier grinds because they are harder to grind. It should really "talk" to you when shaving with it.

Bob

Shave test proves it to be better than satisfactory. I always love the blade ring you get while shaving with those super thin blades. I have a Kropp that literally rings when shaving more than stubble.