Thread: Vintage razor identification

Hi to all SRP guys!

Just won this (seemingly)nice straight from Sweden... but the seller didn't wrote anything about. Anyone knows more? Tks!





(Seller's images)

Nobody in yet?

Meanwhile the razor arrived @ home today...

No named yet!

Nice razors.

The Swedish razor and knife industry is an interesting one. Most were made by a consortium of individual makers/shops under a unified banner or brand. Think Mora.

So, it is not uncommon to see similar products unbranded or with different maker marks. It was probably much more common than we know. I recall reading that one of the Swedish makers would stamp your logo on a knife or razor for a run as low as 60 pieces, I do not recall the maker or where I read it, though I think it was Frost.

Look at Double Duck/ Bresduck. There never was a Double Duck factory and who the maker was is unknown. Many, me included think it was Wingen of Germany. Wingen/Othello was the maker and proliferator of the fancy bolsters. Wingen also was one of the makers ahead of his time in terms of quality production and fit and finish. Many razors with his stamp are remarkably similar to the Duck line.

A lot of the Little Valley makers were producing products for each other.

Yesterday I picked up a nice Western brand mini-Bowie knife. Western knives and razors were made by Case in the early years. That they look like Case knives and razors is not a coincidence, they are Case knives and at way lower prices.

Western was started by Platt, who also started Case with John Case and married into the Case family. Platt was a designer and production manager, he made the stuff, Case was the salesman. Platt moved to Colorado for his health and started Western to capture the Gold Fever market, Case made product for him under the Western brand while he built his own manufacturing plant. Platt was the designer and original distributor / maker of the Bowie knife, though no-one thinks Platt, when you think of a Bowie knife.

Bottom line the whole Cutlery maker industry is a convoluted and interconnected one, where the brand stamped on the product often meant extraordinarily little. The Swedish and Little Valley makers were interconnected in product and through marriage. Super interesting history.

Old Swedish steel is generally good edge holding steel, but even if you could ID the maker marks, it may not actually be the “maker”.

Bet it is a shaver though.

Usually I don't care much about the name of the maker (I've some very good vintages whose makers are almost unknown).

This time, however, I was attracted by the particular logo, which seems particularly "notable" for being the result of a second-rate maker. Also taking into account the fact that the shape of the blade looks a lot like that of some Heljestrand.

Of course (even though it comes from Sweden), maybe I'm wrong and it isn't necessarily Swedish...

Btw. It shaved very well this morning.