Thread: DORKO - please help.

Originally Posted by Aggelos

Dorko is a fine german brand, and since it was established in 1920 there's not much more to go to date it more than that.
There is no model name (which sometimes help, sometimes don't), the 12 is not a model reference, probably more a blank reference (which would indicate that Dorko merely "finished" on a blank). But yeah, you can try asking Dorko.

As for the mill cutout I surmise it's merely a kind of spine decoration among many others.
There are several ways such a decoration can me made. It can be milled, but it can also be "stamped" in the red hot iron with pincers or with a file AFAIK.

The cutout often is lower on the blade, I just surmise that it's that high because they worked from a standard blank.

While it's not that common, it's not that rare a decoration either.

Here are two samples

This one is quite similar to your Dorko in termes of time of creation and provenance


Attachment 320985
this one is much older (~ 1880/90) and French made.

I think that it was done to reduce the weight of heavy blades, but I have no evidence.

I think the grove on the spine of the OP's razor was for weight reduction and ornamentation. In blades that appear to have 2 different grinds, I think it was done for 2 reasons. They would be to allow stiffness when the blade had more hollow bottom grind and make it easier to do a hollow grind. The ultimate example would be a modern bellied hollow.

Bob

I think it might have been an attempt to put a fuller in the blade. Fullers are used to lighten the weight of knives and swords without loss of strength. See https://www.reliks.com/functional-sw...swords/fuller/

Not your typical 'Fuller' I would guess.
A great deal could be found as laying this on a hone and checking to see if it lies on the top, or bottom spine.
OR both simultaneously. Were it the bottom spine, it would be a stabilized 5/8 or so hollow with some jazz on top (weight)

If the top spine lays flat it's possibly an attempt to get a steeper bevel on a smaller razor?

Or.....Bling (as I think).

That stabilizer on the lower 2/3 along with all the rest tells me they used all the tricks they knew!

Somewhere after 1900 the razor companies in Solingen (and surely also elsewhere) prdocued so-called security razors. The security razors have been normal straights or adapted versions, on which a protective mantel was mounted, so that the edge of the razor didn't touch the skin. Later on the same system was used for effilier/ thinning razors.
There are several patents for this protective devices and how they were mounted on the razor. Most of them simply have been clamped somehow on the razors spine - so they could be used for each staight. But some special variants required a certain sliding chute near the spine.
So I think that is what you see on your Dorko. Could be wrong though and it might be something else.

Here are some old advertisements showing these security razors:







Regards Peter

We had s few similar versions, Peter. Here in the States, we know them as safety straights.



I used to have a barber who did use one for thinning hair. But it had a disposable blade. I use mine for cleaning up the back of my neck, after a clipper cut/ buzz job.

Now THAT makes sense, hatzicho !

Originally Posted by outback

I use mine for cleaning up the back of my neck, after a clipper cut/ buzz job.

I have shaved my own neck with a DE but I like a straight shave on it so I have my wife or son do it. It didn't seem quite safe doing that in the mirror. I never really thought about using this on for that but maybe I'll try it.

Originally Posted by hatzicho

Somewhere after 1900 the razor companies in Solingen (and surely also elsewhere) prdocued so-called security razors. The security razors have been normal straights or adapted versions, on which a protective mantel was mounted, so that the edge of the razor didn't touch the skin. Later on the same system was used for effilier/ thinning razors.
There are several patents for this protective devices and how they were mounted on the razor. Most of them simply have been clamped somehow on the razors spine - so they could be used for each staight. But some special variants required a certain sliding chute near the spine.
So I think that is what you see on your Dorko. Could be wrong though and it might be something else.

Here are some old advertisements showing these security razors:







Regards Peter

Thank you! Very believable!