Thread: Wapienica History

Ok,
so pretty soon I'll own a Wapienica razor, and I was wondering if anyone knew a little bit of history on the company, and perhaps why these blades are such good quality considering their low price. I've heard things like they are army surplus, but I'm not sure. Why are so many NOS? Who founded the company, etc.

Really, any bits of info that you might have would be appreciated. it's always good to know a little bit about the cutthroat your operating next to your carotid artery.

Hi Red - so soon you'll be a Wapiphile, eh? (It's OK, resistance is futile!) To try to answer your questions - Wapienica isn't actually the name of the razor, it's the name of town in Poland they come from. They were manufactured by a company called SFK, who I believe made all sorts of things steel-wise. The urban story is that they were made in the 70's for use in (amongst other places) Soviet hospitals, hence the all-steel build so they could be autoclaved after use - they were possibly used more as body razors but I can't be sure of that. They are all NOS simply because they got left-over when - i'm surmising here - the USSR woke up to the fact of cheap disposable razors. Who knows? One thing for sure, the luck is ours - I hone these nearly every day for sale to customers and they all say the same thing - WOW. Enjoy yours!

I don't have anything to add, but I will agree with blue. They hone up real easy and take a very nice edge; very smooth shavers as well, due to the thickness of the grind and the weight of the scales...er, the weight of the blade.

Originally Posted by blueprinciple

Wapienica isn't actually the name of the razor, it's the name of town in Poland they come from. They were manufactured by a company called SFK, who I believe made all sorts of things steel-wise.

Not 100% sure if that is accurate.According to THIS post the were made in "Bielsku-Białej"

Originally Posted by mastermute

Not 100% sure if that is accurate.According to THIS post the were made in "Bielsku-Białej"

I'm not sure if it matters. Wapienica is only a few kilometers away from Bielsku-Bialej.

Thanks for the link, the initials have had me puzzled.

Yes, the initials take a bit of working out so thanks for that link. I suppose they walked over to Wapienica for a beer or something and thought it sounded a good name for their razors!

Originally Posted by blueprinciple

Yes, the initials take a bit of working out so thanks for that link. I suppose they walked over to Wapienica for a beer or something and thought it sounded a good name for their razors!

Well, Wapienica does roll off the tongue a bit better than "Bielsku-Bialej" so you may have a point there.

What does NOS Stand for?

Originally Posted by JetHed

What does NOS Stand for?

New Old Stock. These blades have never been used, so they're new. They were also made two decades ago, so they're old.

They were made three decades ago, and since I am older than that, I do not consider that to be old. By my standards, the Wapis are approaching their prime of life!