Hey gang.

I was looking around the bay for a nasty, a trash razor that I might practice honing with one day, just something I keep an eye out for from time to time.

Well, today I spotted this and won it...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=320358296093

It looked like a decent piece and was going for a very reasonable price, so I took a shot at it and won the thing. Interesting, though. No markings, with the exception of the word "POLDI" on the blade.
I searched the forums here, at B&B and looked into the straight razor database - nothing.

That got my attention. So, I googled.

All I could find was references to the Poldi Steel factory in the Czech Republic, north of Prague about 25km. It opened in the mid 1840's and produced a wide variety of steel grades until it went backrupt about a decade ago. They had a worldwide reputation, and they were the prime Bohemian steel source for the majority of the 20th century.
I don't know if this razor was made in the Poldi Factory, named after the Poldi family, or named Poldi because the word has a particular meaning.
I don't know how old the razor is, but by the photos I doubt it's terribly vintage. Looks like a 1/4 hollow square point from no earlier than the fifties. The blade is 1/2 inch wide. What is a half-inch wide, 4/8?

If you know anything about this blade, please feel free to tell me. If it's a find, I'll gladly take a pic of my own once I get it and I'll post it in the database.