Help With Middle Eastern Language Razor Inscription Please

One of my best shavers remains unidentified after more than 2 years post acquisition on e-bay. It has a fancy worked back, and a MOP tang on which the markings have faded beyond my ability to read, even with magnification. The blade is engraved with "Our Beauty", and some script which I believe may be in a Middle Eastern language or Armenian. I would greatly appreciate help from anyone in identifying the meaning of the inscription, if any, and the maker of this wonderful razor.
Please excuse my rudimentary photography.

Mate, I wish I could help, but I have NO idea about any Middle Eastern languages...
I can say, MAN that is a gorgeous razor.

I don't know , but I'm thinking maybe it's the initails or mark of the person who designed the razor :shrug: (it's a real beauty !)

You know, the more I look at it, the more I think it's like an ornate/poorly engraved "NOS 1".

I love the tang! Its gorgeous. And the scales! So well done. Very jealous. Can I hold it? :P

Looks like sanscrit to me. But I am far from an expert on languages. Hell, I can barely speak English well.

Guys, I thank you all for your opinions, but we are still coming up empty on the inscription. My wife just looked up the Arabic alphabet, and two letters in the alphabet look just like parts of the inscription. By the Beard of the Prophet, I would like to know what it says! It is an awesome shaver, cuts like the wind of a Finnish blizzard.

I swear, I have seen those scales before and I'm sure I've seen that etch. However, I'm also 70% sure your barking up the wrong tree with the sanscrit translation. Its probably a German manufacturer that sold some razors to the middle east and added a line of text. It probably just says "Our Beauty."

I could be wrong though.

Holy cow... Where's the :jawdrop: smiley....?

Just plain wow. :tu

It looks like Al Jamal, which means beauty (the beauty) in Arabic.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by AZrider

It looks like Al Jamal, which means beauty (the beauty) in Arabic.

---

What he said:D

Yep, AZ's right. Arabic calligraphy is a little squirrelly to read (not as standard as English cursive). the beauty is what you have.

Jimi

Mejnoon and AbnJim, thank you very much for clearing up this mystery. The script has been driving me crazy for 2 years, and I am glad to finally know what it says. It is a beauty, too!. SRP members are a fantastic group of people, with lots of talents besides straight razor knowledge.

I thought it was an abbreviated form of

Quote:

---

Made in Pakistan, send to Fnord5

---

I could be wrong though.:rofl2:

I would love to know who made this razor, and when, but Goins' is silent on the "Our Beauty" inscription, so I probably never will find out. Thanks again to everyone for the nice comments and help, especially Azrider, who was first to translate the Arabic cursive and whom I forgot to thank last night. BTW-I also live in AZ. This razor will always remain one of my most favorite shavers and lookers.

Man that razor sure does remind me alot of a Boker.....the etching outline is ALOT (almost exact) like a KingCutter. Just my first thought......

Hang on - I'm emailing the photo to someone in the Mid East who can ask around a merchant section of Abu Dhabi - hope to get something by next week if he can get to a few guys he knows there.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by AirColorado

Hang on - I'm emailing the photo to someone in the Mid East who can ask around a merchant section of Abu Dhabi - hope to get something by next week if he can get to a few guys he knows there.

---

Woo hoo, Aircolorado! Thanks! Maybe someone will also know who actually made this razor. I just looked at the tang again with UV and magnification, but could only make out part of "warranted" and something "steel" and "Trademark". Tantalizing, but not enough information.

OK he replied today. Here's the quote from the email:

"The translation is "The Beauty" in arabic. That simple. I had 3 guys look at it and they all agreed."

AZwriter is seconded! Obviously no help on the maker but a translation is a start!

While we're looking at razors from the sandbox, anything razors that anyone would like from the Mid East? My contact is my brother and he's going to be over there for another few months as he finishes this contract. He's based out of UAE at the moment but gets to other ME countries as well as Germany and Thailand quite a bit. I've already put in standing requests for any straight razors with Damascus steel, as well as ones with interesting scales, and just plain beautiful looking razors.

I suspect we may not be able to get good razors from there very easily for much longer, so I'm giving him full rein (and a budget) to pick up whatever hits his eye - as long as it's not from Pakistan... He understands and enjoys the haggling so I should be able to get things at a bit of a bargain anyway. Let me know what to tell him to look out for and if anyone is interested, I'll ask him to get additional - I'll keep all I get but would be willing to ask him to pick up something special if you know of anything.

Damn what I wouldn't give to be able to walk around an old merchant area there and poke through the collections of straights! I can see something like Croaker has above as well as something just as interesting just sitting in a dusty bin waiting for me to come and claim her!

Hey, thanks very much, and I hope your brother searches diligently. My dream Middle Eastern razor would have scenes from Egyptian mythology deeply engraved on the blade, and in color on the scales. For example, "The Boat of 1.000.000 Years" flying through the heavens with all the pantheon on board; Osiris, Ra, Set etc...I'm such a dreamer!

Croaker that would be somthing!

If he finds anything pretty for cheap I'll take it. :P

I may have identified the razor manufacturer; Simmons Hardware used the "Our Beauty" logo on some of their razors. My other Simmons are also good shavers, but none are as good as this fancy one.

Croaker I'll send that pic to him - but if he can find it, I'll want two! I'll be keeping one of those. Wow! I'd certainly shave with it but I'd have some concern about mystical properties - well hell, maybe those mystical properties can lend themselves to a great smooth shave without ever having to even strop!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by AirColorado

Croaker I'll send that pic to him - but if he can find it, I'll want two! I'll be keeping one of those. Wow! I'd certainly shave with it but I'd have some concern about mystical properties - well hell, maybe those mystical properties can lend themselves to a great smooth shave without ever having to even strop!

---

Here is an Egyptian tomb painting of a barber shaving the heads of military recruits underneath a sycamore tree. I would love to be able to make out the razor he is using, and to find one of it's type for sale! This scene is familiar to anyone who has ever served in any branch of the Armed Forces.

An apt name for this razor!


BTW, don't you agree the etched scroll design surrounding the text looks an awful lot like the one on certain Böker King Cutters?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Oldengaerde

An apt name for this razor!


BTW, don't you agree the etched scroll design surrounding the text looks an awful lot like the one on certain Böker King Cutters?

---

Now that you mention it, yes! Perhaps 5000 years ago there was an Egyptian god of beard removal named Bho-Kar. His worship could have spread to Rome as a secret cult of clean shaven men, and been spread throughout the known world by the Legions. It is true that enemies of Egypt are always depicted as having beards in tomb paintings and papyruses....perhaps shaving is actually an Egyptian invention, hey?

When I hit Basic training in 1976 there was a photographer in the room where I had my head shaved. Have a pic of me getting ready to be shorn. I showed up with long 70s-style hair. The barber asked how I wanted it cut so I said a little off the top and maybe up to the the middle of the ears on the sides. I guess I amused him (not) because I swear he intentionally dug the razor in a few times. When the 30 seconds for the head shave had passed I had a few bloody spots and half my head had razor burn. No sense of humor! :-)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Croaker

Now that you mention it, yes! Perhaps 5000 years ago there was an Egyptian god of beard removal named Bho-Kar. His worship could have spread to Rome as a secret cult of clean shaven men, and been spread throughout the known world by the Legions. It is true that enemies of Egypt are always depicted as having beards in tomb paintings and papyruses....perhaps shaving is actually an Egyptian invention, hey?

---

Great questiont! What DOES the record show as to where, when, and how that first shave happened? I have read conjecture about burning beards as well as chipped stone being used but I'd love to find a link to some solid history on shaving through to the first known straight razor - all after the SR is just marketing I suspect.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by AirColorado

When I hit Basic training in 1976 there was a photographer in the room where I had my head shaved. Have a pic of me getting ready to be shorn. I showed up with long 70s-style hair. The barber asked how I wanted it cut so I said a little off the top and maybe up to the the middle of the ears on the sides. I guess I amused him (not) because I swear he intentionally dug the razor in a few times. When the 30 seconds for the head shave had passed I had a few bloody spots and half my head had razor burn. No sense of humor! :-)

---

I too remember my first Army haircut at Ft. Bragg NC, in 1969 (it was a cold winter day). I didn't make the mistake of showing up with long hair, though! The DI's lined up outside the BCT area barber shop to jeer raucously at every poor long haired individual, and again when they came out shorn like sheep: "Is your head cold? Put your !@#$@! hat on!" Inside, there was a joke that the Pharoahs barbers probably made with recruits: "Wanna keep your hair?" said the barber. If you said yes, they handed it to you after the 17 second haircut, with the huge clipper/blower combo they used. I timed the process....I can laugh about it now.

I can verify that it writes al-jamal

Edit: its not calligraphy but a very clear readable font

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by AirColorado

Great questiont! What DOES the record show as to where, when, and how that first shave happened? I have read conjecture about burning beards as well as chipped stone being used but I'd love to find a link to some solid history on shaving through to the first known straight razor - all after the SR is just marketing I suspect.

---

Wikipedia says that, at first the beard was plucked, then about the bronze age razors were introduced in Egypt.

Do we have a section in our wiki for the history of razors?

Is there a connection between the shell and modern straight razors? Razor shells must figure somewhere into the history. Then again, maybe not.

Oh, and that is the razor OF ALLAH. Lucky bastard.

It says "Death to Whitey," oh wait that's the Nation of Islam straight razor.

Cheers
D