Well, I happened to get one for honing that had stamped the word "Spain" on the tang, so I guess the original thing that you saw erased was that. Now, Spain or Solingen? I think neither, so I'm positive this is a Pakistani clone that left my hands painted when I grabbed it as the scales' paint started to melt right away. On the steel side, well, no words are enough to express the disappointment of the owner when I gave it back to him as I could not get even any sharpness at all!!!. My suggestion guys is to include it as soon as we can on the "razors to avoid" list right at the very top... My two cents