Thread: Any info ??

Hi, I recently bought this old Razor and wondered if anyone could give me any information on it and its Makers, the Tang is engraved with "Gust.Haker" and whilst I am aware they are/were? blade makers, I know nothing else about them.

The Razor itself is in a not too bad condition, I bought it for next to nothing so that I could practice my Honing Skills without putting my precious Dovo in any danger..lol

I have cleaned and polished the Blade, made and fitting a new blade pin, and am right now doing my best to hone it to a shavable edge.

Many thanks for looking and your comments are gratefully recieved
Ralfy

Hi - I found this info about them:

Gustav Häker, Solingen in 1922. Brandnames: 'Häker', 'Häker-Extra'. Open-blade razor maker.

Regards,
Neil

Thanks Neil, not wanting to sound like a slow person here but does this mean the Razor could be OLD as opposed to just old?
Ralfy

I'm not too sure - that scale type could well span several decades, very popular in the 1940s and 1950s. Haker produced knives, daggers and so on, there are many instances of SA daggers with this marking. The SA ("brownshirts") helped Hitler to rise to power in the 20s and 30s, and became secondary after 1933, and after the war I suppose restrictions meant that former manufacturers of that type of article would have to diversify - razors would be ideal second revenue.

Regards,
Neil

Nice razor ! I would date it between WW1 and WW2 .

Originally Posted by dave5225

Nice razor ! I would date it between WW1 and WW2 .

Wow thanks for that, one thing I noticed, the scales have been damaged just a little around the pivot, and when I honed the marks there was a distinct smell of eucalyptus! go figure

Found a close-up scan of the makers mark in a WW2 dagger site, here. The eucalyptus oil points towards a nitro-cellulose formation - oil of camphor and eucalyptus were used as plasticisers - they smell a bit like Vicks Vap-O-Rub. Earlier formulations didn't have the plasticiser and when they degrade they have an acid smell.

Thats exactly it, both the logo and the smell, Vapo rub! bang on
Thanks again Neil