Thread: Why?

I could be blatantly wrong on this but I've seen a lot of German round points and not too many American round points. Maybe because Americans preferred the very rectangular blade shape? Or preferred it more than anywhere else? A LOT of the German imports were square too- Ducks, Leaders, C-Mons, etc. What I think really enforces this the majority of razors I've handled that were stamped solely in German (which I assume means for the German market, not for international trade) were not square point. Though anecdotal evidence isn't really proof. Any other thoughts?

Originally Posted by khaos

I could be blatantly wrong on this but I've seen a lot of German round points and not too many American round points. Maybe because Americans preferred the very rectangular blade shape? Or preferred it more than anywhere else? A LOT of the German imports were square too- Ducks, Leaders, C-Mons, etc. What I think really enforces this the majority of razors I've handled that were stamped solely in German (which I assume means for the German market, not for international trade) were not square point. Though anecdotal evidence isn't really proof. Any other thoughts?

I think you're right. Most of the solingen-made razors that were supplied to American barber supply houses are plain looking spike points, as are most of the Boker King Cutters I've seen. Interestingly, two of the four King Cutters I own are not marked anywhere as coming from Germany. That has led me to wonder whether firms like Boker made intentionally not-German-looking razors for the American market to avoid loss of sales due to lingering ill feeling after the the Great War. I own one German razor made for the American market before 1914 - a 5/8ths spike made as a prize item for the St Louis World's Fair - and it is distinctly German looking, with a beautifully rounded, sway backed spine and elaborately finished point.

Be that as it may, it seems certain that German makers identified an American preference for plain looking spike point razors. Spikes and Gencos tend to be workmanlike in appearance, and no doubt the German makers copied them so that their product would look familiar to American buyers.

Best Regards

goshawk

Now that I think about it, its less because German's like round points, but more because Americans liked squares. It may just be a mental block that I subconsciously imposed on myself (as I proposed the theory, and this is a known psychological effect) but I can't think of an American or made for America razor that is not square point.

edit: Now that I think of it some crown and swords are round point and in English- but were they common amongst barber's? They certainly don't have the "barber rep" that say, Ducks or C-mons do...

What do you guys think?

Originally Posted by khaos

Now that I think about it, its less because German's like round points, but more because Americans liked squares. It may just be a mental block that I subconsciously imposed on myself (as I proposed the theory, and this is a known psychological effect) but I can't think of an American or made for America razor that is not square point.

I've got a Genco or two that are round point.

hmmm... so that theory is bust. (Guess it was a mental block lol)

Karl you should browse the razor club galleries and the wiki razor database. It will be good for your soul

You might also sort tip styles by time period. You may find some broad correlations

I basically live in the razor clubs lol. (what else is there to do when your professor is blabbing on about non-linearity and bifurcation and oscillating steady states and progression into chaos...) Thanks for the time period thing though.

Originally Posted by keenedge

I've got a Genco or two that are round point.

I do too. Most of mine are plain spikes though, as are all the "made for America" Solingens I've got, so I think the theory still holds water. The one exception in my collection is a French point Genco Master Cutler with a pearl tang and black bakelite scales. Whether it "proves the rule" or not I couldn't say, but it's still a favourite and a real beauty.

goshawk

There are also a bunch of Barber's notches by American companies, such as Morley (the clover brand) and Torrey. Also, Simmons imported blades with Barber's notches; I had one myself at one point (English blades, I think). And let's not forget the massive English blades stamped "Made for the United States" with barber's notches that pop up now and then. I've seen a butch of round point Union Cutlery blades also. And let's not forget that there are round point DD's floating around out there.

So it does seem like most American blades are square points, but there could be a lot of explanations for that. Maybe American's do tend to prefer square points, but maybe it has more to do with the years the razors were made/imported and what was generally popular at that time. Also, seeing as blades like DD's tended to be square points and that these blades were popular with barbers, maybe it was due to barber's preferences (and maybe, after seeing barber's use square points, most people who got their own thought square was the way to go). Could be that squares randomly sold better at one point, so companies latched onto the idea and leaned towards squares in the future, and that alone would make them the dominate point style, regardless of peoples, preferences.