Thread: Origins of my razor- anyone?

Hello all,
This is my first post here on the forum- so let me say hello first of all.

I was at a dinner with my grandparents about a month ago and I expressed to my grandmother an interest in acquiring a straight razor to use. She recently sent me one that belonged to my grandfather. I was wondering if anyone could tell me anything about it, since I have been surfing google and the like for a few hours now and can't find anything about the company or anything.

So I'll describe it to you first, and then see if I can't figure out how to post a few pictures of her- I've decided she's a woman. :P

From the research I have done, I can tell you that it is a French style blade- which means that the cutting edge itself has a 90 degree angle, but the back of the blade is curved like a quarter-circle. (maybe I have not understood correctly, so someone should correct me if Im wrong.)

It is a hollow grind as opposed to a wedge.

As for time period, my grandmother says that it was issued to my grandfather as part of his standard-issue kit during the time he was in the Canadian Air Force around WWII. So that will give some indication presumably as to when she was made.

The scales are made of bone and I assume this is real since it shows slight yellowing with the age. Hopefully my camera will be able to show the bone grain with enough detail to be certain. Certainly feel real to me.

Inscriptions are on either side of the shank (the bit of steel connecting the blade to the tang and the scales.) On one side it says "CRUCIBLE STEEL" in all capital letters. Some research on crucible steel leads me to believe that it was a high quality steel made popularly in India and later in Britain. I do not know whether this would be classified as high-carbon but my guess would be not.
On the other side of the shank it says "C. HUGHEL Co. SOLE AGENTS FOR CANADA". Also on this side it says "Made in Germany" which I find very weird. If this is really military issue, why would they issue their soldiers products that are made by the nation they are fighting against?

Anyways hopefully I have done the pictures correctly and maybe some of you might know about this family heirloom.

Other than that I should say the the blade is in decent shape. I took it out of the box and shaved with the the night it came in. It definitely needs a hone and a good stropping, but it shaved my face after sitting around for god knows how much time so I was impressed. The blade has a few scratches, but this is understandable given the things alleged history. It also has a few black/grey dots on it. Any idea what this is and what I can use to remove it.

When its all said and done, I don't care if this was the worst razor ever made or the best ever, its obviously been around and I would like to restore it and use it if I can.

Thanks guys!

Hi, and welcome to this forum. I couldn't find any info on Hughel. Sounds like it might have been a distributor of generic razors made in Germany and stamped with the Hughel brand. It looks like a square point and not a French point. I'm not sure if Canadian forces were issued straight razors. I know many troops were issued safety razors. My favorite strop came from a World War II pilot from Canada. It's stamped 4-11-44, but it was made in the U.S. My best guess is that this was probably your grandfather's personal razor that he took with him into the service, or was purchased later.

Regards - Walt

Back in the first half of the 20th cen. German cutlers produced alot of razors for cutlery retailers and barber's suppliers in North America. Yours is, I think, a typical one of that kind. The good news is that they are generally excellent shavers, and that one looks to be in nice condition, so you've got yourself a winner.

On top of that it was actually your grandfather's.

I would give ANYTHING to have one of my grandad's razors!

Welcome to SRP


goshawk

P. S. I don't know whether the RCAF issued straight razors, but if they did they might well have purchased them between the world wars when Germany was not an enemy, and held them in stock.

Originally Posted by goshawk

. The good news is that they are generally excellent shavers, and that one looks to be in nice condition, so you've got yourself a winner.

On top of that it was actually your grandfather's.

Well that's good news. Hopefully I can find a decent hone get her singing again. I shaved with her again last night after using a leather belt and some newspaper, but the blade still digs a little bit. Cross shaving was not so comfy. What hone would you guys recommend? I would love to have my grandfathers, but apparently he got rid of it some time ago.
Looking forward to using this thing regularly

If you can shave with it the bevel should be OK, just needs finishing. Most popular finishing hone is the coticule.