C.F. Wolfertz & Co. "Dog Powered Razor Grinding"

If anyone else has a C.F. Wolfertz razor, which were made in Allentown PA under various reorganiziations of the company from 1862-1944, please post pictures of them! They were made of high quality American steel, and it is interesting that when C.F. Wolfertz first set up his cutlery factory, he used dogs to power the grinding wheels! I can only imagine the clatter of machinery and the cacophony of barking dogs, heard daily in the shop. Later he converted to steam. This piece of history came from an article in a free Google e-book called "Manufacturing and Mercantile Resources of the Lehigh Valley", which goes into much detail about the company operations and history.

Manufacturing and mercantile ... - Google Books

Great story behind a very handsome blade! I was not aware of this fact.

Thanks for the great story about that razor.....

Glad you guys enjoyed the story, I sure did when I read it! The pictures are of two similar Wolfertz razors, one of which just gave me a nice shave. One has lighter Bakelite scales than the other, although they both have a lot of shallow pitting. No effect on the shave quality, though. Both are close to 7/8 in blade width, but just under.

Very cool story and nice razors. Thanks for sharing :)

I live about an hour and a half from Allentown. I'd love to own one of these. I've been dragging my feet about getting razors made in PA. Case seems to be a very reputable brand.

I have a blade that was made in England. It has Peter E Buck and Ashland PA on the tang. Ashland is even closer to me than Allentown. The scales are steel rimmed and are a green material I'm not familiar with. The blade is etched with "Sensation Without Rival Without Peer." Anyone know anything about this brand?

Sorry off topic.

cool! Now I want to get my paws on one of those razors

Very nice razor. You are a lucky man. Great link also.

You lucky dog! Pun intended. I was born in Allentown and have been searching for one of those with the Allentown etch on the blade for quite some time.

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Originally Posted by jcsixx

I live about an hour and a half from Allentown. I'd love to own one of these. I've been dragging my feet about getting razors made in PA. Case seems to be a very reputable brand.

I have a blade that was made in England. It has Peter E Buck and Ashland PA on the tang. Ashland is even closer to me than Allentown. The scales are steel rimmed and are a green material I'm not familiar with. The blade is etched with "Sensation Without Rival Without Peer." Anyone know anything about this brand?

Sorry off topic.

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Haven't heard of Peter E. Buck! Pennsylvania has a great history of razor manufacturing, with Case the biggest maker. I believe that the Phil Eisemann razors from Lancaster PA may have been made in Germany and imported, but am not sure. Don't have one currently.

Croaker, That is a fine "tale" about Wolfertz using dog power! WOLFertz~DOG, mighty interesting...

Once I had a little Honda Accord. I broke the driver side window. Since I had to have my car for work, I just left the entire door at the auto glass repair shop and drove the car minus the door for a day. Ironically, on that unusual day there were LARGE dogs at every stop and intersection!... There I was-helpless from attack! I never made eye contact and survived. Some of those dogs could have powered an entire factory! Try doing that sometimes. The kids will love it. The wife will hate it. A summertime thing to do. RRR

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Originally Posted by timberrr59

Croaker, That is a fine "tale" about Wolfertz using dog power! WOLFertz~DOG, mighty interesting...

Once I had a little Honda Accord. I broke the driver side window. Since I had to have my car for work, I just left the entire door at the auto glass repair shop and drove the car minus the door for a day. Ironically, on that unusual day there were LARGE dogs at every stop and intersection!... There I was-helpless from attack! I never made eye contact and survived. Some of those dogs could have powered an entire factory! Try doing that sometimes. The kids will love it. The wife will hate it. A summertime thing to do. RRR

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Ha, only in texas. I can't even drive my jeep without the doors on without being pulled over.";"

Thanks Croaker for the great information on CF Wolfertz Co. Pa. a very industrial area at one time. I'm originally from Reading, not too far from Allentown. Would love to come across one of their razors.

That is a cool story, do ya suppose his last name motivated him to use dog power?
Thanks for the history
Tony B

I have one of those. Check out the scales. These babies are hand made all the way. Looks like someone took whatever scrap they had laying around to do it too. The wood is crudely finished, the two sides are a different material and the spacer is made of reinforced rubber (tire rubber maybe?). What I see in this razor is love. Someone sure loved this razor and what I am thinking is that the scales broke, but they wanted to keep using it, so they made their own. I see pride in the workmanship here. I wouldn't change a thing about it. Now, to get it sharpened and in use again...

http://badgerandblade.com/gallery/di...?imageid=21905
http://badgerandblade.com/gallery/di...?imageid=21904
http://badgerandblade.com/gallery/di...?imageid=21906
http://badgerandblade.com/gallery/di...?imageid=21907

Also by checking here: http://www.uniclectica.com/misc/manuf.html
I discovered this:

CF WOLFERTZ CO
Allentown, Pennsylvania
ca. 1862 - 1873

WOLFERTZ & WALDMAN
Allentown, Pennsylvania
ca. 1873 - 1905

WOLFERTZ & CO
Allentown, Pennsylvania
ca. 1905 - 1944


So It looks like our razors fall into the 1862 - 1873 timeframe. Anyone think that is wrong?

Thanks for your photos and uniclectica dates, thevez2. You have a razor that will hone up to be a nice shaver, and which deserves some new scales. I believe yours and mine are in the 1905-1940 date range, based on my Goins' reference and the blade style. I think they are way too hollow ground for 1862, IMO.

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Originally Posted by Croaker

Thanks for your photos and uniclectica dates, thevez2. You have a razor that will hone up to be a nice shaver, and which deserves some new scales. I believe yours and mine are in the 1905-1940 date range, based on my Goins' reference and the blade style. I think they are way too hollow ground for 1862, IMO.

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Oh, OK. I was just basing it off the fact that it is stamped C.F. and the uniclectica reference only shows C.F for the earlier dates. I guess it doesn't work that way.

Thanks.

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Originally Posted by thevez2

So It looks like our razors fall into the 1862 - 1873 timeframe. Anyone think that is wrong?

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Could be that the original blank is from back then, but not the grind. Especially on yours I think it's pretty clear how it was reground to full hollow with double stabilizer.

[QUOTE=

I have a blade that was made in England. It has Peter E Buck and Ashland PA on the tang. Ashland is even closer to me than Allentown. The scales are steel rimmed and are a green material I'm not familiar with. The blade is etched with "Sensation Without Rival Without Peer." Anyone know anything about this brand?

Sorry off topic.[/QUOTE]


Interestingly enough, someone just messaged me on ebay about this razor. The person said that Peter Buck was his great, great, great, grandfather. He would like the razor as a piece of his family history. I asked him if he could provide us with some of the companys history.

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Originally Posted by jcsixx

Interestingly enough, someone just messaged me on ebay about this razor. The person said that Peter Buck was his great, great, great, grandfather. He would like the razor as a piece of his family history. I asked him if he could provide us with some of the companys history.

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Wow, another PA maker! Please post some pictures if you can. Thanks.

I just bought one of these myself in at a little shop in Quakertown. Paid $12 for it. I'm so brand new to straight razor shaving that I haven't even tried it yet. I figured I'd find a decent vintage one and make it usable again. The blade's in good condition, no nicks or anything. It had a little bit of rust on the spine, which I removed gently with a dremel attachment. I gave it a little soak in a solution of diluted vinegar with a small amount of baking soda which really got the old grime off. My next step is to hand-sand and polish with some jeweler's compound and hopefully have a nice, shiny and usable razor. I know how to hone it, I just need to get a whetstone and strop and I'm off to the races.

My razor looks pretty much exactly like the one in the picture...only difference is that mine doesn't say "ALLENTOWN" on the blade...it's completely blank. Anyone know if that's normal? Also, it looks like the scales are bakelite or something similar.

I'd love to hear any more info on this thing...I've been interested in straight razor shaving for about a week now (no joke) but I can tell that it's going to be quite addicting already.

I'm pretty glad that I got a good quality blade without even trying, it seems.

Glad you found a Wolfertz! I still have 2 of mine in the shaving rotation. Could you please post a picture of yours, especially showing the tang markings? What is the blade width? They seem to run mostly 6/8 from the ones I have seen and acquired.

I'm not fully certain, but it seems to be 5/8 or 6/8. I'll measure it and post a picture once I get it back...I sent it out for honing.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Croaker

If anyone else has a C.F. Wolfertz razor, which were made in Allentown PA under various reorganiziations of the company from 1862-1944, please post pictures of them! They were made of high quality American steel, and it is interesting that when C.F. Wolfertz first set up his cutlery factory, he used dogs to power the grinding wheels! I can only imagine the clatter of machinery and the cacophony of barking dogs, heard daily in the shop. Later he converted to steam. This piece of history came from an article in a free Google e-book called "Manufacturing and Mercantile Resources of the Lehigh Valley", which goes into much detail about the company operations and history.

Manufacturing and mercantile ... - Google Books

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That's great info, Croaker! I have an old book somewhere with some pics of dogs in a razor factory. It seems that they weren't too particular how the wheels were powered - some illustrations show boys sat in the rafters turning a wheel joined by a belt to a larger grind-wheel, others show men moving large wheels and some show dogs. It seems that the continental grinders preferred dogs for two reasons: not only to turn the wheels, but also because it was cold in the factories. French razor grinders, unlike others, lay down over the wheel to grind and their legs often got cold, so they used to bring dogs to work with them. The dogs sat on their legs keeping them warm and also adding a bit of leverage. Now if only they could have taught them to grind... :)

Regards,
Neil

As a PA native, I'm proud to own this razor. It needs a little TLC but has great potential. The smile will put my hone skills to the test for sure!
Attachment 159924Attachment 159925

I have a few wolfertz razors. They are great. About the Phil Eisenmann razors, he was a custom shaving mug maker that made a huge amount on the mugs and started importing razor blanks and customizing them and grinding them. Phil was a cousin of my great great grandfather. Although very distant it is cool to have that history in my tree. I've been trying to acquire many of his blades, and failing horribly.

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Originally Posted by Neil Miller

That's great info, Croaker! I have an old book somewhere with some pics of dogs in a razor factory. It seems that they weren't too particular how the wheels were powered - some illustrations show boys sat in the rafters turning a wheel joined by a belt to a larger grind-wheel, others show men moving large wheels and some show dogs. It seems that the continental grinders preferred dogs for two reasons: not only to turn the wheels, but also because it was cold in the factories. French razor grinders, unlike others, lay down over the wheel to grind and their legs often got cold, so they used to bring dogs to work with them. The dogs sat on their legs keeping them warm and also adding a bit of leverage. Now if only they could have taught them to grind... :)

Regards,
Neil

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I love more information on the razor I have

I have posted a couple pics of the one I came across in a old garage wanting more information on value as and want of pleaseAttachment 313407

Check strazors.com

I cant make out the name on the tang. Value we dont do! Its worth what you would pay for it. Or look up similar razors on ebay for a guess of worth.