Thread: Inherited my grandfather's razor. Before I screw it up, is it worth anything?

My grandfather recently passed away. When my family and I were cleaning out his house, I discovered a straight razor tucked away in a desk drawer. I've always wanted one, so I claimed it. However, it's pretty vintage looking and is in excellent condition. I just want to make sure it's not overly valuable before attempting to use it as a beginner.

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The box reads "J.A. Henckels Twin Works, Solingen Germany, New York" The handle appears to be made of bone or ivory (possibly celluloid, but it has a slight organic texture to it and is not translucent). One side of the shank is inscribed "Made in Germany" while the other side reads "82" and "Hugo Koller" with the Koller mark (an eagle).

Does anyone know anything about this razor? Comparing the Henckels logo on the box to the PDF guide I found here, I'd guess that it was made after 1969 but I'm not sure. Thanks!

Edit: Do I have the wrong box for this razor? Why would the blade be marked by Koller but the box be labeled Henckels? Both the box and the shank mention Solingen, Germany though. Is the blade made by Koller and then assembled by Henckels?

Looks to be in pretty good shape. A little metal polish and she'll be pretty as new. You have better chance of causing harm to yourself than the razor while polishing unless you drop it. I'd send it off to one of the pros here to get honed and enjoy!

Welcome to SRP.
Your razor was made by Hugo Köller, Solingen in business since 1861.
The box from another razor - J.A. Henckels.
These are two different companies.

Welcome to SRP. That is a high quality razor and they were frequently sold or accumulated in mismatched boxes. It is in good shape and worth having professionally honed if you want to take up straight razor shaving. Check out member services in the SRP classifieds for a member who provides that service for a nominal fee. Alternatively, if you're not interested in shaving with it put some metal polish and a paper towel and give the blade a rub down ..... carefully. Apply a bit of oil for a rust preventative and keep it in the case in a dry place.

Hey guys, thanks for the quick responses. I'll definitely get it cleaned up professionally since the service seems reasonably priced. Since I apparently have the wrong box, is there anyway I can determine the age of it?

....very approximately 1930s. IMO.

Solingen was the place in Germany where most of the cutlers were based. A razor made in Soligen is almost always a sign that it is a good quality blade.
You do indeed have the wrong box. Koller made some very nice military knives that are sought after by collectors but I don't know much about their razors.

Casting my eyes over it, it's not celluloid.

I suspect it's BONE rather than ivory, but I think we'd need better photos to positively confirm that.

Looks like bone to me too. Wont take a lot of work to get that looking like new. I just shaved with my Grandfathers razor tonight, Its a very cool feeling having a special one like that.
Grant