Thread: Parker razor , made in Japan from swedish steel

Hello , I bought this razor on Ebay , is a 1/2 hollow ground maybe, is +13/16, and a fantastic shaver. Better than my Filas, DD something comparable with MK32.Can somebody give some inputs
about this company, and why was so cheap, I just paid 40 $ shipped? Why japanese use swedish steel? The razor is NOS, with some small pitting wich was easy cleaned . Why are those razors so underated , for the price of Fila you can easy buy 4-5 those?
Thank you

I have not seen a Japanese made straight hat does not shave great.
I have tried quite a few different brands, these guys like to use top notch steel for their tools.
Enjoy your Parker.

How do you know it is Swedish Steel. It says Silver Steel on it which may or may not be Swedish. Silver Steel was originally associated with English Sheffield Steel.

The Japanese have long used Swedish steel. Why wouldn't they use any good quality steel?

There are many bargains out there in razors. Just because it doesn't say DD or Boker or Puma doesn't mean it's not a first class razor which fortunately many people believe to be a requirement and thus the prices follow.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

How do you know it is Swedish Steel. It says Silver Steel on it which may or may not be Swedish. Silver Steel was originally associated with English Sheffield Steel.

I believe the original poster is referring to the "Swedish steel" engraved on the tail of the razor itself not on the box or the tang.

I wish I had seen that razor looks like a great steal, the Japanese often use Swedish steel for their knives as well as razors, probably because for quite sometime it was widely acknowledged to be the best out there.

Originally Posted by thehekler

I believe the original poster is referring to the "Swedish steel" engraved on the tail of the razor itself not on the box or the tang.

I wish I had seen that razor looks like a great steal, the Japanese often use Swedish steel for their knives as well as razors, probably because for quite sometime it was widely acknowledged to be the best out there.

This is a topic that pulls me down a rabbit hole.

It is interesting to note that high quality steel for razors is not
very common. Sweden has been mining high quality iron
ore with low impurity contents since forever.

In WW2 times the Germans imported iron and steel
from Sweden and the allies worked to disrupt that
trade with the neutral Swedes.

The class of iron ore needed to make good razor steel
is astoundingly rare. It needs to be free of
carbide forming impurities and structural problem
causing sulfur and silica impurities.

Japan has modest deposits of iron ore and
limited amounts of equally clean fuel.

I once visited an iron mine in the Mojave Desert
of Southern California. The iron pellets were highly
prized for their purity and most shipped to Sweden
to make "Swedish steel".

More common bog iron ore contains a lot of Phosphorous
and Sulfur both play badly with carbon steel. A small
quality high carbon steel bit welded to bog iron makes
good cutting tools like axes chisels and even frameback razors.
can be made.

Ore for Japanese tamahagane is also high quality but RARE
compared to other iron ore. Tamahagane is also a charcoal
fuel smelted product with a lot of history and to be tamahagane
it must be made in the OLD ways.

The good news is that steel like white and blue paper wrapped steels
make good razors and Sweden still makes high quality high carbon
specialty steel.

Too good a link to ignore.
8.4.2 Alloy Steels

All iron ore is different depending on the makeup of the mineral whether its Magnetite or hematite or Siderite or Taconite or Limonite or a bunch of others. In ancient days the stuff was melted-smelted down and processed and if properly done and the right mix of trace elements in the ore were just right the result was a superior product. These days the ore is processed and purified and what they don't want is removed and what they do want is added so you can make a superior steel out of a poor ore or do the opposite.

Thank you gents. I just have the second shave with this razor and the balance and control is just outstanding. I will hunt for more japanese made razors maybe a set.
Regards
Livio