Thread: Henckels Friodur, real or fake?

I have a curiosity question regarding the markings on the tang of a Henckel Friodur razor.

I have been perusing many models of many brands of straight razors, both new and vintage, and this is the first time I have seen this.

I was looking at some pictures of a Henckels Friodur. On one side of the tang is the usual J.A.Henckels..etc stamped into the tang like I have seen on dozens of other vintage Henckel Friodurs. However, the other side of this particular razor the two figures, Friodur and INOX all appear to be Etched, not stamped into the tang.

Might this be a fake?

I ask because it doesn't make sense to me why the factory would stamp one side of the tang, and etch the other side. Especially when I have seen pictures of other Henckel Friodur razors that are stamped on both sides of the tang.

Thanks to all...

Fez

I have not seen any of the current model Henckels, which I would suspect would be etched. All of the vintage ones I've seen have not had etching on them. I think you are correct to be suspicious, especially with etching and stamps on the shank.

On that note I do have a vintage Wade and Butcher that is etched " Wade and Butcher - Blank for hollow grind". The etching is very shallow and leads me to believe it was to be removed and stamped by the people grinding the blade.

Hopefully others with more knowledge will post.

Hi Fezzer and welcome to SRP!! I have been a JA fan for many years and found your question quite intresting. I dug out all of my Henckels razors (15 total) and gave them a look over. I found some marked on one side of tang only, some marked both sides, some marked on tang with blade etching,Friodur"s with and without the INOX stamp, but all of the tang markings on either side were stamped and not etched. Don"t know what it"s worth, but there it is. Could be the later JA Henckels razors have etched tangs, but I havn"t seen one. Lynn is a JA fan and probally shed light on this as well as Manah. Best Regards and Happy Shaving, wildhog

Thanks to all for your responses.

I recalled a Dubl Duck I just recently acquired during my gearing up phase had the stamp on one side of the tang (the side with the two ducks) filled with blue paint. I got the razor out and took a very close look at the stamp with my optivisor and it appears as though the paint brought the stamp level back up to just about flush with the tang. Even though the stamp on the Henckel is not filled with paint, perhaps what I am seeing is the different font size and style stamp used on Friodur side appears to be etched, but is in fact a very shallow stamp.

I dunno, just a thought.

Thanks again to all!

Fez

Originally Posted by Fezzer

Thanks to all for your responses.

I recalled a Dubl Duck I just recently acquired during my gearing up phase had the stamp on one side of the tang (the side with the two ducks) filled with blue paint. I got the razor out and took a very close look at the stamp with my optivisor and it appears as though the paint brought the stamp level back up to just about flush with the tang. Even though the stamp on the Henckel is not filled with paint, perhaps what I am seeing is the different font size and style stamp used on Friodur side appears to be etched, but is in fact a very shallow stamp.

I dunno, just a thought.

Thanks again to all!

Fez

can you post a pic?

A pic of the Duck, or the Friodur in question?

Thanks, Fez

Originally Posted by Fezzer

A pic of the Duck, or the Friodur in question?

Thanks, Fez

The Fridour

Here's a pic of the tang in question. I'm not sure if that is etched or stamped.

Originally Posted by Fezzer

Here's a pic of the tang in question. I'm not sure if that is etched or stamped.

I have not seen one of those either, but hard to say if it is fake or not.
I personally doubt it, I have seen Bismark razors with the name etched on the tang and not stamped.
IMHO a tell if the razor is genuine would be how the whole blade looks like, a flawless looking blade is unlikely to be a fake.