Thread: What is the best American made straight ever made ?

No one has mentioned Genco yet, so I will

I have a Red Imp (near wedge) by case, a Genco Henry's XX and a Torrey our best. I would put them up against damn near any of my other (42) razors. The only blades I would say give a better shave (in my very humble opinion) are my TI and my Schulze and that's such a fine line I would be hard pressed to chose.

Sent from my BlackBerry 9700 using Tapatalk

What is the best American made straight ever made ?

Just eliminate all the bad ones & you'll have you answer. Good luck with finding any.

Hard to beat razors made in Little Valley area, including Ellicottville and Geneva! Great steel! Great stuff from Massachusetts and Pennsylvania too!

I have only vintage factory made razors. A Genco, Red Imp and a number of highly regarded European blades. I can't speak to Hart Steel or, razors from any of the considerable American custom smiths. None of my blades perform better than than this old Robeson.

My Harts and Shumates shave differently, but they're both outstanding and I wouldn't trade them for anything.
I just got a Genco recently, and I'm looking forward to seeing how it compares.

Originally Posted by sharptonn

Hard to beat razors made in Little Valley area, including Ellicottville and Geneva! Great steel! Great stuff from Massachusetts and Pennsylvania too!

My hands-down favorite American straight-razor manufacturer is Carl Monkhouse, who created the eponymous (beautiful and functional, too) C-MON line. Admittedly, his business began in Germany, where many of his razors were produced, but he later relocated his family and factory to the US, and opened Cutlery Associates, where he continued his life's work.

In the photos, below, the first ("Blackie") and third ("HF") were made in Ellicottville, NY, and the fifth ("Wedge") was made in Allegany, NY; the second ("Special") and fourth ("Blue Star") were made in Germany.

Originally Posted by JBHoren

My hands-down favorite American straight-razor manufacturer is Carl Monkhouse, who created the eponymous (beautiful and functional, too) C-MON line. Admittedly, his business began in Germany, where many of his razors were produced, but he later relocated his family and factory to the US, and opened Cutlery Associates, where he continued his life's work.

In the photos, below, the first ("Blackie") and third ("HF") were made in Ellicottville, NY, and the fifth ("Wedge") was made in Allegany, NY; the second ("Special") and fourth ("Blue Star") were made in Germany.

Interesting. Where did you find the info on the mfg locations for the Blackie, HF and Special?

Carl worked in the razor trade in Germany before moving to New York. His name on his early work was American made from Ellicottville. He then moved to Allegheny. He later sold his CMon name to Peter J Michaels, who imported razors from Germany with the fancy scales. Interestingly, Carl's Ellicottville Blackies came in rather plain scales and were labeled Blackie CMon. PJM razors were labeled CMon Blackie! Your Blackie must have much later PJM scales on it if it says Ellicottville on the tang. Also, I thought the HF was also a German made item (Mine is) As far as I know all PJM Cmons were German made with exception of the CMon Fillys, which were French. I feel that all of your CMons with exception of the wedge will yeild Germany on the reverse tang. The scales on the wedge are different, with 3 pins and the color. It might be German as well! All Very Nice!

Huh, I never knew some C-Mons were American Made. Learn something new every day...