Thread: Gath and Chaves Santiago Solingen Straight Razor

I have a near 6/8, hollow razor with a Spanish name and Solingen on it. The shank reads: Gath & Chaves, S/A, Santiago, the reverse shank side reads Solingen. Does anyone have any information about this razor? Is it a Spanish or a German razor? Any info will be appreciated. Thanks.

Hello TucoR.,
Gath & Chaves was the first department store here in Santiago de Chile , AFAIK.
It was a subsidiary from an Anglo-Argentinian store and was on duty from 1910 to 1952. This is a link to a picture in 1920.huerfanos con estado gath & chaves 1920, the chilian store | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Please note it was called “The chilian store”. sic. Not much better spanglish as you can note from me

So I think your razor was made in Germany, Solingen for this store to sell in Chile.

Hope this help.
Greetings from Santiago / Chile.

It is not uncommon to see Solingen made knives and razors with Spanish names. There was a lot of business and money to be made in the South American markets and Germany had a very strong presence there in the first part of the 20th century.

That is a good looking old razor with an interesting history.

I will update once I clean, hone and shave. Thanks!