Thread: How old is this razor?

Got this razor from Ebay and can't place the age. I have established it is a H Boker & Co King Cutter with bone scales (pretty obvious). Any ideas?

I think Manah posted some adverts from 1909 with the King Cutter in it...so 1905-1910 or thereabouts.

So about 100 years or so... the oldest thing I own. Too bad the scales are off center, I don't close it all the way to avoid the blade touching the scales, but I want to keep them. I like the feel and looks of them and the discoluration adds to the character.

I agree with the above post. http://www.fileden.com/files/2007/9/...363//boker.pdf

Nice, based on that I am pretty sure I know what I have. Thank you!

IME Bokers from that era had a black celluloid or bakelite scale with the tree logo embossed on the mark side. Judging from the pivot pin in the photo it looks to me like they are replacement scales. I could be wrong. I was wrong once before. They are great shavers though .... also IME.

EDIT ..... took another look at the photos ..... I could be wrong about the rescale, though I've mostly seen them with the black embossed scales.

You could be right. They could be replacement scales and I was wondering about the lack of the tree logo, however they are old so if they were changed, it was a long time ago.

I also tapped on the pins to tighten it up a little bit. And it is the best shave ever. But since I am a newbie I have nothing to compare it against.

Originally Posted by spmcco

I also tapped on the pins to tighten it up a little bit. And it is the best shave ever. But since I am a newbie I have nothing to compare it against.

You may not have any other straight razor to compare it to but I am guessing that you shaved with something else prior to this and that is what you are comparing this Boker to. As you gain experience in straight shaving and get to shave with other razors your evaluation may change but Bokers are good razors and the quality of honing plays a major part in how the razor shaves. Since you are already tapping the pins you may be able to get the blade to align with the scales better by tapping the pins to adjust the blade. I'm with you in leaving the bone scales. To me it is part of the history of the razor. I have several razors that may have been rescaled in the past and even though I am sure I can replace them with nicer scales I like them the way they are. Enjoy your Boker, it will be around for many more years.