Thread: Anybody know anything about Richards & Conover razors?

I have my great grandfathers straight razor. it has 5/8 blade, square , and scales are a decrotive green plastic. the tang is stamped RICHARDS & CONOVER - kansas city. i had it honed and it shaves great. but id just like to know a little more about the company and how good of quality my razor is. ive only shaved with it 4 times so needless to say im a beginner but i dont have any stitches yet so thats a plus. look forward to hearing a little more about my razor.

Welcome to SRP - As you will come to find out we are all about pictures around here. Without photos it only exists in your imagination In reality your razor is probably one of millions made by unknown manufacturers, probably in Germany, and stamped with the name of a retailer for resale. In this case Richards & Conover may have been a hardware store, barber supply, or other dealer in razors who wanted to personalize their wares. If it is a good shaver and suits you, that's great. But, you will probably never know the particulars of your razor's origins.

Regards - Walt

thanks walt appriciate your help . to be honest its hard to judge whether a razor is good steel or not at my skill level all i know is german and english steel is sought after. but why are german razors so common? do other places around the world not use them as much as the germans back in the day or what?

Well, if its your grand grandpa's & appears to have been used, than its most likely a fine razor. Next question, Export. My gramps old straight is a german blade given out by some NY bankers. You get a few factories putting out good stuff at a decent cost, they stay in business. It is a lot more common than you think. Most of the high end BMX offerings that are American made are actually made by S&M, Solid or FBM and get their companies stickers on them. Same goes for the high end Taiwan made models, they found a couple factories that make a good product. Now there are a ton more companies and most of them get their stuff made at the same Taiwan factories. You already own a boatload of stuff made by a company called Huawei in china. Probably something you have on you at this very moment, with a different companies name stamped on it.

A lot of manufacturers dont even bother advertising their own name. They already make stuff for so many different names, they would probably mess up their own name.

Originally Posted by hellrazor308

thanks walt appriciate your help . to be honest its hard to judge whether a razor is good steel or not at my skill level all i know is german and english steel is sought after. but why are german razors so common? do other places around the world not use them as much as the germans back in the day or what?

Between World Wars I & II German razor manufacturers flooded the U.S. market with inexpensive razors that undercut the prices charged by American companies. The effect was so great that the U.S. makers petitioned congress to levy a tariff against the German razor makers to take away their advantage. Razors that were stamped "made in Germany" weren't subject to any special quality controls with the exception of razors made in the Solingen region of Germany. In order for a razor to carry the Solingen mark it had to meet higher standards of manufacture. A razor "Made in Germany" during this era could have been made by some of the high quality makers. Without documentation there is no way to know what company made razors for the Richards & Conover Hardware Co. Chances are that it will be a very serviceable razor because a company of this size probably wouldn't jeopardize their reputation by selling poorly made goods.

Regards - Walt

awesome stuff thanks guys

Today in my SOTD ...

Richards & Conover

Nice little shaver.
Easy to hone, easy to use.
Bakelite has a really warm and "natural" color.
I find it a beaty to shoot and a pleasure to shave with.

Great example that quality must not be expencive.
Not at all !!!