Thread: TOP Best Steel Razor - Japanese?

I picked this razor up on ebay a little while back on the assumption that it was a Japanese western style razor (it had that look to me). It has the somewhat chunkier scales, thicker blade and the text and type style all reminded me of other Japanese made razors. What do you think, was I right? The only markings on it are what's shown in the photos, no country of origin.

Looks nice, anything on the back of tang?
There were many made in Germany for Japan, unfortunately they do not say so on the boxes or tangs.
One thing I have noticed is the grinds are really good and the steel is heat treated a bit harder than typical solingen.
The most telling sign would be the size, if it s 13/16 then chances are it is one of those Japanese blades, that is a standard size blade in Japan.

No, nothing on back of the tang and it is 13/16. It has 1/4" thick spine like my other Japanese westerns have. The grind is also very good, it's ground VERY thin towards center of the blade then swells out a little towards the edge. One thing I notice on Japanese razors is they advertise the quality of the steel a lot, and this one describes the steel in a few spots between the tang, etch and box.
I have not honed it yet so cannot comment on the hardness of the steel.
I don't think this has ever been used, when it arrved it had a thin dried up grease or oil on the blade (which made the ebay listing photos look pretty bad)but that came off pretty easily and a little polish went a long way to bringing the shine back.

Looks like a very nice blade, enjoy.

Originally Posted by mainaman

Looks like a very nice blade, enjoy.

Thanks. So in your expert opinion would you think also it is likely Japanese?

Originally Posted by MattW

Thanks. So in your expert opinion would you think also it is likely Japanese?

I can't be 100% sure but it looks like a typical case. The size is very telling it is unusual size for western straights, they go 6/8, then 7/8, 13/16 are pretty uncommon I believe. I have seen many Japanese western blades and the size is always the same NOS -13/16. I have seen some trimming blades that are ~3/8 and only one 7/8.

Thank god someone had sent me this link. I have a straight razor that was my grandfathers and I've been trying to find any info about it. The only thing is is that it doesn't have the engraving on the blade I will post the pictures that I have up, but is there anyway someone can help with a ruff est. date? And the razor does have a lot of pitting due to the rust, I'm also thinking about having it restored but I haven't found anyone that can do it. So if anyone know someone that would be able to restore it I would really appreciate it.