Thread: F. Herder's Double Hollow Ground D.B.G.M.

Picked up this beauty of a 6/8 beard killer at an antique shop in Winnipeg. The blade reads "F. Herder's Double Hollow Ground D.B.G.M., on the tang it reads 172 Friedr Herder Abr. Soh, Solingen Germany and has the Spade trademark logo. Reverse tang has a pitchfork like trademark as well as the spade and an F. Herder wrapped around the mark.

I read up on the wiki here and found nothing to match the trademark of the "Double Hollow Ground". There are lots of reference pictures of a 'Real German Hollow Ground' but nothing, and NO images to compare to this one. I'm sure there have to be others out there....



The scales are of an unknown material, i'm thinking plastic. To the naked eye they look like they should be black but under the flash they turned this strange olive drab colour. There are some unusual water type marks on the blade which surprised me a little since it wasn't sharp at all. There was NO bevel on it when I got her so I put it through the paces on my Chosera 1k, the welsh slate trio and then my Ozuku with 4 different naguras. Only did a one pass WTG shave but WOW. The pins are extremely tight and the blade centers perfectly I can tell this will be a favourite!

Any ideas on dates of manufacture? Looks like the company was open until the 1990's. She's a HECK of a blade!

Here's the eye candy

Ya, thats a killer find. I love finding high quality blades like this at antique stores. Especially when they're cheap.

http://straightrazorpalace.com/razor...tml#post859908
Most likely, the scales are ebonite/vulcanite.
(Ebonite was a brand name for very hard rubber first obtained by Charles Goodyear by vulcanizing rubber for prolonged periods).

NICE razor.

My Challenge originally had dull, olive drab scales. I'm having a brain fart as to the name of the old hard rubber material (gutta percha maybe? I'll remember it about two in the morning when I get up to pee I figure) that was used for things back then. I polished mine out with MOTHER'S MAG AND ALUMINUM polish and they're shiny black now.

Do these 'vulcanized' scales have a distinct smell to them?
Also, thanks for the reference material, I did read that one already but didn't find the 'Double Hollow' reference I was looking for.
Should I put this around the 1915 range based on the markings?

The double hollow grind is quite common, actually. They are made by grinding with a large stone and then a smaller stone up to the spine. Also referred to as "bellied" grinds, they are usually much more subtle than in your example. Ones with noticable double grinds give a stiffer edge, yet some properties of full concaves. A nice one. Here is a Cattauraugus of mine with this type grind. A very nice shaver!

Double Hollow Ground

They made hollow ground two times.
(Sharptonn described in more detail).
I believe, it's more for advertisement. Nothing serious.

put this around the 1915 range

....after 1921. IMO

Great example Sharptonn! I wish I knew how to polish mine up without losing the goldwash. The etching is quite deep and would survive a cotton wheel with rouge but would hate to lose the gold.... I really hate those watermarks though

Originally Posted by manah

They made hollow ground two times. (This is a joke).
I believe, it's an advertisement. Nothing serious.

....after 1921. IMO

The ones that read 'Real German Hollow Ground' seem to be more common and go for a pretty penny! Just wondering why there are no images out there of this one.
I value your opinion and think you're probably right on the 1921 mark.

Originally Posted by brooksie967

Great example Sharptonn! I wish I knew how to polish mine up without losing the goldwash. The etching is quite deep and would survive a cotton wheel with rouge but would hate to lose the gold.... I really hate those watermarks though

It does look quite nice. Perhaps some polish with care around the etching would be plenty! It would be tedious, but worth it! It might be worth note that the date on the reverse tang on mine is 1902!