Thread: Otto Busch World-Master NOS

It seemed the seller has/had 6 of them, perhaps more. They had price tags of 2400Yen on the back of the box. They shipped to me from Sweden.

So, a minor thread jack of my own thread.

Why would these particular razors and some Puma razors have been made with Sheffield steel imported to Germany? I had not previously known this and am now curious. Thanks.

Nice, it looks like it was manufactured last week!

Originally Posted by lz6

So, a minor thread jack of my own thread.

Why would these particular razors and some Puma razors have been made with Sheffield steel imported to Germany? I had not previously known this and am now curious. Thanks.

Great catch Bob, that is from some of the best years of razor production IMHO. I have Puma, Bartmann, Koeller/Craftsman, Griffon 'Carbo Magnetic', among others, made with Kayser-Ellison steel. They seem to have been highly regarded in the cutlery world before and for a time after WW2.

There is an old thread here discussing the marketing involved with Sheffield steel 'ground in Solingen.' My own supposition is that it involves the Germans mastering full hollow grinding in the late 19th century, when Sheffield had been the dominant razor purveyor. Robert A. Doyle, in 'Collecting Straight Razors' recounts how the full hollows pretty much replaced the wedge fairly quickly.

So it was not uncommon or a few decades, to see 'Ground In Solingen' on Sheffield razors. Even in the recent past, Theirs-Issard stamped their French made razors 'Sheffield Silver Steel.' So anyway, at one time I think the public perception was that the Sheffield steel was superior, as was the German grinding. Kayser- Ellison was one of the pre-eminent steel producers of the time. IIRC they went under in the '50s or '60s.

Thank you very much Jimmy. Greatly appreciated.

These can be found with relative regularity in The Netherlands, in varying shape. It seems to be made for export, as this is not a Weltmeister but a World-Master / Worldmaster [sic]. A pretty specimen, this one.

Great catch

Really like the blade.

Have a great shave.

The newer Sheffield steels (including those made by Kayer-Ellison) were developed with German engineers involved. Silberstahl (with chromium and vanadium to make it rust resistant ("rostträge", ie "slow to rust", not "rust free") is a prime example which was used for razors until fairly late into the 20th century. Apparently, "English steel" was perceived as a token of quality, like "Made in Solingen" (but not "made by Volkswagen"...).

Apparently, there was a lot of shipping steel to and fro going on back then. Consider the Japanese razors made from Eskilstuna steel when Tamahagane became prohibitively expensive.

Jimmy is (almost) spot on with his observation that Solingen superseded Sheffield as the prime source for razors. If you ask the search function here for "Daniel Peres", you will find two things: 1) Peres was "inspired" by the black polish in Sheffield (ie he enhanced the formulation, and brought it back to Solingen, where he worked as a rogue (as in, not member of any guild) razor maker), and 2) he commoditised razors by streamlining the production process. Add to that, over time, superior machinery, and you have a pretty convincing explanation as to why Solingen superseded (more like, annihilated) Sheffield.

Overall, and that is just my personal perception, steels have got ever better over time. I do not have a single vintage Sheffield razor in my collection, but a growing number of modern Solingen razors. Consistency through quality control most certainly plays an important role. Still, some people love old Sheffield blades, and that's great. They certainly made a number of extremely stylish sets the likes of which I have not seen from Solingen.

I hope that helps,
Robin

Thank you Robin. And Pithor, thank you, and, at least, this particular batch were indeed made for export to Japan. The back of the box has a retail price tag of 2400Yen. Around $17 US in todays market.

Originally Posted by RobinK

Add to that, over time, superior machinery,

Funny how that full hollow grinding apparatus revolutionized the industry. Looking at it the idea seems so simple, yet until the Germans developed it the Sheffield wedge was the dominant razor.

Here in the USA, on SRP anyway, it seems to me that we have many members who prefer the heavier grinds, I wonder if that is a worldwide phenomenon, or if like the preference for synthetics over naturals, it seems to be an SRP thing ?

Certainly the professional barbers, if not straight shavers in general switched to the full hollows en masse once they became available.