Thread: F. Herder - "The Spade"

Originally Posted by Obadiahhj

I just received mine yesterday. My first actual straight razor as I've been using a couple cheap disposable straight for 2 years. I have some bone to make a wedge, but have no idea what dimensions to shape it to. Sorry, I'm a recovering engineer... Also, where to buy a jig to cut washers? Lastly, how old are these Ace of Spades #25?

Sorry. Your last question is most interesting. The Nazis took over everything and F Herder was left to make bayonets, knives, etc for them.
Lots of fine German makers are extinct because they lacked the volume of a few others. I have to say the late 30's.
Big makers like F. Herder and Ern were used to make cutlery....or else, I expect.
Somewhere in the bowels of the factory (which survived the war and is a museum now) Lay displays, knives, razors, Lots of unfinished blanks.
Seemingly there was a PILE of #'s 25, 49, and 76 finished blades.
They plugged along for decades making knives and such after the war's end. Straight razors were not so popular.


As I know it, Smoky Mountain knife works bought all the old inventory as F.Herder became insolvent in 1993 and the name became a GMBH and sold products from the Malay Peninsula. This stuff has been sitting forever. 80+ years, I think.

So it is finally getting out here.
The guys have had someone make a pile of inlay-ed bone scales, natural and black in an effort to sell them for more.
Not quite done right and too many being sold at once has the prices silly!
On the really rare side, display boards are getting stripped and sold as well. One of a kinds.....

Excellent stuff.

Those are nice big blades. I had seen a few of them on eBay floating around and was contemplating buying one.

After reading some of the negative reviews left buy some buyers about the poorly made scales, I changed my mind.

When buying vintage blades like these, the scales have to be original. The box it came with is always an appreciated plus.

Originally Posted by MikeT

My brothers wife couldn't figure out what to get him for Xmas. He has been shaving with the same SR I gave him in 2015 and its time for another.
I said give me 80 bucks and he will be a happy man!
Just got the Herder #25 and I think I'll be making a sandwich with the existing wedge and silver or brass sheet.

These blades are gorgeous!
Though the scales are not to the same perfection.
Could use a little better sanding of the edges, sculpted just a little better. IMO. Just a little off.
I'm heading over to his house now to get it to fix it up this weekend. I'll take some pics.
Care to show a finished pic Pete?

Great gift idea! Would love to have one if those FH spades.

Originally Posted by Badgister

Those are nice big blades. I had seen a few of them on eBay floating around and was contemplating buying one.

After reading some of the negative reviews left buy some buyers about the poorly made scales, I changed my mind.

When buying vintage blades like these, the scales have to be original. The box it came with is always an appreciated plus.

You must understand. The contemporary scales aside, these blades were never issued a set of scales, nor a box.
These are literally blades from the factory.

I understand about the scales being original, nothing like having all original perfection to the T.
That said, I wouldn't let this deter you from buying one of these.
1. The blade. Perfection.
2. The scales are actually quality, just not fully finished. That may be because of the rushed circumstances of the times, who knows. But those inlays were done well. The bone scales are solid, smooth and done mostly perfect, just a tiny bit of sanding if you are freaky about perfection as I am.
And the wedge, true it needs to be redone, but after fixed..

After all said and done, the result is excellent.

Sometimes we might play a chess game history has left us... in this case one move before checkmate.. and we win!

Originally Posted by MikeT

Care to show a finished pic Pete?

Here ya go Mike

Pete <:-}

I have been a bit greedy on one particular factory display. An opportunity to decimate it will never come again. I took it.
Perhaps this is the best thread to share it. Aces? Or not?

Hmmm, on second thought, that does look pretty sweet.

If it wasn't for that Canada Post strike I would pull the trigger. I am still waiting for two razors that I ordered a month ago. They are saying the backlog will persist until March 2019.

On a positive note, the postal delays have definitely cured my bout of RAD.

Wow! Jiminy Cricket I didn't know the postal issue was so bad up there!
I need to send something to one of our brothers of the blade up there... Should I go UPS or FedEx?
Had bad experiences with UPS though.

The postal issues is the worse in the east. In the west it has been a lot of rotating strikes and our central mail processing facilities have not been hit as hard as the two main facilities in the east. Montreal has been brutal.
UPS has insane brokerage fees. I would ship Purolator myself. Be sure to get a quote for the costs up front.