Thread: W R Case & Sons

There we are then.
There is a way to identify the Parker "Case" razors.
Any made in Soligen will definitely be Parker era razors (1988-1990)

Rod

Acording to Rich Kupillas who wrote a section on Case Razors in the 5th Ed. of Knives & Razors by Jim Sargent.
Case had razors made in Germany between the Wars. Quote by Rich " W. R. Case and Sons, Germany( 1920-1940)
"Thease razors were made to look just like Case razors of the period. The tang reads " Made by Solingin Germany Experts" (on the mark side). " This is the second German invasion, which came sometime between 1920 and the start of WWII. Though they are not quite as rare as the early German razor, they are still very hard to find." page 316.
From page 310. W.R. Case and Sons( made in Germany)(1905-1915). "Razors having this German stamp were imported for a short period of time somewhere between 1905 and the start of WWI. All have the backs of the blades worked in a floral pattern, with W.R. Case and Sons etched on them, Handles are of various colored celluloids, molded in the Classic pattern. As the war grew more and more imminent with Germany, many of these razors were imported without"Germany" stamped on the tang, and some have no marking at all except the blade etching"
As for the Parker period at Case, I understand he "looted" the factory museum and sold them off. Of course, he owned the company. If you are interested on detailed thoughts on Parker just search his name in Levine's group on Bladeforums.com.

More info concerning Case. Not to get into an arguement with our friend in the UK(Neep) but he said "but So, in a nutshell, your razor was made between 1988 and 1990 by Parker, when he owned the brand name W R Case & Sons. But the razors and knives that were made during his ownership were not actually made in Bradford PA in the Case factory. Manufacturing was outsourced to Queen Cutlery and Solingen Germany, where your razor was made."
This is not correct. I own a Case German razor the paperwork in the box is dated 2001. So these razors were made after that. I Own one in the exact box with same blade etch only it is Item 20979 and description RAZ 415715SS and it is Chestnut Bone and it was packaged April 14, 2003 as per the bar code on the box.
In addition to the Queen Reference, I doubt that. The razor is still wrapped in DOVO paper inside the box, thus, more likely made by Dovo. I doubt that Case would have to go via Queen to get DOVO to make razors.
So in a different nut shell, these Case razors were made no earlier than 2001, were most likely made by Dovo and during the ZIPPO ownership of Case.

Originally Posted by redrover66

More info concerning Case. Not to get into an arguement with our friend in the UK(Neep) but he said "but So, in a nutshell, your razor was made between 1988 and 1990 by Parker, when he owned the brand name W R Case & Sons. But the razors and knives that were made during his ownership were not actually made in Bradford PA in the Case factory. Manufacturing was outsourced to Queen Cutlery and Solingen Germany, where your razor was made."
This is not correct. I own a Case German razor the paperwork in the box is dated 2001. So these razors were made after that. I Own one in the exact box with same blade etch only it is Item 20979 and description RAZ 415715SS and it is Chestnut Bone and it was packaged April 14, 2003 as per the bar code on the box.

So, what you have is a razor made by Parker, in Solingen, but using one of the W R Case trademarks which he didn't sell on when he sold the company. Really! It is not a pukka company made "W R Case & Sons" razor!

In addition to the Queen Reference, I doubt that. The razor is still wrapped in DOVO paper inside the box, thus, more likely made by Dovo. I doubt that Case would have to go via Queen to get DOVO to make razors.

Aplogies for my (sort of) misleading comment. I should have been more specific. Parker had knives made by Queen. Not razors.

So in a different nut shell, these Case razors were made no earlier than 2001, were most likely made by Dovo and during the ZIPPO ownership of Case.

Yes.... but...
By that time Zippo owned Case, but NOT all of the trademarks! That was the whole point of what I wrote above. Parker was naughty and hung on to those trademarks when he sold the company in 1990. Hence Parker was able to make knives and razors bearing some of the trademarked names. But really, they were nothing to do with the Case company (owned by Zippo). What I didn't know, is that Parker was still producing razors as late as 2002 with the W R Case & Sons trademarks, as he was with pen knives. But it doesn't surprise me.

There was a LOT of legal fuss about the whole thing at the time, and the trademarks were eventually sold to Case (Zippo).

Rod

So the fact that within the sealed outer box the razor box was shipped in is W.R. Case & Sons paper work(dated 2001) with info on the codes to their Case German product and how to read pocket knife codes made in Germany and a form to join the Case Collectors Club. And the paper work is copyrighted by W.R. Case and Sons. So in you opinion Parker via Parker Knife Collector Services made these razors, wrapped them in Dovo paper, placed them in W. R. Case & Son's Boxes, placed those boxes which were sealed with a bar code using Case ID, RAZ 415715 SS and sold them as Parker products. I realize that Parker owned a bunch of trademarks that he kept up to some point but I find it hard to believe that he was able to sell razors in Boxes marked W.R. Case & Sons, a brand, I believe became Zippo's at the time of purchase in 1993.

I have a question for Neep:
Recently, I bought a couple "W.R. Case and Sons, Bradford, PA" razors on Ebay.
One is a "Bulls Eye" razor that says "Made by Solingen Germany Experts."
The other is a "Real Red Point" razor that features the Real Red Point ornamental circle on the handle — but there is no red within the circle.
What do you think about those two razors?

Originally Posted by kmadden

I have a question for Neep:
Recently, I bought a couple "W.R. Case and Sons, Bradford, PA" razors on Ebay.
One is a "Bulls Eye" razor that says "Made by Solingen Germany Experts."
The other is a "Real Red Point" razor that features the Real Red Point ornamental circle on the handle — but there is no red within the circle.
What do you think about those two razors?

Neep made that post in 2011. His most recent post was in September of 2013. You might send a private message to him and see if he is still receiving and answering such. As far as the razors, IIRC when Case was still family owned they had some razors made in Solingen. Whether yours would be from the Parker era, or from the family, I wouldn't know how to tell. If you posted photos showing the tang stamps, and the scales someone might come along who could say for sure.

What can one tell about a W.R. Case and Sons razor if you see "Kunstschliff" stamped on the tang?

Originally Posted by kmadden

What can one tell about a W.R. Case and Sons razor if you see "Kunstschliff" stamped on the tang?

More than likely that is the name of a retailer as in a hardware concern or barber supplier.
A photo may shed some light?

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