Thread: Bought it, now wondering

I just bought a J A Henckels razor. Below the name J A Henckels are the names Graef and Schmidt. It also carries the number 55 just up the tang. Does anyone know anything about this make/model of razor? There's only one rust spot on it, on its top, and a little superficial rust here and there on the blade. Other than that it is in good shape. I'm a newbie but I honed it, stroped it and shaved with it this evening. Got a good shave with it. Are there any books that give the value of old razors? I paid $20.00 for this one, and am wondering if I paid too much.

Well, if you paid $20 for a Henkels and it's in good enough shape to shave with, I'd say you got one hell of a deal.

I shave with one every day, and i'm quite satisfied.

Cost/value of vintage straights can depend on a lot of variables, but $20 for something shave-ready is always a good price.

I paid $100 for a shave ready henckels and a decent vintage strop.

Shave ready costs money. Plus his has rust on it. (just trying to make you feel better dubb!)

krup, you got a good deal. Henckels is one of my favs. I got a nice henckels for $25 recently, haven't shaved with it yet though.... But all the ones I've had in the past have been excellent shavers.

Graef and Schmidt was the uh...rebranding company. They bought the razor from Henckels to sell as their own.

so graef and schmidt / henckels are the same/just as good?

Originally Posted by The0ctopus

so graef and schmidt / henckels are the same/just as good?

Not quite.

Once upon a time, razors were made in two stages. (I'm being very general here)

The first stage, a razor manufacturer, i.e. henkels would forge, grind and temper a razor. Then they'd slap some scales on it, maybe even set a bevel.

Then they would be sold "wholesale" to cutlers. A cutler, as the name implies, was a person who sold all sorts of knives, razors and sharp tools. The cutler would hone the razor, and sell it to the consumer. Many cutlers would "rebrand" razors by engraving their names below the makers' names.

Come to think of it, this really hasn't changed at all.

When brand new razor leaves the Dovo factory in Solingen, it's got a bevel, and that's about it. Then classic shaving, or Straight Razor Designs or whoever else, breaks the factory seal, and hones the razor before passing it along to the end user.

So, buying a Graef & Schmidt Henckels is like buying a Straight Razor Designs Dovo. Dovo made the razor, SRD honed it and sold it retail.

lol, after discussing all this, I just noticed that my Henckels is also a Graef & Schmidt.

Goins Encyclopaedia says that Henckels was represented in America by Graef & Schmidt, a US import firm in New York City.

Regards,
Neil

That makes perfect sense Neil. Thanks for the info.

So, that ties right back into my earlier explanation. Henckels made the razors, and the cutler (or distributor in this case) for the US engraved their name on them as well.

Originally Posted by Neil Miller

Goins Encyclopaedia says that Henckels was represented in America by Graef & Schmidt, a US import firm in New York City.

Regards,
Neil

Doing further research on "Graef & Schmidt", it was indeed a cutlery company and the import company for Henckels in New York between 1928 and 1943, when the US Government seized the company at time of war due to German ties, and ultimately was bought by Revlon to make their nail clippers, etc. That would narrow down the age of a Henckels razor with the Graef & Schmidt markings to within a 15 year period.
However, the link below posted by JMS shows that Graef & Schmidt markings go to 1952.

http://straightrazorpalace.com/razor...formation.html

So when were they really made?