Thread: new and playing detective

hey ya'll -

new to this site and the razor world in general..im looking for some help with this old razor i found. i believe the reads as follows:
Carl J. L. Franck - Maker

Elekir Schleiferei - ???

Hamburg 1, Germany - city, zip, country

Monckebergstr. 3 - street, #


please see attached pics





any info would help--looking for date, value, anything


thanks

We don't do valuations here.

It's a razor that has been made into a knife. Since the tang is inside the handle, it's impossible to say if it goes with the box or not.

looks like a German prison shank

i was told this full tang fixed blade was used prior to folding straight razors? should i remove leather handle??

I think, from my limited experience that the box is too new for the razor to have been a fixed blade AND have gone with the box. The only way to determine for sure would be to take the blade to your local vet/chiropracter/friendly doctor and have them X-ray it to determine the shape of the tang. Otherwise, you just have to pull the leather off.

Altogether it simply looks too new to be old enough, and is more likely that HNSB is right and someone made it into a knife. The quality of the stitching testifies to this as well. It appears to be very home-made. Removing the leather handle would reveal more information...scales can be made, and it will likely be a decent shaver if the tang hasn't been destroyed.

You are planning to shave with it yes?

the leather is off!!

folding straight razor missing handle --homemade leather handle stitched on.

engraved with: 5 point crown with sword beneath. 411 adjacent to crown and sword. wald-solingen beneath crown and sword. ERN on opposite side.

seems to be in ok shape..i think ill be shaving with it soon!!!

what do u guys think?? see pic

thanks for replies guys!

Ern was a respected name in the straight razor world. Wald is a region adjacent to Solingen where many, if not all, of the cutlery mfgs were/are in Germany. The blade could be from the 1920s up through the '60s IMO. Might make a good shaver if it was rescaled and professionally honed. Check out member services in the SRP classifieds for folks who perform those services for a nominal fee .... unless you're going to do it your self. Welcome to SRP.

Originally Posted by tAdam

the leather is off!!

folding straight razor missing handle --homemade leather handle stitched on.

engraved with: 5 point crown with sword beneath. 411 adjacent to crown and sword. wald-solingen beneath crown and sword. ERN on opposite side.

seems to be in ok shape..i think ill be shaving with it soon!!!

what do u guys think?? see pic

thanks for replies guys!

That should be a great shaver when it's rebuilt! It will take some time. In the mean time I'd suggest you head over to the classifieds here or whippeddog.com to pick up a razor that's ready to go (along with other wet shaving necessities).

Go here: http://straightrazorpalace.com/razor...here-pics.html to see pics of my Crown & Sword ERN razor.

thanks so much guys ill keep ya posted!