Høvding (“chieftain”) was as far I can tell manufactured from 1935 to at least 1951… factory located in Sarpsborg like the Bessegg I posted about a while back – probably due to access to ample hydroelectric power, easy access to transport and a well developed metal industry.
The word “høvding” comes from the old norse term for head (“hǫfuð”), and can also mean a leader in a narrower field… for instance art, politics, or polar explorations. With that in mind it’s not a big surprice that the factory used Fritdjof Nansen and Roald Amundsen to sell their products; both was and is considered “chieftains” in Norwegian polar history.
Like other Norwegian manufacturers of razor blades, they probably folded when imports got cheap enough to drive them out of the market.
When you think “disposable razor” today, you think plastic. But there was a time before non-biodegradable materials were the material of choice for things used a few times and then dumped in the landfill… and in those days a lady would want smooth legs and hairless pits even if she had forgotten her grooming equipment when she went on a unplanned rendezvous.
Enter the Welch’s Saratoga Disposable Razor and/or E-KON-I-ME (economy?) razors, identical in all but name as far as I can tell, and both also used the trademark “Just A Little Shaver”. A perfectly safe hair remover that would aid you in removing objectionable hair.
The razor was made by Woodward-Williams Co. Inc., of Rochester, NY. Given that the only difference is the markings on the head, and that Saratoga apparently was a popular summer resort, I assume it was possible at the time for a hotel or resort to have razors like these rebranded as a promotional item… something you could keep for a while as a tangible reminder of the unplanned rendezvous you suddenly went on.
The razor itself is simple enough; all wooden construction, a head with an open comb cut on one side and a slot for a blade, and a fairly stubby handle. Given the coarseness of the comb – only five teeth across the whole razor – it probably wasn’t the smoothest of razors out there… but it was available on site as it were, and if you really need a shave a razor in your hand is ten times better than a razor at home.
The E-KON-I-ME brand was also used on a razor blade sharpener. The name makes more sense for that product, so I’m assuming in the absence of firm information that the sharpener started manufacture before the little wooden disposable.
A bio-degradable disposable would be a nice option to have today, but I think I would prefer something a bit more refined than these wooden ones. Still fun to dive into what little I could find about them and share with my readers.
Razor: Yaqi Mini, red & black Blade: Persona Platinum Brush: X A Lather: Nivea Mild Aftershave: Barber No3 Marmara Additional Care: Alum Block, Big Red Beard Balm, & Pereira Shavery Boomerang Beard Comb
According to Captain Charles of the Lusitania – greatest ship afloat – everyone can get a “head barber shave” from an Auto Strop razor… because while everyone can move a razor across the face, only a “head barber” can properly strop and hone a blade.
A few interesting titbits; the reference to Lusitania as the greatest ship afloat, as well as placing I T W Charles as the Captain, dates the advertisement to a narrow time frame. It must be from after 7th September 1907, which was the date of the maiden voyage for the Lusitania. It must be from before the Great War, since as far as I can tell her two wartime captains were Captain Dow and – off course – Captain William Thomas Turner.
Best guess places this advertisement around 1910 – before the Gillette’s with their disposable blades made the idea of stropping a safety razor obsolete.
As a side note, I’m really curious as to the “slaughter of the innocent” booklet they mention in the text – the only thing I find online about that is more recent than this advert, and has little to do with shaving.
