Category Archives: History

Another trio of old Norwegian razor blades

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There was more razor blade manufacturers than I ever suspected in Norway back in the day – “Knut A Rasmussen” from 1928 was one of the larger ones, able to make 6 million blades a year in 1938, which was not bad in a country that had about 2.8 million inhabitants at the time. Like most other Norwegian razor blade manufacturers they was gone by 1956, killed off by cheaper imported blades.

Manufactured blades under three different brands; Lyn (lightning), Nordenvind (Northern Wind) and Skarphedin (Son of Njål, from the old norse Njål’s Saga). Like the Nordkapp I mentioned last week, the labelling on the various blades speak volumes of the political and military situation at the time; i.e.: Norway was occupied by Nazi Germany, and a puppet regime was at least trying to pass themselves of as having the trappings of power.

A simple, no nonsense early wrapper. I like how the N is a lightning bolt, a visual reference to the name of the blade.

“The Northern Wind” factory employs only Norwegian workers, and is the only factory in Norway which uses the old – but for razor blades new – grinding method “obliquely on the edge”. For raw materials is used the best quality special-steel, 15% thinner than normal. Each blade controlled”
The reference to using only Norwegians cuts both ways, interestingly enough. The German occupiers and the Quisling collaborators tended to come down heavily on anything that hinted at the western allies, while the public tended to boycott any industry that had overt connections to Germany.

Same text as above, except not mentioning the thinner blade. I assume that means this wrapper hid one of the old style thicker blades.

“The Northern Wind” razor blade is manufactured by Norwegian workers in accordance with a particular technique that is the result of long experience and thorough experimentation. Only the highest quality Swedish special-steel – 15% thinner than normal blades – is used as raw material, and the manufacture is carried out as precision work. Each blade is controlled. It has an edge that lasts longer, and that will give a better and more comfortable shave.

Not much to say, apart from enjoying the logo and how it’s used on both sides of the wrapper.

Remove the blade carefully from the wrapper. Don’t destroy the fine edges by tearing of the paper.
Good advise today as well… Have to wonder what made this blade “New” though… other than the wrapper.

NOR VA is not a new brand, but a “no brand” – it is short for Norsk Vare (Norwegian Goods). During the War (aka WW2), there was a move to remove the brand name on certain items – soap was the most well known – in order to aid rationing and prevent black marked trading of more popular brands. I suspect this is caused by some of the same logic, but since the back of the wrapper is unchanged, it’s still easy to identify the blade.
Rustfritt means stainless by the way – a direct translation would be “free from rust”.

Another simple wrapper, with less text than many. Skarphedin is an old norse name from the sagas – skarp means sharp, and I’ve not found exactly what Hedin means, even if the name is not died out yet. One source claims it comes from Heðinn, meaning ‘fur jacket’, and that sounds reasonable.

An evolution of the previous wrapper? The logo have been replaced by a viking style head, and the encouragement to unwrap carefully is back on the wrapper.

I suspect this is a post-war blade, due to the more fancy print. The back gives some interesting information;
Blue wrapper: Stainless, luxury quality
Red wrapper: extra thin, not stainless

Nordkapp – yet another vintage Norwegian blade

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So I was puttering around the internet… again.

Sort of poking for information on vintage shaving gear… again.

Stumbled over a now defunct Norwegian manufacturer of razor blades… again.

Nordkapp (the North Cape) was one of two trademarks used by “Nye Norske Barberbladfabrikk” (New Norwegian Razor Blade Factory) in Oslo. Company founded in 1940, likely after the German invasion severly reduced the import of blades from the UK and US. Folded sometime between 1949 and 1951, likely killed off by imported blades.

Back of the sleeve states that the price was 17 øre per blade, and that each blade was controlled for quality. To compare; adjusted for inflation, that would be almost 5 Norwegian kroner today, or roughly 60 US cents. Listing the price per blade can also be an indication that blades were sold as singles… something that makes the mind boggle a bit today.

Fram – meaning Forward, but obviously named for the well known polar ship – was the other trademark used. Front of the sleeve states the blade is made from “first class Swedish steel”, while the backside states – in addition to the quality control statement – that it’s made with Norwegian money and Norwegian work. Portraying the factory as wholly Norwegian was probably a smart thing to do both to the public and the occupiers; the Germans and the Quisling collaborators tended to come down heavily on anything that hinted at the western allies, while the public tended to boycott any industry that had overt connections to Germany.

All in all a fun little excursion into Norwegian razor blade history.

A head barber shave

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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.

Another Pereira Shavery crowdfunder

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Pereira just finished – successfully I might add – a crowdfunder for their unbreakable shaving bowl, a crowdfunder I backed myself so I could have a second bowl in a lovely bright green.

This time Pereira is offering up a hone for cartridge razors and an optional leather sheet for storing your razor in while travelling or at home. The kit looks really nice, and looking at the size and mode of operation it should work just as well for DE and SE razors too.

Check out their video, and then check out their campaign.

Another improvement in shaving mugs

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Don’t you hate it when you’re emptying your shaving mug of water and your soap falls out? Well, me neither, but just in case you do Philip Schauble and Louis Dohm, of Elizabeth, Union county, New Jersey have you covered. Or had you covered, back in 1875 when they patented an improvement in shaving mugs.
To understand why an improvement was needed, one have to recall that while a lot of us today will soak the brush, load the soap of the puck, then use a separate bowl or mug to make lather they did it differently back on the day. The soap puck was kept in the shaving mug, water was added on top, lather made on top of the puck and water then poured out… sometimes along with the soap.
Our bold inventors came up with a solution to this problem, as they stated in the very beginning of the patent letter;

Our invention consists of a shaving-cup having means for securing the soap, so that the cup may be turned upside down, for pouring out the water for cleaning it, without the loss of the soap, and without the necessity of holding it by the brush or by the hand, as is now necessary when cleaning the cup, thus saving considerable trouble and greatly facilitating the work.

In hindsight the solution Philip and Louis came up with is obvious when you read about it, but it does actually require a bit of lateral thinking. In short… who says a mug have to be smooth on the inside? What if the bottom of the mug had a screw thread mounded to the inside, like a nut that goes on the end of a bolt? And if the soap also had screw threads, like the aforementioned bolt, and could be screwed down into the mug?
As explained in the patent:

The plan which we have adopted in this case consists of screw-threads in the bottom or lower part of the cup, with corresponding threads molded in the soap, to screw it into the cup by a little forked’key or other suitable instrument…

They also outline an alternate, by having a screw that comes up through the bottom of the mug, but point out this is a much less ideal solution.

A solution they don’t touch upon in their patent might be more obvious to us today; simply have circular ridges along the inside of the mug and cast the soap in situ (i.e.:directly into the shaving mug). The downside of that solution is, off course, that soaps cannot easily be replaced.
I have no idea if this invention was ever put into production, and the patent have long since lapsed… but if any artisan or small scale manufacturer of soaps and shaving accoutrements put something like this on the market today, I would be sorely tempted. Perhaps a standard diameter and screw pitch could be agreed upon by a group of loosely organised artisans so we could choose between several of our favourite soaps… but I’m daydreaming. I guess I’ll continue to soak my brush, load from the puck and lather in a separate mug of scuttle.

Free ebook – shaving made easy

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I’ve mentioned this a few years back, but it bears repeating:

Over at Project Gutenberg – which is an awesome site for free books, by the way – I found a gem from 1905:

Available of reading online, or to download to a Kindle or other ebook reader, it’s a keeper. A little thin on the subject of DE- razors for some strange reason*, but covering the straight edge well as well as touching upon the strop, the brush, the soap, and other supplies. Has some sage advice too, that has not changed in over a century, such as:
Next to the razor, the most important article of the shaving outfit is the soap. In its proper use lies the real secret of easy shaving.
And:
If you desire a really clean shave, you must go over the face the second time.

It’s a highly enjoyable read, and I urge you to take a few minutes to grab a copy.

*) The first DE Gillettes went on sale in 1903 – so when this booklet was written they were very much the new kid on the block.

Thoughts on shaving while travelling

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Once again my job have made me go places to do stuff, and once again I have been shaving out of my GoBag… and once again I’m reminded by what I miss most when not shaving in my own den.

Not quality razors; I actually have two of those in my kit, a vintage Gillette and a more modern Merkur.
Not a good brush; the Omega travel boar is a great performer and a good trooper.
Not good lather; the BEA shave stick I picked up in Spain a few years ago is all that and more.
Not my alum; I got a handy dandy travel sized one in a push up container.
Not a nice aftershave; I got a small bottle of Krampert’s Finest, and it’s fine indeed.
Not a beard oil; I keep a small bottle of Wet Shaving Products Matterhorn in with the rest of my gear.

No.. what I miss is what I don’t have… choice. Apart from the option of picking one of two razors, every single shave when Im on a trip is the same gear. Same brush. Same lather. Same aftershave. Same, same, same.

I do realise that some guys find their perfect setup and stick to it – one razor, one brush, one soap. I can’t do that. I cannot imagine going back to the dark age of always shaving with the same gear when there is choices available. I relish on rotating my razors and brushes. I enjoy agonising over what soap to use any given day, and which of my aftershaves I can pair it with.

Choice.

I miss that when travelling…

Shaving pleasure beyond measure

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The tagline got to me… this old Old Spice commercial seems to point directly at what I like to think of as the Zen of Shaving.

Old Star Razor advertisements

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A semi-disposable DE of interesting design

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A little while back my Better Half bought a IPL – Intense Pulsed Light – hair remover. In the package was a razor to shave hair of, so the light pulses can more easily reach the hair roots and burn them out.

The razor imidiatly caught my attention, seeing as how it is a DE! And upon unpacking, I found that the design and construction is interesting, even for something meant to be a semi-disposable item. Let me show you;

The biggest surprises  -apart from the fact that they included a DE and not a disposable cartridge razor – is how sturdy the plastic is and the fact that blades are changeable. I might use this for my shaves next week, just to try it out.