1890 Star/Kampfe Brothers

[Hoos]

I was really lucky this weekend and picked up an 1890 Star Safety Razor in its tin. It also included some paperwork about the Star design and to avoid imitations. Directions for use are lithoed on the tin - which isn't in horrible shape, but not great either.

Still I'm tickled at finding and it now has the place of honor as the oldest razor in my collection.

 

[Blue-EyedSon]

Wow! Pardon my ignorance, but I assume 1890 is the date and not a model name??? In any event, that looks great!

 

[thirdeye]

Nice score Brent, I've got one in the case as well. Are you going to give it a go?

 

[tom myers]

I'd say that tin is in quite good condition compared to what we normally see. The razor looks to be in super condition too. How's the blade? That razor looks like it needs to be put back into service . . . at least for a tryout.

Great score!

Regards,
Tom

 

[Hoos]

Thanks guys. Especially appreciate the feedback about the tin.

Brian - yes, the year is 1890 and the model is HR-5C, per Waits' Compendium.

The blade looks unused, thought there are a couple of spots of rust on it (no where near the edge). Everything looks in great shape - other than the spots on the blade no rust or crud on either the razor or the tin. I have a tin of two unopened Star/Kampfe blades identical to this blade, so I could always use one of those if necessary.

I haven't done anything to develop the honing/stropping skill set, so it won't get used right away. May need to, though. Just to be able to say I've shaved with something 119 years old.

 

[Blue-EyedSon]

That is incredible! Excellent find!!!

 

[RocketMan]

Very nice find!! I am waiting for the day when I come across an SE like this. Those can certainly get pretty pricey - did you scoop it at a bargain basement price or was the seller aware of what they had? I hope you don't mind me asking. (I would love to hear you picked it up for a great price - I would then believe there is hope for me too!)

 

[mdunn]

sweet!

great score, mate

 

[Hoos]

Not sure if it was a bargain, but I feel I paid a fair amount for it - $100.

Considering that I've seen some empty Star tins (the rectangular ones from the 1900s) with worse graphics for $75, I felt completely fine with this purchase.

Litho tins are very collectible (though that market seems to be softening now) and have a much larger following than collectors of razors. People have been willing to pay a premium for a tin in good condition. Because of that, sellers are more likely to price them based on the value of the tin.

Also, finding the tins out here (the West Coast) seems fairly rare. I've only seen them a couple of times in my few years of collecting.

But you can always find bargains. I found my cased Ranger Tech in a box marked "anything for $4".

 

[John C]

Awesome score!
Does this one take only wedge blades, or is it one of the wedge, SE combo type??
I know that some of the GEM's of that time could take either one.

 

[RichGem]

Awesome score!
Does this one take only wedge blades, or is it one of the wedge, SE combo type??
I know that some of the GEM's of that time could take either one.

+1 curious about blade type.

Great find either way!

 

[MajorBurnz]

That's a nice catch!

I have that same razor (but no tin), and I've used it many times with just a regular SE blade. The design makes it obvious that it's better to use a wedge blade, but you don't have to.

I was worried that the SE blade would move around during the shave, as it doesn't feel 'tight' enough in the razor head, but in practice this was not an issue. In fact, this razor is the most 'comfortable' lather catcher that I have (I have three Gems in addition to this one, with and without the bar).

This is just my experience with this razor, of course. You may have a completely different experience.

BTW, are you missing the stropper and one segment of the handle, or did you just not take a photograph with them in it.

 

[Hoos]

I do have all the pieces of the handle and the stropper - just didn't include them.

Thanks for the info on the blade. I might try it with a modern SE blade.

The blades for all of these earlier razors were wedge blades, which is why Star/Kampfe included that little stropper handle. They needed to be honed and stropped before using.

I think it was around 1905 that they started selling them with the non-wedge blades. I have some of those and they're kind of cool - the non-shaving edge has a textured design in it and those suckers are heavy! Not as heavy as a wedge, but still pretty impressive.