Famex Safety Razor

[PokerChip]

Your first french comment I believe says:

But yes, I do not speak french but I love my razors. "La Coq" that phrase I can't translate

Your next french comments translates:

I love my french razors.

How close am I to being accurate? Keep in mind I haven't spoke fluent french if 30+ years. As they frequently say, If you don't use, you lose it! This applies to anything.

Ju suis parle francais tre mal!

Merci boucoup!

 

[DrAwkward]

Close enough! Le Coq (The Rooster) is a French razor brand. I was going for a double entendre, so to speak.

 

[PokerChip]

Close enough! Le Coq (The Rooster) is a French razor brand. I was going for a double entendre, so to speak.

One of these days I should try to resurrect my french speaking abilities. Somewhere in the back of my brain I have a working knowledge of french. At times I amaze myself. I really do! Until I was 4 years old all I spoke was french. I actually had to learn english to start school. Odd all the same.

BTW, if you're remotely curious this phrase, "Ju suis parle francais tre mal!", translated to english says "I speak french very poorly."

 

[nuclearblast]

Well, as expected I didn't find much. I had problems too when I tried to gather info on the Gardette razors. Seems like not even the French are sure about manufacturing dates, etc ...

Anyway, the Famex brand produced many different items, not only razors. Also I get the idea that they were more famous for their straight razors, at least most of the info on this brand is related to straights, which seem to have been produced in Solingen. Also their DE blades seem to have been produced there at some point, because some of their wrappers contain both French and German.

The French forum didn't have much info ( or I didn't find it) and the guys there seem to agree that these were made in the 30s, as you guys supposed. In the 50s, the Société Industrielle de Coutellerie, in Paris, was the exclusive retailer of the brand as seen here:



Prior to that, I found this invoice dated from April 1935, a stone, a tube of paste, couple razors, etc ...



Here's one of their blade wrappers:



And this manual beard clipper:

 

[nuclearblast]

The Famex straights, made in Solingen ( there are plenty of examples on the interwebs):




And this I found on the German forum. I am still learning German, so my understanding is not the best yet, but the folks there also seem to think these are from the 30s.
It was sold there as Autofix DRP. The DRP stands for Deutsches Reichspatent, and the general consensus is that this was only used prior to 1945.
The razor is the same ( or the head at least) it has the same marks as the razors sold in France ( Bté SGDG FAMEX) but the handle is different and says Autofix:







And this is all I found.

 

[flamingrevolver]

This is why I love B&B every day you see something new and amazing Thanks for the awesome post!

 

[DrAwkward]

Edgar, thank you so much for this information. We have at least a bit more evidence supporting the theory that the Famex razors (and their German cousins) were made in the 1930's.
Also, the pictures of the German cousins confirm that the three holes go down.
Nice work!

 

[aimsport]

Thanks Edgar!

 

[mjclark]

Yes thanks so much for the research!
The Germany/France connection is interesting.

And I'm really loving the shave from this razor.
18 hours on the shave is still smart and comfortable.

 

[nuclearblast]

Thanks guys, and you're welcome. I also tried to search on the EPO site (European Patent Office) but had no luck. Maybe someone like Mike aka mblakele would have better luck since he's used to use that site, Patent Scope, etc ...

What matters is that you guys enjoy the shaves. I need to get one of my own if I ever get the chance.

 

[Witterm]

Here was my morning shave. Flat side down gives a nice close shave.

 

[DrAwkward]

Your Famex looks much better then mine. Glad you like it!
What is that shave stick container?

 

[Witterm]

Colgate "handy grip" container. A stick of La Toja will screw right onto the lid. Look on the bay or Etsy and you should find some. Expect to pay 10-20 bucks. Once the soap is fixed to the lid, the lid will screw onto the metal container either with the soap inside or outside (as shown above). The container makes a nice big handle for manipulating the stick.

 

[Witterm]

Oh. I had my Famex handle and baseplate replated in bright nickel. I did not mess with the cap since it's some kind of zinc alloy and virtually unobtanium if it gets ruined.

 

[wscottb7862]

Just got one in the mail today:

 

[pjgh]

I've settled on a nice bakelite handle for mine - it's a slightly more bulbous than "usual" Gillette:

I've sent the original handle off with a bunch of stuff for replating, so if that works out well I think I'll send the head.

 

[wscottb7862]

I wonder how many different models they made? The 2 above are obviously slightly different...

 

[Quaternion]

If positioned open end up, there is an interesting possibility for the Famex. If the metal is springy enough not to deform, it could be possible by tightening the handle to adjust to a less aggressive shave.

I think I found the patents for this razor. You are correct, this really is intended to be an adjustable razor:

French patent FR660449 (A) ― 1929-07-11

German patent DE509344 (C) ― 1930-10-09

 

[wscottb7862]

Seeing the bakelite handle on the Famex gave me an idea.. Lutz Spring Handle + Famex head... could this be the ultimate Frankenrazor???

 

[pjgh]

Haha! That's amazing!