Kirby Beard “WELSHAVA”

[Witterm]

This just came today... I’ve never seen another besides this one. I expect it to be a very mild shaver since there is neutral to slightly negative blade exposure... I’ll put up a shave report once I have a chance to give it a spin.

The inscription FABRIQUE EN ANGLETERRE seems to indicate it was made in England, so maybe Leresche didn’t produce this one for Kirby?

Has anyone seen one of these? Mike, Thomas, Jake? Anyone?

Lots of questions here.

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[Witterm]

Ok. A little bit of research on the French patent site shows that I only have part of this unusual razor....

This is quite the gizmo.

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[Twelvefret]

Fascinating, but sorry you are missing some parts.

 

[gvw755]

Interesting razor. I am wondering if you could still shave with it. You probably got to ride the cap more, but then again, there might be a reason the middle part is missing.

 

[Witterm]

Interesting razor. I am wondering if you could still shave with it. You probably got to ride the cap more, but then again, there might be a reason the middle part is missing.

I have a rather thick “Petard” branded shim that I’m planning to use. This should open up the exposure somewhat.


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[ajkel64]

Interesting razor, hopefully it is still usable.

 

[BigJ]

Never seen anything like this one!!

 

[Northstonehill]

Interesting!!!

 

[Billski]

Never seen anything like this one!!

Me either.

 

[Cha-wing!!]

Hi there, I'm opening this up as I found a complete one ! Matthew, I'm pretty sure I know where you find yours, I hesitated back then because I knew it was incomplete. And when I wanted to buy it because "come on, half a super rare razor is still cool" it was already gone. Congrats !

So, without further ado, here's mine :











Patented in 1931 by a Swedish gentleman (?!) for the Kirby Beard Co. Cap and handle are made in France as per usual, but the thin plate is made in Britain and marked in french. The fat baseplate is a roller-guard kind, as it is unmarked we can't know for sure where it was made.

The patent is not easy to read, even for a french native ! I will try and explain, sorry if I'm not clear. Basically, it says :

- Welshava thin plate is a scraper, meant to scrape the extra soap out of the way. Razor can be used without, but works better with.
- the real invention is the roller-guide-guard, its action is three-fold (maybe even more) ! If you look closely at the roll bar, you will see it is made of a succession of very fine (nearly honed) teeth, and deep depressions. The tooth enters in contact with the skin and the bar thus rolls. While doing so, it touches the hair and guide it towards the blade. But, when it rolls out, its edge still has the hair and pulls it, so that the blade cuts the hair when it is perfectly taut. On the surface of the plate, behind the blade's edge, are little "pools". These are for stocking the hairs cut and soap, so that the razor is not too clogged.

The inventor was pretty sure about the efficiency of his model. I have tried it and can say it shaves very well, but not better than the usual Kirby, in my opinion. The reality is that it must not have encountered a commercial success, because yours and mine are the only two I have ever seen.

Anyways, I hope I helped, and if you need anything just ask ^^

 

[Hydguy]

Very interesting. Bet they run a pretty penny when they pop up.

 

[bdehne]

That is very interesting for sure. Very cool razor.

 

[tonich]

I like the "Leresche Archive" guy.
He always has great stuff to show us!

 

[efsk]

Great stuff here!

 

[FarmerTan]

This just came today... I’ve never seen another besides this one. I expect it to be a very mild shaver since there is neutral to slightly negative blade exposure... I’ll put up a shave report once I have a chance to give it a spin.

The inscription FABRIQUE EN ANGLETERRE seems to indicate it was made in England, so maybe Leresche didn’t produce this one for Kirby?

Has anyone seen one of these? Mike, Thomas, Jake? Anyone?

Lots of questions here.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

So unique!

 

[FarmerTan]

I like the "Leresche Archive" guy.
He always has great stuff to show us!

Any idea if that handle could be used on another head? It just seems a shame to sit idle...

 

[tonich]

Any idea if that handle could be used on another head? It just seems a shame to sit idle...

I do not know, sorry!
But I am pretty sure the "Leresche Archive" guy knows the answer.

 

[ks6c]

And you've got my favorite Kirby Case, too! Congrats, Thomas!!

 

[BigJ]

Ok. A little bit of research on the French patent site shows that I only have part of this unusual razor....

This is quite the gizmo.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Interesting!! Thanks or posting!