Larkin Razor, Info Please!

[barnstormer]

I was just given this single edge razor for my birthday. It says Larkin on it. It came in a nice little tin with a pack of blades and a bunch of loose blades too. I tried to look it up online and really can't find anything on this razor. I would like to know a little more about it, it's age particularly, and anything else that might be of interest. There are no markings on the handle or the piece with the comb teeth that the handle screws onto. The top piece of the head has Larkin stamped into it and along the edge it says, PATENT APPL'D FOR. There are no other markings on the razor or the tin at all. The only markings on the box of blades is what is shown in the photo. Also, I would like to give this razor a try, but i'm not so sure about using the blades that came with it, and I didn't have any luck finding them on Amazon. I can see small irregularities in the edge with the naked eye and it looks like they may have been stropped in the past as the edges all look different and worn a little if that makes sense. So, if any of you Gent's could tell me a little more about this razor or where one might find new blades like this, I would really appreciate it! Thanks in advance.

 

[InfernoOrangeSS]

Not much help to you, but I believe Larkin manufactured Straight Razors. I've never seen one like what you have.

 

[barnstormer]

Thanks, though. I thought if anyone could give me some insight, someone on B&B could!

 

[barnstormer]

I was really hoping to give this a shave too but I have not found a place where I can find blades like these either.

 

[BillC]

Can you use a despined SE blade like in some Autostrops? Hard to gauge the size of the blade from the pictures but it looks close

 

[barnstormer]

The length of a SE is about exactly right. I think even a despined one might be too wide though. I will try it tonight and post back. Thanks for the Idea!

 

[HoosierTrooper]

The Larkin was probably made by the Christy Razor Company of Fremont Ohio. Christy was a very large company that started making razors around 1904 or so, and made razors up until the 50's. They made their own razors as well as for numerous companies such as Enders and Keen Kutter and the Simmons Hardware stores. They used proprietary blades that only worked in their razors.

If you google Christy razors you'll find quite a bit of info about them. They also made knives and the Christy Knife Company is still operating in Fremont. The history and business agreements they had, along with court battles, is a fascinating story.

 

[barnstormer]

So I was doing a little research and I still couldn't find anything specific on the razor. However, I was reading a post that was part of a "Larkin Club" sort of thing. These are people that collect old Larkin stuff. It was mentioned there that you can get a general idea of the year something was made by the way the company logo is printed. In this case, the logo on the box of razors dates somewhere between 1904 and 1921. I didn't think it would be quite that old so that is kind of cool. I did find a scan of an old Larkin catalog from 1915 that had a razor they called their buffalo razor that looked real similar. The only difference was that the top piece where it say Larkin in the photo, said buffalo and was a little more intricately styled making it look a little older maybe. So Im guessing this one was between '15 and '21. Otherwise the rest of it, the handle and bottom plate were identical.

Here is a picture of a standard SE blade and one that came with the razor. I don't think a despined blade will work. Thanks for the suggestion though!

 

[Early Morning]

Originally, it was called the Larkin Soap Company. They started manufacturing soap in the 1870s. They were innovators in direct marketing. Customers who purchased their soap would send in proofs of purchase in exchange for various luxury items.* In the early days, I believe, this allowed customers (often a cooperative buyers club) to acquire items such as furniture if they bought soap in large quantities. Larkin Company existed until the 1940s, then ceased operations. An offshoot, Buffalo Pottery/China, continued on operations until the 1960s, and the company was sold sometime during the 1960s to one of its competitors after an unsuccessful attempt to adopt a new business model.

The information that HoosierTrooper has provided is probably correct because, in the early days, Larkin Soap Company did not manufacture most of the items they sent their costumers in exchange for proofs of purchase. Also, this does appear to be a Christy razor. Larkin Soap Company started manufacturing their own pottery/china about the turn of the century. This razor could have been manufactured sometime before, during, or immediately after WWI.

The razor pictured is slightly different than some of the commonly available Christy razors insofar as it possesses a small bulbous shape above the knurled handle. This part of the razor might indicate that it is a very early example of a Christy razor, or it may be a custom handle that was made exclusively for Larkin Co. (or there is another explanation). The narrow taper at the very bottom of the handle is seen on some of the Christy razors, and I think this might be the best clue as to when exactly the razor was manufactured.

*Somewhat comparable to the way Tupperware was once marketed, but more complex.

 

[Rob72]

Easier than the Christy to modify:

De-spine the blade.
Lay your OEM blade on top of the modern DE, with the cutting edges flush.
Use a sharpie to line the Gem blade.
Use small tin-snips to cut to fit.

Also, if you have a hone, you can use the King's, or similar, honing handle to sharpen the blades. The Kriss-Kross stropper makes cleaning them up a snap. You could also try one of the Allegro sharpeners, tho' I can't recall which model takes non-holed SE blades.

 

[barnstormer]

Thanks for the suggestion rob. I may have to try that!

I will try to compare handles more closely with some christy razors and see what I can come up with.

 

[Rob72]

Thanks for the suggestion rob. I may have to try that!

I will try to compare handles more closely with some christy razors and see what I can come up with.

Sorry, to be clear, I was saying that your Larkin would be easier than a Christy to modify, since you don't have to worry about ears. Before I had a real idea of what I was doing, I picked up a something-or-other that requires proprietary baldes, of which I had none. I found that crimping a trimmed Gem spine on a Christy blade gave a perfect fit. Then, of course, I had to sharpen them...

 

[InfernoOrangeSS]

Were you ever able to shave with your Larkin?