This summer I spent some time in Bergslagen, the region of Sweden where Eskilstuna is situated and where mining has been going on for more than a thousand years. It’s easy to know that you’re there. Just pour yourself a glass of water from a well and you’ll feel the unmistakable scent and taste of iron from it.
When I was there I got the answer to a straight razor question I’ve been asking myself for quite some time know. Most makers of straight razors tended to stick to producing a few models that were their niche. They could make small series of other models, but generally they had their flagship models. Heljestrand for instance basically had a wedge model that they made in 4/8 and 5/8 and a full hollow that they made in 4/8 and 5/8. They also made the full hollow in larger sizes but then in limited numbers.
Erik Anton Berg though made all types of razors in every thinkable size. They are all good. I have never shaved with a Berg razor that hasn’t been top notch. I have asked myself why how come, why this myriad of razor models instead of mass production of just a few? During a dinner in a summer cottage (built around 1750) in Bergslagen a very nice man, with personal experience, gave me the following answer.
E.A. Berg wasn’t just a straight razor producer but also a tool maker. For instance they produced every type of pliers you can think of and they always put a pride in having the best possible production quality and always to use only the best available steel. Herein lies the answer to the wide array of razor models. E.A. Berg put a pride in being able to deliver every tool their customers asked for, so they had a company policy that was that they would make and deliver whatever the customer asked for as long as the customer ordered at least 25 pieces. They then produced 100 pieces, sent 25 to the customer, put the remaining 75 in their stock and added the item to their product catalogue. This was also the case with their straight razors. I guess that some of the beautiful unique NOS E.A. Berg razors I’ve managed to find over the years must be from “the remaining 75” salvaged by some employee after that E.A. Berg was merged with Bahco in 1959.
Bahco is perhaps best known for their adjustable wrenches, and still is a very active tool manufacturer with worldwide sales. Merging Berg with Bahco meant joining two different company cultures. Bahco, like Berg, made high quality tools but Bahco’s product assortment contained far less products and when Berg put product quality first Bahco put product quality very high but they also put production efficiency just as high. The resulting arguments among the two employee groups continued for decades.
From a personal point of view I can feel deep sympathy for the Berg way of doing things but I also fully realize that it most likely was that culture that is the reason to why I can buy Bahco products today but not E.A. Berg’s products.
Have a nice day gentlemen.
Below An E.A. Berg razor in ivory scales
When I was there I got the answer to a straight razor question I’ve been asking myself for quite some time know. Most makers of straight razors tended to stick to producing a few models that were their niche. They could make small series of other models, but generally they had their flagship models. Heljestrand for instance basically had a wedge model that they made in 4/8 and 5/8 and a full hollow that they made in 4/8 and 5/8. They also made the full hollow in larger sizes but then in limited numbers.
Erik Anton Berg though made all types of razors in every thinkable size. They are all good. I have never shaved with a Berg razor that hasn’t been top notch. I have asked myself why how come, why this myriad of razor models instead of mass production of just a few? During a dinner in a summer cottage (built around 1750) in Bergslagen a very nice man, with personal experience, gave me the following answer.
E.A. Berg wasn’t just a straight razor producer but also a tool maker. For instance they produced every type of pliers you can think of and they always put a pride in having the best possible production quality and always to use only the best available steel. Herein lies the answer to the wide array of razor models. E.A. Berg put a pride in being able to deliver every tool their customers asked for, so they had a company policy that was that they would make and deliver whatever the customer asked for as long as the customer ordered at least 25 pieces. They then produced 100 pieces, sent 25 to the customer, put the remaining 75 in their stock and added the item to their product catalogue. This was also the case with their straight razors. I guess that some of the beautiful unique NOS E.A. Berg razors I’ve managed to find over the years must be from “the remaining 75” salvaged by some employee after that E.A. Berg was merged with Bahco in 1959.
Bahco is perhaps best known for their adjustable wrenches, and still is a very active tool manufacturer with worldwide sales. Merging Berg with Bahco meant joining two different company cultures. Bahco, like Berg, made high quality tools but Bahco’s product assortment contained far less products and when Berg put product quality first Bahco put product quality very high but they also put production efficiency just as high. The resulting arguments among the two employee groups continued for decades.
From a personal point of view I can feel deep sympathy for the Berg way of doing things but I also fully realize that it most likely was that culture that is the reason to why I can buy Bahco products today but not E.A. Berg’s products.
Have a nice day gentlemen.
Below An E.A. Berg razor in ivory scales
