What year is my fili?

[kohalajohn]

We know the standard guide to dating a Filarmonica.

But I just went through it with my razor, and I can't seem to date it.

Assistance appreciated. My photos are below and my notes are below the photos.

I'm slowly getting the scratches polished out.

Sorry for the blurry photos. On the tang, the words are in a straight line, not curved. Filarmonic at the top line, the Doble Temple below, in the middle line and then at the bottom is the name Jose etc and also written in a straight line.

The Lyre is to the left and the number 14 is rotated ninety degrees from the writing. I suppose you'd say the number 14 is vertical.

I've gone through the standard identification process, but no luck.

First generation: 1915-1967 .

The versions prior to 1959 do not have "Made in Spain / Made in Spain" on the back of the spike.
​

Ok, so I know my razor is 1959 or later, as it has Made in Spain on the back

We can find three varieties of the "Special" model:
- The spike shows "José Montserrat Pou" curved with the eagle, and the n ° 14 in vertical.
- The spike shows "Imperial". "Jose Montserrat Pou" straight and nº14 horizontal with the lyre.
- The spike shows "José Montserrat Pou" curved with "Philharmonic" straight, and the n ° 14 in vertical.
They also have the golden musical seal "Special / Philharmonic" on the sheet.
​

It does not say Special, and nowhere says Imperial, so I can skip to Double Temple below:

The original Double Temple.
Spike similar to the Special, with "José Montserrat Pou" curved with "Philharmonic" straight, and the n ° 14 in vertical. It has a distinct golden stamp on the sheet, showing the initials "JMP" in the center. Later the initials will be replaced by the lira.
​

But nope, it is not the one described above, as the Jose name is not curved, it is straight.

The limited edition "Medallón Taurino":
They are DT 13s with 6 subjects related to bullfighting:
Banderillas, Capote, Thrust, Catch, Crutch and Rejoneo

The "Sub Zero" is a DT with a special treatment of the leaf.
​

Nope, none of the above. So onward to see if it is a second generation

Second generation: 1967-1979
New scales, golden seals and different brands in the spikes characterize this era.
The primers in the spike follow the following uniform style: nº in horizontal with the lyre and (from top to bottom in horizontal straight) "Jose Montserrat Pou", model and "Philharmonic".
​

Nope, not the one above, as Jose is not at the top. The word Philarmonic is at the top. The name Jose is at the very bottom.

The Special For Hard Beards replaces the Special, with laser primer and a rubber on the spike.
The DT continues to be the flagship of the brand.
4 new models appear:
- TRIDUR EPBD: trivalent chromium to avoid corrosion. More difficult to sharpen. The model on the sheet as in the EPBD.
- Novodur: third pin (stabilizer) in the grips.
- Special for hair cutting
- INOX: DT stainless steel.
​

It is none of the above.

And it is not third or fourth generation as those generations no longer have the Jose name on them. The razor does have the Jose name on it, so it has to be first or second generation.

Puzzling.

Third generation : José Montserrat Pou died in the late 70's-early 80's. His son took over the company, apparently continued selling the old stock.
In 1985 barberas razors were banned in Spanish barbershops, which decreased the demand and with the disappearance of the founder directly affected production.
The key to identifying this era is the disappearance of the name "Jose Montserrat Pou" from the spike. These are the "Gold Seal".


Fourth generation : the son of JMP dies shortly after his father and his daughter takes over. The company closed shortly after in 1990.
The steel comes from Pakistan, of inferior quality.
No marks on the spike; only "FILARMONICA -DOBLE TEMPLE" on the sheet
Some in the "Gold Seal" box, others simply in plastic cases ​

 

[Somerled]

Your 14 is similar'ish to mine.

It says "Made is Spain" in english on the back of the tang, but, your Jose name is not curved though.
Because they dropped the name Jose Monserrat Pou after the second generation models, I would say yours is in that period. Definately not before 1959.

Take a look at my 13

The Gold Wash logo is slightly different to my 14, it has the letters JMP in the middle and the tang is blank on the back side. To me that puts it in the first generation, pre 1959.

Your's, I'm sure, is second gen. Just a variation thats not been documented.

 

[kohalajohn]

Thanks for the reply.

Yes, mine is definitely not documented. Just have to figure out the most likely.

Since mine says made in spain, it's 1959 or later, but it still might be a first gen, a long as its before 1967.

Since the 14 is vertical, that puts in first gen. Yes, the name is not curved and on the top like most first gens, but if it was second gen, the 14 would be small and horizontal.

So likely late sixties, just before second generation starts. It still has the vertical 14, but they are starting to change the name, putting the Jose name at the bottom and in horizontal script.

Just my current belief anyway....

 

[azwetshaver]

I always took it:

If the 14 is rotated 90 degrees from the writing/stamping, the number was horizontal.

If the 14 is the same direction as the stamping, then it is vertical.

I interpret your 14 to be horizontal.

Perhaps another, more experienced member can chime in.

 

[kohalajohn]

Oh, well if the 14 is horizontal, then this razor is second generation.

 

[Ice-Man]

Oh, well if the 14 is horizontal, then this razor is second generation.

Yours is the same as mine but to be honest I dont think that dating thing is right, as mine would be first generation mine does not have the made in Spain on the rear. But the front looks like 2nd gen.....

 

[kohalajohn]

Mine says made in spain. In Spanish and then again in English. Strange.

Maybe those Filarmonica dates notes that we all refer to, have errors or more likely, are incomplete.

Maybe small artisanal family businesses change things up more often than big businesses. Maybe one summer old Jose used a sideways number stamp because he lost his usual one. Then he found his usual one in a coat pocket and started using it again. Stuff like that.

There must be a more exhaustive history book out there, on this. There are history books about the most esoteric things....

 

[Ice-Man]

Yes I will agree I seem to think miss and match, Let's just hope one day they find a better way to date them...

 

[Somerled]

Yes I will agree I seem to think miss and match, Let's just hope one day they find a better way to date them...

The real problem is simple - no records.
I made a half hearted attempt to find out what kind of steel JMP used and turned up very little.

I suppose we just have to keep guessing for ever.

 

[kohalajohn]

From advice on here, I now see that my number 14 is called horizontal.

So I believe mine is a second generation. 1967 to 1979. The fact that the word Filarmonica is above the name, is just an outlier detail, meaning nothing.

Thanks for your input

 

[Namkcakram]

From advice on here, I now see that my number 14 is called horizontal.

So I believe mine is a second generation. 1967 to 1979. The fact that the word Filarmonica is above the name, is just an outlier detail, meaning nothing.

Thanks for your input

Yours is definitely not odd or a one off either, here are dos mas both with matching stamps to yours and two different etches:

As far as the steel so far I’ve only done the honing side and not the shaving side, but it seems pretty garden variety Solingen in my opinion. Nothing to scoff at, but not anything mind blowing either.

 

[Namkcakram]

Also just to clarify, I haven’t shaved with them yet. Not trying to kill anyone’s sacred cow by calling it standard Solingen steel, just saying so far honing thru a pretty normal progression it feels like middle of the road to slightly soft Solingen. It may end up being very fine grained high purity stuff after a test shave.

 

[kohalajohn]

Yes, that's the same model as mine.

How are you honing it?

I think the interest in filis is due to a few things.

The idea of a shop that has been closed for decades, but still has NOS hidden around the world, is cool.

They were making very wide blades with very hollow grinds, back when that was rare. In recent years that has become the fashion in the artisanal shops that have sprung up. So the timing works.

They are good razors.

The popularity has driven up the ebay prices. Then the high prices on their own, created interest and demand. Like the air cooled Porsche 911 cars in the 90's. The collectors drove up the prices and just the existence of a feeding frenzy among collectors creates more feeding frenzy. Now a 1993 911 is worth more than my 2006 911. Humans are weird.

 

[Namkcakram]

Yes, that's the same model as mine.

How are you honing it?

I think the interest in filis is due to a few things.

The idea of a shop that has been closed for decades, but still has NOS hidden around the world, is cool.

They were making very wide blades with very hollow grinds, back when that was rare. In recent years that has become the fashion in the artisanal shops that have sprung up. So the timing works.

They are good razors.

The popularity has driven up the ebay prices. Then the high prices on their own, created interest and demand. Like the air cooled Porsche 911 cars in the 90's. The collectors drove up the prices and just the existence of a feeding frenzy among collectors creates more feeding frenzy. Now a 1993 911 is worth more than my 2006 911. Humans are weird.

I agree it’s the wide hollow blades, alot of the artisanal moderns are actually Fili tributes or near clones from what I see. I think a similar mania happens with Wade & Butchers and modern clones.

These are actually two 14s with the same tang stamp, one is a broken blade I got for scales, the other is a fine blade with very light pitting all over. So far I’ve run both on Diamonds, soft synths, and an old mystery Arkansas. Diamonds don’t really tell too much, but the synthetics and Ark I have a pretty broad sample size on and I would guess this base forging came from Solingen just from honing it for a while.

I almost bought a 98 Carrera S4 for ~$20k back in early 2009, but that was before anybody realized that was the bottom of the market forever! Got an old Jeep instead that ended up selling for more than I paid, but the Porsche would be $80k by now if I had kept the mileage reasonable! The other super interesting price spike is the last manual Ferrari’s. One went for over $1mil in Austin a year ago, and that’s pretty far removed from the peak Ferrari market.