Your Rarest SE Razor?

[Rwoodreno]

What is your rarest SE razor? I have two candidates, both of which take proprietary blades but which can be shaved with as I have done so. They are a Eagle Deluxe lather catcher and a Gem Zinn lather catcher. The Eagle takes a Gem style blade but a version which is shortened vertically by about 0.160" or 4mm from Gem blade stock. I have made up blades for it from modern Gem SS PTFE blades. The Gem Zinn, only made for a very short time circa 1905-06, takes a proprietary thin disposable blade but can be used with a modern Schick injector blade or despined and shortened vertically Gem blade. The razor itself is a lather catcher design with a blade holder that opens like a binder clip to grip the blade. The Eagle is a mild shave while the Zinn is much more aggressive. The top two photos are the Gem Zinn while the lower two are the Eagle.

I base scarcity estimations on how often I have seen these offered on ebay, only once each.

 

[xxvaleria]

The rarest SE I have is a Feather Injector razor which I got NOS with a 5-blade loader containing Feather Twin injector blades. Actually, the blades are even rarer than the razor.

 

[Rwoodreno]

BTW I placed this in the SE razors area as since 1905 or so the De razor has been the popular way to go so I figure that SE razor oddball models are probably the scarcer items. In my view they also show more design variation than DE razors, particularly very early American and European designs from the pre WW1 era.

 

[spidey9]

I would be hard-pressed to pick my "rarest" SE razor but I have a few that are pretty unusual.

In no particular order:

Above is an 1887 Kampfe Bros. Star Lather Catcher set. This may or may not be the rarest razor in my collection, but I believe that it is the oldest.

The 1901 Kampfe Bros. Star Lather Catcher is fairly rare, but what makes this particular set really unusual is the pristine condition of the paint on the tin.

The Gem de Luxe, the very first 1912 style razor, actually appeared in 1911. Thus, we merely see "PAT." on the back, which I assume is an abbreviation for "Patent Pending."

According to Waits, the blade bank included with the Gem de Luxe may well be the very first blade bank, ever.

Some might argue that the Gem de Luxe isn't a "real" 1912 because it doesn't have "Pat'd 1912" stamped around the handle mounting. If so then this open comb Gem Damaskeene (circa 1912) would likely be the first 1912. It is a surprisingly mild shaver.

Lastly, this Henckels Rapide with a roller comb a la Wilkinson must be pretty rare since this is the one like it that I have ever seen. With a properly honed and stropped wedge blade it is a great shaver, aggressive but smooth.

Well, there you have it - five of my rarest.

--Bob

 

[rabidus]

I don't know if the Rolls razor is all that rare, but I'm looking forward to using it. I found it with all the instructions.

 

[Dan x]

For me it's this as no one seems to know anything about it! Takes 1/2 de blades which is rare in itself

 

[timwcic]

My 1914 Ever Ready is my rarest SE in my collection. Only made for a short time before a redesign by changing the spring, base plate and blade hold downs and releasing a new model in 1917. It is also the loudest safety razor I have used, as loud as a extra hollow ground straight razor popping stubble.

 

[BSAGuy]

These are all very cool pics. These early SE's are more like industrial art to me.

 

[rudyt]

Ever Ready 1914 (Made in Canada) with a Jun 9/14 patent date.

 

[spidey9]

Oops, I forgot one. This razor is so unusual that I'm not even sure what to call it.

When I first saw this on the 'Bay my initial reaction was, "Some idiot is trying to sell a 1914 with the cap missing!"

Apparently other people did too; I was the only bidder.

So, we have a Star branded razor with the Ever-Ready 1914 patent and a capless design reminiscent of the Kampfe Bros. lather catchers.

Unlike the Ever-Ready 1914 it has a standard 10-32 handle thread, so aftermarket handles may be used with a setscrew.

I cannot find any mention of this razor in Waits.

I've never seen one other than this one, although I vaguely recall some discussion on one of the forums in which it was identified as a "Test" razor, apparently for testing blades, I guess.

Cap? I don't need no stinking cap!

--Bob

 

[Rwoodreno]

Oops, I forgot one. This razor is so unusual that I'm not even sure what to call it.

When I first saw this on the 'Bay my initial reaction was, "Some idiot is trying to sell a 1914 with the cap missing!"

Apparently other people did too; I was the only bidder.

So, we have a Star branded razor with the Ever-Ready 1914 patent and a capless design reminiscent of the Kampfe Bros. lather catchers.

Unlike the Ever-Ready 1914 it has a standard 10-32 handle thread, so aftermarket handles may be used with a setscrew.

I cannot find any mention of this razor in Waits.

I've never seen one other than this one, although I vaguely recall some discussion on one of the forums in which it was identified as a "Test" razor, apparently for testing blades, I guess.

Cap? I don't need no stinking cap!

--Bob

I would call it an elegantly simple design. The blade holding mechanism and comb is about as simple as it gets. You cannot get much simpler than that. At the same time it has everything it needs.

 

[Rwoodreno]

spidey9; The blade holding mechanism is very similar to the one on the Eagle razors except yours has the flip down
top blade pressure tab while the Eagle uses the key operated arm.

 

[Rwoodreno]

Here ias an even simpler design. Uses a swing out arm to hold the blade top. No other spring necessary. It is a Star Cru-Steel razor from circa 1910 to 1914 estimated. The blade holder is the same as Spidey9's Star razor except for the top pressure tab. Eliminates the tab spring and the head is a total of 3 pieces including one rivet the arm pivots on. This is a Gem blade only razor. Only one I have seen.

 

[Rwoodreno]

Another rarity which I can find no documentation for is the stainless steel CV Heljestrand lather catcher wedge blade razor. I presume made sometime between the world wars. Looks identical to the last model CV Heljestrand chrome plated brass lather catcher razor but it has a one piece handle while all my plated brass versions have a two piece handle. Weight of the brass and stainless steel versions is virtually identical and the handles are interchangeable. I totally lucked into my first two and bought the third because it looked right to be a stainless steel version and so proved. I posted a thread on how to try and identify a stainless steel version as my finding three would indicate that they are not extremely rare or that I am extremely lucky.

Note that the case cutout and width is sized for the one piece handle. All of my cased brass versions have cases designed to hold the razor with the two piece handles disassembled, making for a narrower case.

 

[Rwoodreno]

Another one that is on the way is the German Mandarin / LeTotai wedge blade roller comb razor. Per B&B posts and the Razor Compendium it is a licensed version of the early pre WW1 Wilkinson roller comb razor but with changes including blade stops and the top clamp design. The changes make it Gem blade compatible along with the ability to use the original wedge blades. A scarce one based on the few posts in B&B that mention it and the few photos available via a Google Photos search.

 

[Rico Suave]

I don't have any particularly rare SE razors, but wanted to give a tip of the hat to the contributors to this thread. I appreciate the time and effort you took to share some truly fascinating pictures. The 'ancients' designed some wonderful razors.

 

[sfeile]

This De Haven shake-sharp is probably my "rarest". Not sure how rare they actually are, but it was the first I had ever seen.

 

[kingfisher]

Here ias an even simpler design. Uses a swing out arm to hold the blade top. No other spring necessary. It is a Star Cru-Steel razor from circa 1910 to 1914 estimated. The blade holder is the same as Spidey9's Star razor except for the top pressure tab. Eliminates the tab spring and the head is a total of 3 pieces including one rivet the arm pivots on. This is a Gem blade only razor. Only one I have seen.

View attachment 799997

I have that same razor with the same letters, but on the back it says Stoll Chrome Steel. I always assumed that that is what the SCS stood for. You're saying that the S stands for Star?
Bizarre, isn't it? Same razor marketed with different meanings of the same letters?

 

[Rwoodreno]

I have that same razor with the same letters, but on the back it says Stoll Chrome Steel. I always assumed that that is what the SCS stood for. You're saying that the S stands for Star?
Bizarre, isn't it? Same razor marketed with different meanings of the same letters?

I just presumed that it being a Star the SCS stood for what I listed. Mine is marked KAMPFE BROS NEW YORK U.S.A. PAT.APPL'D FOR. No other marks on the head other than the SCS. Seeing as how the Kampfe razors were normally listed as STAR razors it seemed like a reasonable presumption to me.

 

[kingfisher]

I just presumed that it being a Star the SCS stood for what I listed. Mine is marked KAMPFE BROS NEW YORK U.S.A. PAT.APPL'D FOR. No other marks on the head other than the SCS. Seeing as how the Kampfe razors were normally listed as STAR razors it seemed like a reasonable presumption to me.

In that case, I suspect the SCS on yours also stands for Stoll Chrome Steel. I believe mine was also made by Kampfe, but I will check it again when I get home from work.