Vintage Early 1900's Union Cutlery Company Spike Straight Razor
Another rare and great find from a manufacturer who later became Ka-Bar, which supplied the US Marine Corps with the indestructible USMC Ka-Bar knives during WWII. Only the best steels were used in all their products and everything was made to last a lifetime.
Here is the Company history:
During 1902. a Mr. Wallace R. Brown purchased the assets of the Tidioute Cutlery Company, and applied to the Governor of Pennsylvania to form a corporation, the Union Razor Company (later changed to Union Cutlery Company in 1909), for the purpose of manufacturing and selling cutlery. During December 1911, a new Union Cutlery Company was registered in Olean, New York, creating two Union Cutlery Company incorporations: the original in Tidioute, Pennsylvania and the new one in Olean, New York. Once the Olean facility was operating successfully, the Tidioute, Pennsylvania plant was closed down.
During the 1920's, trademarks like OLCUT, SPIKE, KEENWELL, and KA-BAR are adopted and embellished on the knives and razors.
It is in excellent condition with no rust. Very well looked after considering it's age. The blade has some patina and very slight pitting, which is understandable being 100+ years old. It comes in a box which probably does not belong to this razor. The box is in good condition.
The blade will need honing should you want to shave with it. And the traditional way to hone it, is on a leather strop.
And the opinions are universal - there is NO shave like a straight razor shave. Bear in mind that razor manufacturers have moved away from traditional shaving methods to disposable and cartridge systems. WHY? There is no money in it for them with straight razors and even safety razors because they last for ever and DE safety blades are as cheap as chips.
There is a HUGE resurgence worldwide to the traditional wet shave. And the reasons are simple:
1) The best shaves ever
2) Very cheap
3) Very satisfying - nothing like a clean shaved face
4) The nostalgia, the ritual and the smell
And ask yourself the question: Why do all professional barbers worldwide still use traditional shaving tools? So come on people, join the millions who know what a shave should be like!
Here is a nice video tutorial on a straight razor shave - check it out!:
