The J.A. Henckel, Wotan 1909
Circa 1909
This week I would like to take a look at and discuss the J.A. Henckel, Wotan SE Safety Razor. Many of us have seen the str8's that were made by J.A. Henckels but how many of you have seen the safeties that were made? I have only seen pictures of 4 other sets and one in person.
I was not able to find hardly any information about these razor but I can safely say this is a rather unusual yet very interesting razor. When I first purchased this razor all I could think about was how barbaric it looked and how scary it would be to shave with something like this. I simply could not fathom the thought.
The history of the ZWILLING J.A. HENCKELS brand begins on June 13, 1731 (under the Gemini star sign). It was on that day that knife-maker Peter Henckels from Solingen registered the "TWIN" symbol as his trademark with the Cutlers´ Guild of Solingen. This symbol, which is now well-known all over the world, is thus one of the oldest trademarks in the world.
Today´s name - ZWILLING J.A. HENCKELS - was given to the Company by a descendant of Peter Henckels, Johann Abraham Henckels. As you can see (below) The company had a store located on 5th Ave, NYC in the early 1900's.
The Wotan is 11.5cm long, 4cm wide and weights in at 56 grams. It uses a single edge blade that is fitted to the razor face and tension is placed on the blade by spring-loaded clips on either side. The blade is held into place by a wire clip, hinging from the back that is tightened down by a turn-knob that puts pressure on the backbone of the blade.
How could I share my thoughts about this fine marvel without actually shaving with it? So this afternoon I dug out my hone and gave the blade a good working over until I had it shave ready.
My set comes with a honing/stropping handle, which I used to complete the job.
I stropped the blade as I would any of my str8s and placed it in the razor.
This process was really the only drawback to this piece.
I proceeded to go through my prep, lathered up and gave it a go. I did my normal, three passes, wtg, xtg and atg. All went rather well save for under my nose which was difficult to reach do to the size and shape of the razor head.
I finished up to a passable, close clean shave with no nicks or irritation. Not BBS but thats ok with me. This razor really surprised the heck out of me. I know I will be using it from time to time from now on. Here is my SOTD today.
If you find yourself with the chance to try one of these beauties, take it!
Any and all information about this razor is more than welcomed.
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