Proud owner of a Star Kampfe Bros. safety razor.

Hi there,

my name is Alexander and I am new to this forum. Beside my little collection of double edge razors I also like to shave with single edge razors and in the meantime I collected two british Ever-Ready 1912, an Ever-Ready 1924, a GEM Micromatic open comp, a GEM Flying Wing, a GEM Push Button, a british Valet and two days ago my first Star Kampfe Bros. safety razor arrived at my place here in Hamburg / Germany. Got it from a british `Bay auction. For a long time I was trying to get one in good condition but almost at auctions end it became too expansive. So I want to give thanks to this great forum because here I found all informations I needed to know for which model I had to watch out. Reading all the posts about this topic I knew that I needed a later model of the Star Kampfe Bros. safety razors with blade stops for using it with modern single edge blades. Now I want to share the pictures I have taken of my new beauty with you and hopefully someone can tell me which model I own now. As you will see, the razor is in pretty good condition but not so the label on the tin. Also the original wedge blade and the blade holder appear to be lost in the last 100 years.

Regards and please excuse my strange english. Alexander.

Here is the last picture showing also the tin and the best parts of the old label.



After the first shave I find the razor a bit aggressiv but not in that cruel way like the GEM Micromatic open comp. I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Wow.
I have no clue on lather catchers.
I can only admire those pics and say Wow.
Nice acquisition!

Hi Haggises,

thanks mate.


Alexander.

I have to say, that is a stunning specimen! Congratulations!

That is one seriously nice razor.

HoosierTrooper said:

That is one seriously nice razor.

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+1

Very, very nice! Those lather catchers are definitely on my wish list some day.

Impressive!

Hi guy´s,

thanks a lot for.

Does anyone knows which model type exactly I got? My own research let me think that it could be a 1902 Kampfe Bros. safety razor. Am I right?
Found that well done timeline here in the forum by member thirdeye http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showth...Bothers-Star-Razor?highlight=Star+Kampfe+Bros but I do not find the type of my razor listed there. I also spent some time searching the net for more informations about the Kampfe Bros. company, it´s history and timeline of all model types, but was not successful with that. Any informations are wellcome.

Regards,

Alexander.

That's amazing looking for coming out of that lithograph tin.

-jim

Floid_Maniac said:

My own research let me think that it could be a 1902 Kampfe Bros. safety razor. Am I right?

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I would say that you are exactly right. If I had to guess, they probably had half a dozen (perhaps more) variations of the tin label, as the lay-out of yours is the same in format, with slightly different detailing.

gearchow said:

That's amazing looking for coming out of that lithograph tin.

-jim

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Hi jim,

that is exactly what I was thinking...110 years are a long time, who knows if the razor really belongs to the tin. Maybe someone bought the razor and afterwards the tin to complete the set...on the other hand it is just coloured lacquer on the tin and nothing else which protects the metal from oxidation. The razors metal got a good alloy which stands the test of time in far better way. Both thoughts are possible. Looking on most pictures showing Kampfe Bros. safety razors, the tins mostly lost their label but the razors still look great.

Regards,

Alexander.

That is my dream razor! Congrats, it looks great!!

Rob72 said:

I would say that you are exactly right. If I had to guess, they probably had half a dozen (perhaps more) variations of the tin label, as the lay-out of yours is the same in format, with slightly different detailing.

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Hi Rob72,

thanks for that information.
Today I got such a perfect and smooth shave with my Star Kampfe Bros. 1902 and a GEM PTFE, non of my vintage or modern DE razors could do that in a better way. It is great to shave with such old vintage razors, much the same as a journey through time.

Regards,

Alexander.

plpenn said:

That is my dream razor! Congrats, it looks great!!

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Thanks Paul.
Don´t waste time, get one.

Regards,

Alexander.

Welcome, Alexander! You should come check out the Safety Razor of the Month thread for this month. It's all about lather catchers like these.

As far as I've been able to determine, the "New Model" Star razor with the open front came out during 1901. Volume 68 of the trade publication The Iron Age includes a piece that announces it, but unfortunately isn't available for viewing online in Google Books. Here's the search snippet that they return, though:


And here is an ad from the November 1901 issue of Cosmopolitan that shows it:



It was sold in that same tin for quite a number of years, however. Here is an ad from the May 1910 issue of Hardware Dealers' Magazine:



There was at least one significant design refinement during its lifetime: the blade guides went from being attached near the middle of the blade bed and slide adjustable (like the one pictured in that ad) to being fixed on a spring pivot near the front of the blade bed like yours. Roy posted a nice set of photos illustrating the two styles over in the SROTM thread. Here's one of those photos showing the two side by side (older version on the left, newer version on the right):

Nice score ... finding a Star razor is difficult in itself, finding one in such great condition is nearly a miracle!

I'd love to find one for my collection, but I'm not holding my breath. Although its unlikely I'd ever shave with it more than once, having it for its historical value alone is well worth the hunt.

Hi Porter,

thanks for the wellcome and also for this real good informations.

Do I have this right that the new head was sold with the one and two part handle and every Star razor with the new head is a 1901 model type? Is the new head with the slide adjustables near the front and blade stops, the last version of the Kampfe Bros. lather catcher model types? What I do find interesting are the two different patent awards you can see on the back side of the new head. One is from 1900 in Paris and the other from 1901 for Pan America. Knowing that the Kampfe Bros. razors were also sold in France because here in Europe there are tins with Kampfe Bros. labels and instructions in french language, let me think that this 1901 model type was sold maybe one year earlier in France than in America. In 1900 the world exhibition took place in Paris. So if this 1901 model type won a patent award in Paris in the year 1900 the Kampfe company must have introduced that new head to the public at the world exhibition in this year in France. What do we got here now? A 1901 or a 1900 model type for the new head? Porter, it will be interesting what you are thinking about my trains of thought.

Regards,

Alexander.

dpm802 said:

Nice score ... finding a Star razor is difficult in itself, finding one in such great condition is nearly a miracle!

I'd love to find one for my collection, but I'm not holding my breath. Although its unlikely I'd ever shave with it more than once, having it for its historical value alone is well worth the hunt.

Click to expand...

Hi dpm802,

I think if you will have your first shave with the Star razor it won´t be your last.
I will use my own Star razor as long as the GEM PTFE blade I am using at the moment will be sharp enough for a comfortable shave. Afterwards and because of the very good preservation I will put the razor to my little collection. Think I have to get a second Kampfe Bros. razor which got more signs of age to use it in the rotation with my other safety razors.

Regards,

Alexander.