When a Ben Hur razor is not an Apollo

Although Apollo had a model named Ben Hur, the slanted head design that I displayed recently, there is another razor called a Ben Hur that was apparently not an Apollo. Maybe Apollo purchased this company. Maybe they actually had a version of their own Ben Hur (using the same Apollo icon on the case) with a more extreme slant that they were testing and later renamed. In any case, here's my Ben Hur slant that is not called an Apollo. And I've included a few images of the Ben Hur next to the Apollo Ben Hur. Anyone have the straight scoop on this, or another theory?

The same Apollo head as used by the Apollo razor, but no mention of the name "Apollo" on the case or razor.

Comes with the nice buffing cloth. And it is a 2-piece design. Pioneering design at that -- likely preceding the Gillette 2-piece design #77/#88 model.



You can see how much more extreme the slanted head is in this alternate version of the Ben Hur.



Both are fantastic razors and in this condition, extremely rare. And also extremely effective shavers.

Bushhippi said:

​Man those babes are beautiful. I gotta ask, did you sent them out to be plated? they are so perfect looking. If they are original man oh man you sure know how to shine a razor!

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It is thought by some here at B&B, that Jake has access to the time machine over at MIT.

Well I'm not able to get into the time machine -- unfortunately. But the razors must have come from it, likely around 1936 or 37 IMHO. And no, they have not and will not be replated. They are simply pristine. Strange but true, these guys must have been dropped on the 2013/14 dial of the time machine right out of the factory. Hard to keep the finish on these Apollos looking so great due to their base metal being pot metal rather than brass.

In any case, I too am impressed with the look and feel and finish of these Apollos. Thanks.

Very nice Jake!

-jim

Again, Beautiful!

Thank You for sharing with us such gorgeous razors.

There was a few Ben Hur razor companies. One made straights and the other one made DE and blades.

Real beauties ,I love all the Ben-Hur razors ,especially the adjustable bottom dial model.

Absolutely amazing we are finding these examples still. Beauties Jake!

Jake strikes again!

Gorgeous razors. Thanks for sharing them with us.

A few weeks ago I stumbled upon this question myself. Were Ben-Hur and Apollo razors produced by the same company? Is there any relation at all to the French company that used the Apollo brand?

Here are the "puzzle pieces" that I found, I have a theory how it all fits together, but I am not sure:

On this German site you can look up patents and trade marks:
https://register.dpma.de/DPMAregister/Uebersicht?lang=en

Patent number 663800 is from the year 1937 and there the Friedrich Herkenrath company still uses the "Ben-Hur" brand.
https://depatisnet.dpma.de/DepatisNet/depatisnet?action=pdf&docid=DE000000663800A

If you search the trade marks (register number 563164) you will find out, that the application date for the Apollo trade mark was Sep 27, 1940.
https://register.dpma.de/DPMAregister/marke/register/563164/DE

General information about the names "Ben-Hur" and "Apollo":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben-Hur:_A_Tale_of_the_Christ
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo

And if you recall that Germany defeated France in 1940 you could also have the connection to the French company.

I took screenshots, so you don't have to look up the patents and trade marks.

German patent 663800:


Apollo trade mark:



The Herkenrath Company switched the name of their razors from Ben-Hur to Apollo, maybe because the name Ben-Hur was too religious, could that be the reason?

Here is another variation on the Ben Hur razor - though I have no idea of the date - it had an ordinary nickel ball end handle

Herkenrath Company invoice from the year 1935.

In the upper left corner it states that the Herkenrath Company has been founded in the year 1905 ("Gegründet 1905").

Quaternion said:

I took screenshots, so you don't have to look up the patents and trade marks.

[...]

The Herkenrath Company switched the name of their razors from Ben-Hur to Apollo, maybe because the name Ben-Hur was too religious, could that be the reason?

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There may have been several factors at work. Herkenrath used Ben Hur in the 1938 patent, then registered Apollo in 1940. In that political environment, someone might have also suggested that they choose a less Jewish name. That aside, the "Ben Hur" name was presumably a reference to the bestselling book written in the USA, also the subject of plays and early films from the USA. The book had a Christian theme, but perhaps more importantly its wide commercial success might have caused trademark problems if Herkenrath wanted to expand internationally. Maybe they also wanted a name less associated with America and the English-speaking world. The USA was not yet officially in the war in 1940, but had shown support the Allies in various ways. Any or all of these reasons might have been considered.

mountainsea said:

Here is another variation on the Ben Hur razor - though I have no idea of the date - it had an ordinary nickel ball end handle

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You have done some extraordinary research, i really appreciate your effort. I agree in part of the religious name being an issue. [love your Santana avatar too]

mblakele said:

There may have been several factors at work. Herkenrath used Ben Hur in the 1938 patent, then registered Apollo in 1940. In that political environment, someone might have also suggested that they choose a less Jewish name. That aside, the "Ben Hur" name was presumably a reference to the bestselling book written in the USA, also the subject of plays and early films from the USA. The book had a Christian theme, but perhaps more importantly its wide commercial success might have caused trademark problems if Herkenrath wanted to expand internationally. Maybe they also wanted a name less associated with America and the English-speaking world. The USA was not yet officially in the war in 1940, but had shown support the Allies in various ways. Any or all of these reasons might have been considered.

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As always a very good theory and insight to this inquiry. I can see your points of views and do accept them more than any others.

mblakele said:

There may have been several factors at work. Herkenrath used Ben Hur in the 1938 patent, then registered Apollo in 1940. In that political environment, someone might have also suggested that they choose a less Jewish name. That aside, the "Ben Hur" name was presumably a reference to the bestselling book written in the USA, also the subject of plays and early films from the USA. The book had a Christian theme, but perhaps more importantly its wide commercial success might have caused trademark problems if Herkenrath wanted to expand internationally. Maybe they also wanted a name less associated with America and the English-speaking world. The USA was not yet officially in the war in 1940, but had shown support the Allies in various ways. Any or all of these reasons might have been considered.

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I think you are right, there could have been multiple reasons. I found some new information that seems to support your theory, that one very important factor involved really could have been the ongoing (and sadly escalating) war and that they had to increasingly focus on the european market.

I was wrong about one thing, I assumed that there is only one Herkenrath Company, but look what I have found:

http://www.hugo-herkenrath.de

http://www.apollo-herkenrath.de

On the Hugo Herkenrath page there is a short description of the Company history. Hugo Herkenrath was the first Company, founded in 1905 (like it is written on the invoice from 1935; at that time the Company was called Friedrich Herkenrath, I haven't found an explanation, but I guess it's not very likely that two different Herkenrath Companies were founded in 1905). Export was an important factor for their business and they used steel from Sheffield ("Kayser-Ellison-Steel") to produce high quality scissors. It looks like at some point around the year 1940 a member of the Herkenrath family founded Apollo and they produced safety razors and blades. From that point on Hugo Herkenrath must have focused it's business on straight razors and scissors.

UPDATE: The company history from the Hugo Herkenrath website mentioned Paul Lauterjung and the year 1905, so I thought that there must have been only one company before the year 1940. I found new information and it turns out, that there were two seperate companies earlier than 1940. Read my next post for an update.

This razor has always been a fantasy of mine....I started bidding on a rare ebay offer a few years ago...I had to drop out right away...If I remember correctly it went for around $350...these Ben-Hur razors are real beauties..