This beautiful C-MON "Blackie" 6/8 arrived yesterday. It came in a pair of non-original, off-white celluloid scales. Fortunately, I'd recently purchased a pair of kosher C-MON "Blackie" scales, so I re-scaled the blade earlier this afternoon.
What's interesting about this razor is that unlike the other one I own, this one was manufactured not in Solingen, Germany, but in Ellicottville, NY. C-MON is the acronym for Carl Monkhouse, who manufactured straight razors, scissors, and other forms of cutlery -- first in Germany, and later in the US. His son, Carl Monkhouse Jr., now runs "Cuttlery Associates", based in Allegheny, NY; sadly, they no longer manufacture straight razors.
As you'll see in the attached photographs, I also scored a C-MON "Blackie" razor case, in excellent condition, and a mint, two-sided, C-MON hone (complete with original box -- also in mint condition -- and the enclosed instruction-sheet for using the hone).
Note: After reading the hone's box, I now understand the business relationship between Carl Monkhouse and Peter J. Michels. Brooklyn-based Michels was the sole US distributor of C-MON products, and continued to be after Carl Monkhouse moved to the US, in 1937; Peter J. Michels, Inc. closed its doors in 1955.
Warning! Forget it, Taz -- neither of my "Blackies" is for sale; you'll have to enjoy them from afar.
What's interesting about this razor is that unlike the other one I own, this one was manufactured not in Solingen, Germany, but in Ellicottville, NY. C-MON is the acronym for Carl Monkhouse, who manufactured straight razors, scissors, and other forms of cutlery -- first in Germany, and later in the US. His son, Carl Monkhouse Jr., now runs "Cuttlery Associates", based in Allegheny, NY; sadly, they no longer manufacture straight razors.
As you'll see in the attached photographs, I also scored a C-MON "Blackie" razor case, in excellent condition, and a mint, two-sided, C-MON hone (complete with original box -- also in mint condition -- and the enclosed instruction-sheet for using the hone).
Note: After reading the hone's box, I now understand the business relationship between Carl Monkhouse and Peter J. Michels. Brooklyn-based Michels was the sole US distributor of C-MON products, and continued to be after Carl Monkhouse moved to the US, in 1937; Peter J. Michels, Inc. closed its doors in 1955.
Warning! Forget it, Taz -- neither of my "Blackies" is for sale; you'll have to enjoy them from afar.
