I was out at an antique store just looking when a woman asked me what I was looking for. I told her I liked old magazines for the razor ads and old razors. She said she had one that I could look at that she didn't know how to value. She wanted 20 for it but I explained that it was missing the end cap and the blade hold down so we settled on 10. I thought it was a great looking razor. Not sure if the handle is original or a frankenrazor. Here it is, let me know if I am correct in missing the top. The wording on the razor is. On the front and bottom: STAR SAFETY RAZOR PATENTED JUNE 15.80 JUNE 22.86 JUNE 22.80 DEC. 14.86 JAN'Y 5.86 MAR. 8.87 MAY 4.86 APR. 12.87 JUNE 22.86 NOV. 15.87 ENGLAND MARCH 8.1887 On the back: KAMPFE BROS. N.Y. CITY MEDAL OF SUPERIORITY AWARDED AT AMERICAN INSTITUTE 1884-85-86 SILVER MEDAL AWARDED AT MECHANICS' INSTITUTE SANFRANCISCO, CAL. 1886
You have one of the earliest of safety razors. The Star is really a Father of the SE class we currently use now. At that time it used permanent wedge blades that required stropping and honing to keep it working at its best. Eventually when Gillette came out with disposable blades in 1904, ASR (who held Ever-Ready, GEM and eventually STAR) developed the spineback SE blade as a challenger to Gillette. That is the blade which you see in SE razors today. Enjoy your find!
I didn't know the Star shaver went back quite so far..your razor is practically museum worthy. If you can use it, you will be shaving with a real piece of history. Congrats on your find...