You're right, John. The top part of the "D" has not been imprinted clearly. Therefore it looked like a "U". "Wald" as in "forest" (translated to English), or maybe a production location with this name? I'll have to do some more research ... Thanks John!
ERN razor restored Grandpa's ERN razor is restored. As I mentioned before, I made two pairs of scales, one of oak and one of poplar. I decided grandpa's razor deserves the oak scales. So, the poplar scales were used to re-scale one of my (back up) Wapis 9/16". After the disaster with the CA, it went pretty smooth. It's not a professional restoration by a long shot, but I'm quite happy with the result. Wanna see them? I'll take photos tomorrow, I promise!
And here we go: Grandpa's ERN razor with oak scales: Parallel to this restoration project I rescaled one of my Wapis. It got scales made of poplar: And here are both razors side by side: In about an hour from now I'll try shaving with grandpa's ERN. This will be the first time it's been used after spending more than 50 years in its box in a drawer.
Whoever said ERN razors are special was absolutely right. The shave with grandpa's razor was incredible! I could clearly hear the whiskers cutting off, but I felt almost nothing on my skin. I never had such a gentle shave in my life! Amazing! Now, why would I want to have any other razor besides this one? Right, there is RAD! Better than no excuse at all!
Thanks everybody! Am I happy I bought your CD, Bill! It's worth every penny! Yes, I think Grandpa would have liked it. The oak is Germany's national tree. Therefore, and because I liked them just a bit better, Grandpa's razor got the oak scales. Working with the poplar was an interesting experience, though. It is very fine grained, very easy to sand, and compared to the oak very soft. I was afraid to get some undesired green coloration in the poplar, but my treatment with "Golden Oak" stain apparently prevented that. One more Wapi to rescale. Don't know yet what to do with it. I'll wait and let some ideas grow ...
Yes. From wikipedia here: "According to the documents held by the magistrate's court of the then independent local authority of Wald, near Solingen, the company DOVO Steelware was founded in 1906. At the beginning, DOVO was purely a factory producing straight razors, with a forge and hollow grinding shop. The founders, Mr. Dorp and Mr. Voos, employed 13 staff. "By 1930, Solingen had become bigger through the incorporation of outlying villages, (including Wald), and the law passed in 1938 to protect the name of Solingen gave it greater pride and security as well as a still greater sense of local identity." Never realized it's the first two letters of Dorp and of Voos for DOVO.
I found some document (in German): http://home.arcor.de/maramut/02arc/koti14e.htm#Ern It says that Carl Friedrich Ern (1850 -1924), coming from a family of razor honers, took over his father's razor honing company that not just honed for other companies like Henckels, but soon started to produce its own razors. He moved his company to Wald near Solingen in 1876. In 1893 he was the first to produce hollow ground razors with a new machine called "Hexe" (= witch). Daily output 1000 straight razors. The company Ern still exists, but only as a mail order seller for other cutlery products. It is about to be liquidated.
