The Damaskeene is part of a huge razor family, and one of the favoured models considered by many as one of the finest single edged razors that was ever made. It is part of the '1912 model' series, a design type characterized by a spring-loaded cap with a tab at the rear for opening and a sort of semi-lather catcher frame. Rather that the year of manufacture, 1912 represents the year the design was patented. There are numerous variations, and they were made by Ever-ready, Star and GEM. In 1919 Gem, Kampfe Bros. (Star) and Ever-Ready all became part of American Safety Razor (ASR). During the 1920's variants of the 1912 were produced under all 3 brands. A low profile "squat head" version was introduced for use in slim travel sets.
In 1930 ASR re-introduced the 1912 under the Ever-Ready label as the Improved Ever-Ready Razor, manufactured in both their US and British facilities, and this one is one of these, made in the USA between 1930 and 1933.
GEM, Ever ready, Star and Radio razors all have an 'intertwined history', and getting to grips with how the whole puzzle fits together takes some time, luckily, taking the razor for a spin is as easy as tilting the head forward, flipping the cap open, lowering the blade onto the notches on the sides of the safety bar, dropping the cap back into place and closing your eyes while you shave to avoid the hair flying all over the place and blinding you temporarily. Here is a nice review from one user of this cool stubble slaying instrument. In this video the exact model is used and the performance is clear to see.
There is an additional feature of these type of razors that works for me and that is their ability to angle the blade while shaving. If you are a straight razor user you might go in at a shallower angle on the first pass, and tilt the razor more towards 30 degrees on the second pass for a closer shave, similarly I do my fist pass with the razor's shovelhead almost flat against my skin, and if I want the shave to be closer I'll angle it away a bit on a second pass, I love this as I am mostly a single pass guy with a quick sweep around the face to round up the 'last stubble standing'
The razor is in very good shape in its original coating with no plate loss, it weighs in at 60 grams and measures around 84 mm tall. It his nice and grippy fine knurling on the handle that is in good shape. The razor is supplied with 5 fresh blades, and also a very cool original blade in its wrapper blades will be kept in stock on our website from here on out.
The razor comes in its original box that has a little slot for keeping your blade that is in use, and also a metal blade holder with the branding punched into it, very cool and not all that common. Grab it asap!