The Bismarck razor company was in business from 1900 to 1930. The company changed hands and names and eventually became part of the German Dovo brand as we know it today. Bismarck is the expression of a period in German history, the brand was named after Otto von Bismarck. Bismarck, a bright politician known as the "The Iron Chancellor", is one of the most important figures in German state history. At the beginning of the 19th century he gathered many small German states merging them into a single-nation state, thus founded the German National Union, in other words; the modern Germany. The brand name was used in many things from battleships to razors, all named after the German statesman Otto Von Bismarck who was important in the unification of Germany.
The bad news is that we do quite not know the model numbering system works, it is all about shape of the point, size/shape of the blade if I recall, various scales could be found on the same models, and I suspect they customized orders for export markets as they went along. (That would be extrmely un-german not so!?). I have seen some info on it somewhere but for the life of me I cannot find it, and if I can recall that was fairly incomplete also. All their razors were made of good steel and are considered great shavers, and quite frankly, that would just about cover the basic requirements, the rest is up to the hands sharpening the razor and the ones executing the stropping, maintenance and the shave, The good news is that they did have quite a few models, so if you like the way it shaves and looks, you are going to have a great time collecting and using these. We have quite a few coming up on our listings, so get ready to raid the cookie jar.
This razor weighs 33 grams, it has its original black celluloid scales, white wedge and pins. This razor has a very nice darkish patina that was formed over the years, we left this in place and only cleaned up the scales and tang part of the blade, and some spots here and there. The blade is just under 5/8ths, and has a cutting edge of around 70 mm.
*Vintage razors are priced according to model and availability, time spent cleaning and reconditioning and time/level of honing. Please enquire if you need additional work done to this razor prior to purchase. All straight razors will require a stropping on a leather strop before every use. Pics are unedited (detail) and provide a true image of the condition of the razor.