WetShaving
This is a community of enthusiasts, hobbyists and artisans who enjoy a traditional wet shave: brush, soap, and safety or straight razor. We are a part of the WetShaving community found on Reddit, Discord, and IRC.
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Be Respectful. Do not bully, flame, or harass others.
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Malicious comments are not allowed but heated discussion and salty banter is okay.
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Rule 2 - Content Guidelines
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Mail Calls, Simple Questions, and SOTD posts belong in the recurring weekly threads.
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Posts must have sufficient content to generate a meaningful discussion.
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Images, links, or videos must include additional text that summarizes the topic.
Rule 3 - Reviews and Disclosure
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Use [First Impressions] in the title if your experience with the product is limited.
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Use the [Review] in the title if you can provide comprehensive details with enough familiarity to answer follow-up questions.
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Disclose how the product being reviewed was acquired (e.g., PIF, loan, or purchase). If the product was provided to you directly by the maker or vendor free of charge or at a discount, you must disclose this fact even if the item will later be returned to the maker or vendor.
Rule 4 - Advertising
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Vendors are to keep marketing within the biweekly Deals/New Products threads.
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Non-vendors may post topics about products if it will foster a compelling discussion.
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Do not solicit donations or share fundraisers without mod approval.
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Non-shaving related NSFW/L content is not allowed.
Rule 10 - Moderator Discretion
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So I was poking around on the ‘net, as one does.
And I found this:
All I know is that it’s marked “Mrk. W.Krags patent, Augsburg”, likely is from somewhen between 1880 and 1900, and probably is German.
Anyone have any pointers?
Where did you find that? And do you know whether it's shaving related?
Found it at Digitalmuseum.no - an online, digital collection of the archives of most Norwegian museums.
The item is at the Norwegian Museum of Technology, and they are the ones who identify it as a razor.
https://digitaltmuseum.no/011024248987/barberhovel
https://digitaltmuseum.no/011024254275/barbermaskin
If "Hovel" is the tool you flatten wood with, that's the traditional German word for razors that are neither straights, nor cartridge razors (Rasierhobel).
I have never seen any contraption like this before, and I don't see clearly where's the edge, or how you would shave with it.
Edit:The wooden screw seems to be the (open) comb, and the metal screw might fix/adjust the blade of some sort. On your second link I guess that you can see more clearly. I would guess that the the razor rests on the skin with the two wooden elements, and the blade is kept away from your skin only by the distance it introduces with the wooden rolls. So basically, there's no topcap - or also, it's like a modern SE razor, but somehow assembled in the wrong way.
Høvel is indeed the word for a wood plane - as well as a razor, and a cheese slicer. WE make some words do a lot of heavy lifting in Norway :P
Now that I'm not sick, I'll see if I can't learn more about this contraption.
Unfortunately no idea. I tried Google Lens on it and the AI gave me everything from old woodworking equipment to "Bohnenschneidemaschine" (bean cutting machine). Also, no useful results for searching W. Krags in Augsburg. I was able to find one patent for a "machine to create holes in inner organs", or more precisely, a bone cutter. But judging by the lack of a blade or saw on it, this won't be such a thing. If you're able to find anything in german, I'd happily help with translations however ✌🏻