Fasan

[efsk]

Now, after all this plastic stuff, time for some metal. Metal grip, metal topcap, plastic basepate. Boxed in a renumbered pre-war box: Nr 5. Also added sticker DM3,80, making this a, for those days, expensive 1948/49 razor, the DM was only introduced middle 1948.

 

[efsk]

Another metal Fasan. The model 42 is, as we say in the Netherlands, a bit of a weird duck in the hole. In contrast to all other Fasan, which are short screw three-piece razors, this is a two-piece. Interestingly enough, it still has a plastic baseplate.

 

[jake]

A few more Fasan razors and the Fasan blade displays to see how they marketed their brand.

The black & white Bakelite set is particularly cool. Apollo had a similar razor which is likely even more rare that this Fasan.

I have some other Fasan sets, but these are the only ones I currently have photos of.

This all metal twisted slant is a fairly aggressive razor and the only one I've seen of this design -- although perhaps someone in Germany has one also.

There's our Rudolf Osberghaus, named on the bottom of the blade display. He must be the owner of Fasan at that time.

My Lilliputians are also fans of these Fasan razors and blades!

 

[missingskin]

I had an all metal Fasan in the white clam shell case, it was a very aggressive razor and in the end I sold it to a collector in the USA. Nice to look at but evil to shave with.........I have 4 or 5 slants left but no Fasan.

 

[efsk]

hi @jake nice to see you here. That all metal Fasan, is that a standard therepiece short screw, ie do you screw the handle of, or is it a long screw where you twist the knurled "knob" at the bottom of the handle?

 

[jake]

hi @jake nice to see you here. That all metal Fasan, is that a standard therepiece short screw, ie do you screw the handle of, or is it a long screw where you twist the knurled "knob" at the bottom of the handle?

Yes, it's been a long time in coming. Your thread here on the Fasan is why I'm here. I will upload some more detailed photos of the Fasan here later this week. I was impressed by your recent posting of the other unusual Fasan you have. Why not display it here also. A truly unique find.

 

[jake]

hi @jake nice to see you here. That all metal Fasan, is that a standard therepiece short screw, ie do you screw the handle of, or is it a long screw where you twist the knurled "knob" at the bottom of the handle?

It was this one, in an unusual case.

 

[efsk]

You mean the Fasan Rasiputz, a womens razor. It uses smaller blades than standard DE, and the head is curved on one side for easier shaving of the armpits. The longer than usual grip is so she won't have to bend double when shaving the legs: longer reach.
The box is the box it was sold in during the 1930s, and it has the paper insert advertising how this is great, because now the man in the house will no longer be upset by his wife using his razor, which she ofcourse always does right after he inserted a new blade.

 

[jake]

Thanks Richard. Very interesting package. Note the different type of case I received my similar razor -- in the attachment above.

 

[efsk]

What I like about your attachment is the leaflet your razor is lying on. It has prices in RM, so pre june 1948, and shown basically two types of blades: the old threehole blades, and in the middle the Fasan Gold, with slit, the precursor of modern blades. Transitional period, that leaflet, nice.

 

[jake]

The all metal Fasan is 3-piece. As shown here.

Wanted to keep this thread moving, so these are simple smart phone photos.

 

[jake]

Another brochure of Fasans -- from pre-WWII.

Although I haven't translated the side with the blades, here's the translation of the razor side:
"You might also try the self-enclosed stainless steel Fasan razor blade. From my personal and practical experience
I'm sure you'll find these to be blades you can recommend to your clients."

Then, the remarkable closing, as though this is a letter to the customers:
"Yours sincerely and
Heil Hitler!"
Vienna, December 1939

 

[jake]

And in place, this is the Fasan brochure -- a large display apparently for the retail stores. Maybe to be mailed to potential customers.

Additionally, the man who apparently owned Fasan was formerly a German supplier of knife handles. We know from the bottom of the blade display box I pictured above, that his name was Rud. Osberghaus (probably Rudolf). I recently located (with the help of another collector and expert on German razors) some documents from 1927 when this man and his company was doing business with a cutlery company in Massachusetts. Here are a couple images of his signature -- just to go back in the time machine. Not King Gillette, but how obscure and cool is this?

At this time his company was supplying (among other items) faux buffalo horn for kitchen knives & etc.

So some provenance appears.

 

[efsk]

That all-metal Fasan I have as well, except without any branding. The underside of the knob, where the razor shown by @jake has the Fasan-logo, is completely smooth on mine.
The Viennese brochure appears to be a wholesalecatalogue: the bold-printed lines have the wholesaleprices, the line underneath the prices for the endusers. So apparently, L Duisberg Stahlwarengrossunternehmung was the Austrian reseller for Osberghaus. Osberghaus himself, according to the 1927 letter, dealt with metalobjects, as most manufacturers in Solingen did. This company existed since at least 1901. Apart from terrific slants, Osberghaus invented the tefloncoated DEblade in the 1930s, and the stainlesssteelblade in 1956. In 1961 they joined forces with Wilkinson.
(edit: for some reason the last three pics below show up rotated here ...)

 

[jake]

Thanks for keeping this conversation alive. Interesting that the Wilkinson sword blades did reach such a wide market once they licensed the Oberghaus patent on the teflon coated DE blades. And I wonder what more we'll discover about other ones of Germany's own King Gillette -- like Rud. Osberghaus. Who else were the early pioneers in DE shaving?