Hoffritz

[efsk]

Founded in New York by a mr Hoffritz, an American of German descent, Hoffritz sold Solingen Razors and cutlery under their own name. Where they got their cutlery from, I don't know, but their razors were rebranded Merkur.

Here's my first Hoffritz, a 37:

 

[efsk]

No reason not to have a 37G too, then:

 

[efsk]

A travelrazor. The razor itself is not branded, the rear of the case is:

 

[efsk]

Gold, too:

 

[benedetto]

My Hoffritz by Merkur:

Benedetto.

 

[gvw755]

A while back, @efsk told me about an extremely slanted Merkur that was quite rare. Only through many searches did I find a picture of one and it definitely was an extreme slant. I did not even search for one as I knew I would not be able to find one and if I did, it would probably cost a mortgage payment.

Recently I came across something that was listed as a Hoffritz Double Slant and took a look at it. It had that same extreme torqued head as the Merkur, however the Merkur had a faceted cap similar to the 37 (but more extreme) and was a design where the base was attached to the handle, also similar to the 37.

I received the Hoffritz Double Slant today and immediately noticed that the cap was domed and not faceted, and the razor was a regular three piece design.

I noticed on one side of the cap there was a round indentation. I believe it was for the purpose of blade flipping and not because it was a differential side razor.

I loaded a blade and shaved wit it tonight. The WTG pass was very smooth and efficient. When done, I realized that this could be a one pass plus touch up shave, which the only other razor I own that could do that was my RR Wunderbar. I decided to do a full ATG pass just to see how well the razor could shave with almost no whiskers left. I ended up with a two pass and no touch up BBS.

I am definitely impressed with this razor. Now I hunt for the Merkur version.

 

[efsk]

Nice one. A bit jealous as it's on my wantlist
The indentation is the same as on the Fasan slants. Matter of fact, these are almost as slanted as this razor and I've tested on my Merkur Double Slant: nearly interchangeble caps. Also comes in long screw version, which is what my Merkur is.

 

[Northstonehill]

Purdy. I had a Pomco once similar to the one in the OP. But never took to the slantiness (sorry Richard). But they sure are gorgeous looking!

 

[FvL]

My Hoffritz Slant:

It's silver but I with a coating. Haven't tried anything to clean or polish it because of the coating (Advice?), I Did shave with it once, but as it is a merkur (which I have) I didn't find it different. The Razor emporium guy mentions it often and even made a Youtube.

 

[gvw755]

I recently came across a three piece Merkur slant similar to the Merkur 36, however it had a different handle and came in a Hoffritz case. the seller believed that this was not a real Hoffritz slant because it did not say Hoffritz on the band and was a three piece. the handle also had me stumped, but I was absolutely sure the head was the vintage Merkur slant head of that time. I asked @efsk about it and he directed me to a post in the Pomco thread that had the exact same razor but in a Pomco case. He had mentioned that even though there is nothing written on the band, he has seen it happen enough times with a Pomco case that he believes the razor/handle/case combination is authentic. Using that reasoning, I am believing that the same razor was also presented in a Hoffritz case sometime in the past also:

 

[efsk]

It's silver but I with a coating. Haven't tried anything to clean or polish it because of the coating (Advice?), I Did shave with it once, but as it is a merkur (which I have) I didn't find it different.

Merkur sold their (own and rebranded) silverhandled razors with a thin layer of varnish so it wouldn't oxidize. With use, that would rub of so you'd get dark/black spots from worn varnish, with heavy use worn silver, or oxidation. The oxidation you can counter with the alufoil/bakingsoda trick, but I'm not sure what that would do with the rest of the varnish, which on your razor still seems to be in real good condition.

 

[efsk]

Using that reasoning, I am believing that the same razor was also presented in a Hoffritz case sometime in the past also:

Looking at the offerings of Pomco and Hoffritz, Hoffritz always stuck to the Merkur-variations of razors, where Pomco experimented with other types as well, see Pomcomatic or Lady Pomco. This model I've never seen as a Merkur, which is why I think it's a late (their experimenting took place 60s-70s) model Pomco and not a Hoffritz. Not an absolute certainty though.

 

[efsk]

Thanks to @Clouds I'm now the owner of a Hoffritz SuperSlant, the short-screw variation. Comes in leather case, where the slot that takes the head nicely shows how slanted this razor is.

 

[gvw755]

My version came in a green case. This one came to me through the benevolence of @efsk who allowed me to complete my negotiations with the seller instead of pouncing on it immediately.

 

[Northstonehill]

Fascinating razors Richard & Les

 

[thedeaconshaves]

I have the travel gold head in the zipper pouch, but the handle is silver. Is there anywhere I can get the gold handle?