Palmera Safety Razors

[Snowbeard]

Greetings! I recognize a lot of names here. Folks who are unafraid to boldly "look outside the Gillette"! Not that there's anything wrong with Gillettes. They must have been doing something right to dominate the shaving world for several decades. But me, I like the razor less common...as do a lot of you do by the looks of who's here. So, I'm feeling like this might be a welcoming place where my humble contributions from time to time have a chance of being appreciated.

Anyway, I don't see a thread on Palmera double edged safety razors. So I'm stepping up to show the shaving world what they're missing! Or something like that.

I call razors "open comb" or "closed bar". Just a quirk of mine. At least its clear what we're talking about!

Here's some photos of six Palmera's. (Palmeri?) I like the variety of plates and handles that Palmera put out. In the early days Palmera was apparently a Solingen made item but became a Spanish brand under Juan Vollmer in the 1930's. I like to think these were made in Spain. Anyone know for sure? Wherever they were made, I think that they can be proud of their quality. Hope you enjoy.

1. No. 7 Adjustable. Obviously similar to the Gibbs and Personna adjustables.
2. Bakelite Closed Bar.
3. Open comb stamped "66".
4. Open comb stamped "63".
5. Open comb with Gillette like fat handle.
6. Open comb "Old Type" (my designation for it).

 

[efsk]

I like how the Spanish, like the Italians, did different things with their handles.
Palmera was a brand from Ferdinand Herbertz. In 1934 Juan Volmer took over for the Spanish market. Here's an old Spanish ad:

 

[Snowbeard]

Cheers Richard. I'm going to take the liberty of filling this thread out a bit, get things going I hope. Here's the Bakelite:

 

[Snowbeard]

And the open comb stamped with the number "66". Sorry, they're a bit dark:

 

[Snowbeard]

Here's another open comb stamped with the number "63". Has the distinctive red dot at the end. Suspiciously like another razor that is made in Italy, a Radimi, also with a red dot and similar handle and comb.

 

[Snowbeard]

Here's a shorter open comb with a fat handle similar looking to the Gillette fat handle. This handle's solid and weighty. I know that the handle of the Gillette Hybrid is hollow, not sure if all of their's were:

 

[Snowbeard]

And here's an open comb Palmera that I think looks quite a bit like what's called the Gillette "Old Type". I was lucky enough to score a NOS example. I found all of these on the Spanish website todocoleccion. It took "a while" of patient searching to find the kind of examples I wanted but the pricing was almost always quite good compared to you know what!

 

[FvL]

Like your posts. I have an interest in the Dutch brand gladweg. This one looks quite similar as your 63. With post of #efsk this seems to originate from solingen....

 

[Snowbeard]

View attachment 33625
Like your posts. I have an interest in the Dutch brand gladweg. This one looks quite similar as your 63. With post of #efsk this seems to originate from solingen....

This is a Gladweg? Like you said, it looks just like my "fancy" Palmera 63 or the similarly fancy Radimi, doesn't it? I've always suspected maybe lots of razors from various countries actually were made in Solingen. Which I don't really want to accept. I like to think each razor known to come from a particular place was actually made there. But perhaps the reality is different. In any event, thanks for the comment. And do you have any more photos of this one at all?

 

[FvL]

It says gladweg on the bottomplate (nothing on top like 63). A difference though is the thicker ring on the top of the handle....

 

[efsk]

This is a Gladweg? Like you said, it looks just like my "fancy" Palmera 63 or the similarly fancy Radimi, doesn't it? I've always suspected maybe lots of razors from various countries actually were made in Solingen. Which I don't really want to accept. I like to think each razor known to come from a particular place was actually made there. But perhaps the reality is different. In any event, thanks for the comment. And do you have any more photos of this one at all?

I think it's and/and. Razors were imported and rebranded, and razors were made there. The IRO for instance was definitely designed and produced in Spain. In Irun, Spanish Basque Country to be exact. Where Volmer was housed too.

 

[Snowbeard]

I think it's and/and. Razors were imported and rebranded, and razors were made there. The IRO for instance was definitely designed and produced in Spain. In Irun, Spanish Basque Country to be exact. Where Volmer was housed too.

The IRO. The Iro Sistema Oblicuo. Now that's a wacky looking one, isn't it? Thanks for the info.

 

[Walid]

This is a Gladweg? Like you said, it looks just like my "fancy" Palmera 63 or the similarly fancy Radimi, doesn't it? I've always suspected maybe lots of razors from various countries actually were made in Solingen. Which I don't really want to accept. I like to think each razor known to come from a particular place was actually made there. But perhaps the reality is different. In any event, thanks for the comment. And do you have any more photos of this one at all?

At the time Germany was a manufacturing powerhouse in Europe. Companies need the lowest cost with the highest quality possible. Solingen filled the bill.

 

[Clouds]

I'll drop adjustable in here.
It's a Palmera 7 and is pretty much a Gibbs that takes unmodified blades. The posts are in the TopCap and the middle and base plates have holes to suit. The TopCap is wider than a Gibbs and covers the blade tabs. They breakdown into the seven familiar pieces.

They are not as well finished as a Gibbs however the surfaces that touch your face when shaving are certainly on par. Underneath the machine marks are not as well polished out and the numbers are stamped as opposed to engraved. There is no marker on the adjuster dial.

They shave as well as a Gibbs and if you are a Gibbs fan they are the one to look out for.
The Heritage Gibbs was modelled after this - just BTW...