What does it take for a barber from an industrial town in the north of England to open the leading barbershop for English Gentlemen's Style in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates? Nothing less than an odyssey across the globe, a vita like that of a sailor from an adventure novel and quite a remarkable attitude towards life and people.

Our Tirpitz steel stocks were slowly running out, so that further production of the coveted Tirpitz Damascus knives was out of the question without a
without replenishment was out of the question. The 41,000 tons of steel from the Tirpitz were completely scrapped in the 1950s and used as a sought-after raw material in a variety of other ways after the war.
and used as a sought-after raw material in many other ways after the war. The stock of our old source of supply had been used up. Only a
small museum near the town of Alta in Finnmark, in the far north of Norway, should still have a slab of Wodan Tirpitz armor steel.
still possessed. The success of the mission was uncertain for more than one reason.

Dave Wenger grew up with a fascination for medieval weapons and armor. One day, the boy decided to try his hand at making his own weapons. He flattened metal tubes his father had lying around, cut a point on them with a hacksaw, and used a few rolls of duct tape for the handle - and there it was, a feudal Japanese samurai sword.

We tell a completely different origin story of a barbershop with the Barber Story about the Barber House® company. Owner Dirk Schlobach did not undergo any barber training. He developed his motivation to open the store chain not from the craft, but in a sense from the other side of the counter or from the barber chair - as a customer. "Customer Experience", the foundation and constant incentive for continuous testing and improvement of what already appears to the customer as a perfect state.

His self-declared mission may at the same time be understood as a vocation: if a man enters his barbershop, he may only leave it again as a gentleman. His means: a neat haircut and a perfectly trimmed beard. His weapons: an old barber chair, a cult whiskey spray bottle, some pomade and lots of nostalgia. His trademarks: Hat, hip suspenders and a dapper beard. His name: Herr Feldmann.

Recently, there has been an increase in alarming warnings on the product packaging of many consumer goods that are sold or distributed in the US state of California in particular, and which are increasingly coming into focus here in Germany as well due to the transparency of the Internet:WARNING: This product contains chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm.

A blunt knife serves its purpose only to a limited extent, because the proverbial sharpness rises and falls with this centuries old tool. And although everyone probably has a clear idea of what sharpness is, a technically reliable definition is hard to find.

A certain Giuseppe Verdi once said: "Copiare il vero può essere una buona cosa, ma inventare il vero è meglio, molto meglio. (Engl: To copy the truth may be good, but to invent the truth is better, much better). With these words the famous composer of the operas La Traviata and Rigoletto wisely summed up the creation of Italian achievements - and they still hold true today. The country on the Adriatic Sea is world famous for good food, timeless fashion, racy sports cars and classical music - not to mention its picturesque landscapes and dolce vita.

Not far from the company headquarters of the Boker Manufactory in Solingen, we find the hallmark of the Bergisches Land region, the castle Burg an der Wupper. It is also one of the largest castles in western Germany, and the largest reconstructed castle in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The famous history of Castle Burg is inseparably linked to the Duchy Berg and the Count of Berg (Haus Berg, 1068-1225). On this occasion we decided to dedicate a series of straight razors to the three counts of Berg, which symbolizes parts of their lives. This tribute is reminiscent of the remarkable property and influence of the counts with impressive adornments made from 24-karat gold.

Near the headquarters of Boker Manufactory in Solingen lies Castle Burg. This medieval fortress is a famous landmark of the Bergisches Land and was the ancestral seat of the Counts von Berg, who gave our region its name. It is also one of the biggest castles in western Germany and the largest reconstructed castle complex in North Rhine-Westphalia. Today, Burg Castle is used for a variety of cultural purposes, including as a museum, event venue and memorial.

Kenton Green has worked as Sales Manager at Böker USA in Lakewood, Colorado since 2015. He shares insights into his job, passion for historical events and the sometimes complex sourcing of related relics for exciting projects.

Despite all industrial progress since the foundation of the Boker Manufactory in 1869, some historic production methods are still used for making a Boker straight razor. We definitely preserved the passion, experience and perfection in choosing our materials and executing each of the production steps we would like to explain to you here.