Razors used by German soldiers in WWII, and current production equivalents

     What kind of razors were German soldiers issued in WWII? It's a trick question. Soldiers had to supply their own razors. They could bring them or have them sent from home, or they could buy razors- but the razors made available to them to buy were the same commercial products available to civilians. Many dealers will offer "Wehrmacht issue" razors, this is an inaccurate sales pitch as there simply never was any such thing. Purportedly original razor packaging that says "Wehrmacht Rasierapparat" or "Einheitsrasierapparate für Heereslazarette" is, simply, fake. Shaving soap was issued; razors were not. Soldiers in Germany and in occupied countries, civilians, even concentration camp inmates all used the same razors.
    Here are three razors that were actually used by German soldiers during WWII. All three were excavated from remains of former German positions. Two are brass that once had a silver-colored plating, now mostly gone after decades underground. The Bakelite razor is marked "Made in France." None are marked with a brand name.

      Here are some other period type Bakelite razors. One is also made in France, as was the excavated example; the others are German. None of the German ones are marked.

     Razors like these were available complete with Bakelite cases, but most were sold in simple cardboard boxes which would presumably be discarded.

     The "Apollo" brand razor shown is still marked with the original price- 1.50 Reichsmarks. That's about ten US dollars today.
     An interesting type of wartime-era German Bakelite razor is the "slant." The top part of the razor was not exactly perpendicular to the handle, but was set as an angle. This was advertised as a feature that supposedly yielded better results than the usual type. The degree of slant varied, as you can see. The example at left was made by Merkur.

     Just as with standard Bakelite razors, these were sold with matching Bakelite cases, or in cardboard boxes.

     I have seen it stated elsewhere that all WWII German produced razors were Bakelite as metal was reserved exclusively for strategic purposes. That's not true. Here is a selection of wartime type metal razors. Most are made from a zinc alloy sometimes referred to as "Kriegsmetall"- war metal.

     A plated zinc razor in its original box.

     Razors were also available in various types of travel kits. Shown here, a leatherette case, circa 1930s, and a collapsible razor in a tiny metal box, exact vintage unknown.

     Inside:

     One particular type of razor that seems to have been widely used by soldiers and civilians alike during and before WWII was the Mond-Extra, made by Rotbart. This razor was made of plated brass.

     Rotbart advertised heavily in publications intended for soldiers. Here is an ad for razor blades in a 1940 issue of the German armed forces magazine "Die Wehrmacht."

     The Rotbart Mond-Extra razor was available in a cardboard box, an enameled tin box, or a Bakelite case.

     Rotbart also made various types of travel kits for razors including the Mond-Extra.

     The leather case opens to reveal a razor, Bakelite tubes for a shaving brush and shaving soap, and a booklet about how to shave. There is even a mirror inside the lid. This kit is vintage 1930s.

     A German soldier could have used any of these types of razors depending on personal preference or availability. Double edged safety razors in the same style are still made in Germany today by Merkur, one of the companies that was making razors before and during the war. Here are two current Merkur products: the Merkur 45, made of Bakelite, and the Merkur 33c, made of plated brass.

     The similarity between the Merkur 33c and the Rotbart Mond-Extra is remarkable and certainly not a coincidence. This is a classic, useful design.

     The Merkur 45 Bakelite razor also fits in nicely with its WWII-period counterparts.

     These modern Merkur razors are still in production and widely available as of this writing. Both retail for around $30 or less and hey both are fine razors for shaving.
     Of course, a decent shave requires more than a razor alone. German soldiers were issued soap to shave with. The shaving soap sticks were rectangular and each bar was stamped with a code assigned by the "Reichsstelle für industrielle Fettversorgung." Here is an original package of 10 bars of issue type shaving soap.

     These ceramic hones were used to sharpen razor blades to prolong their life. These were excavated from former German positions on what was once the Eastern Front. These would have been private purchase rather than issue items.

     Soldiers also had to fend for themselves when it came to shaving mirrors. Here, a soldier shaves with a small, round pocket mirror.

     A selection of wartime era pocket mirrors with military themes.

     With some creativity, it is not hard to put together a convincing representation of a WWII German soldier's shaving kit using modern items, that can actually be used today. Shown below is a careful recreation of a kit that could have been used by a soldier in the field. The razor is a modern Merkur 33c, everything else is reproduction- the shaving mirror and leatherette case, the RIF-marked soap bar, the razor blade packaging. All fits inside a wooden box with a reproduction Camembert cheese label.

Field expedient stove for Zeltbahn tent

Article by Willi Graf.

Staying warm in cold weather, especially during winter nights, is a problem as old as mankind. For winter deployments, we often struggled with ways to heat our 8-panel Zelt (in a period-correct way). A short clip in a wartime German Wochenschau newsreel film provided an answer. In this clip, a Wehrmacht-issue "Jerry can" fuel container was shown inside a Kübelwagen. The can had been modified into a stove, to provide warmth. Here are screen captures from the film.

Here, the stove’s exhaust pipe, emitting smoke, can be seen sticking out of the side of the vehicle. The next photos show a soldier removing ash from the modified "Jerry can."

This was something we knew we could replicate for our 8-man zelt tent. The photos below provide a detailed explanation of our project.

-The first step was turning a Jerry can into the main body of a stove. The font of the can had to be cut out, and replaced with a fabricated hinged door. A latch was also included to keep the door shut.

-Internally, a “grill” had to be made, to allow for ash to fall away from the fire itself.  This can also be seen in the first photo above.

-On the rear side, another smaller door had to be created to allow for both ventilation/air circulation, and to provide a means of removing smaller ash that fell to the bottom. A latch was also included on this door.

-Next was creating sectional exhaust pipes, with a flue, that exited the mouth of the Jerry can.

-An obvious concern was burning the zelt where the pipe exited the tent. The pipe can get very hot, and we needed a way to prevent contact between the zelt panels, and the pipe itself. Creating a fiberglass insulator and support panel solved this problem. No part of the zelt comes in contact with the hot exhaust pipe. We needed to tie up the sides of the zelt, because we could not button it together anymore (e.g. where the pipe exited the tent).

-At the top of the pipe we added a spark arrestor (to prevent sparks from flying out), and support cables to keep the whole thing from falling over. The cables are staked into the ground. 

-The stove has to be elevated off the ground to keep any ground surface from burning. A few bricks solve that problem (as can be seen in above photos).

-Because the stove, and stove door, is small, wood must be cut up into small pieces to fit inside it. Sawing wood with our period saw provides for a great, and essential, period activity to any immersion event we do; there is indeed much more to being a field solider than just combat.

The stove is amazingly effective. Using straw and wool blankets as bedding, we have spent nights sleeping quite comfortably when outside temperatures plunged down to 20 degrees (-7 Celsius). The only down side is that because the stove is small, it very frequently requires fuel to keep it going.