Clarks SE razors

This thread is to highlight some earlier SE razors produced either by Clarks Razor Blade Co. and ISR (International Safety Razor). What these particular razors have in common is they are all designs patented by Joseph Molkenthin Jr in the early 1900s. Molkenthin was an interesting character that was the first to come up with alternate designs to compete against the major razor and blade manufacturers starting in 1909. Not only did he come up with this design to compete against ASR which owned Gem, Ever Ready and Star SE brands he also came up with the very first DE razor made in the US to compete against Gillette while their original patents were in effect.

Molkenthin's SE patent 
https://patents.google.com/patent/US9891...6+Razor+Co

These razor sets sold by Clarks were branded as Dollar or Silver King razors depending the finish. The came in 3 major makes. Make I and II Dollar King Sets usually were nickel plated and Make I and II Silver King Sets were silver plated. The razors themselves were either called The King for Dollar King sets or Silver King for Silver King sets. They came with various cases too. Both variants also came in boxes without cases call Trial King sets. The Make III versions were called Improved Clarks King razors and only came in silver plating. These razors are some of the best performing SE razors you can find that use GEM style SE blades. They vary in aggressiveness depending the make There were a total of 3 versions, the first were fairly mild, the second very aggressive along the lines of a Gem Micromatic open comb and the make 3 which is somewhere between the make 1 and 2 versions but more to the mild than wild side. The way they worked was simple in that when tightened to handle it lifted the lower base plate to press against the blade and hold it in place. 

The first version or MK1 of these razors. This one happens to be a Silver King. These were produced between 1910 - 1911.

Here is a MKII version. These were the most aggressive versions. They were produced between 1911/12 - 1916. In this variation they shortened the upper base plate.







Finally the MKIII versions which were called Improved Clark's King razors. These were produced from 1916 until the mid 1920s.

Here are some variations sold by ISR which was also associated with Clark's Razor and Blade Co.

This one is called an IVogue and is a fancier version of the MKII Clark's King razors as can be seen here.



This one is called a Liberty and is based on the MKI version of the Clark's King Razors. It is not a copy but a redesign that was put out by ISR between 1921 - 1924. It is  by far the most aggressive shaver of the 5 razors highlighted.

Here is an example including a case of a MKI Clark's razor. This one is a Dollar King nickel plated variant.

You may want to renumber them as there was a model named "The King" which I believe was 1st. The blade holding mechanism is totally different from the ones that followed. I have all 3 of these which were followed by a 4th named "The Winner" which I've not owned...yet

You may want to renumber them as there was a model named "The King" which I believe was 1st. The blade holding mechanism is totally different from the ones that followed. I have all 3 of these which were followed by a 4th named "The Winner" which I've not owned...yet

Re-read the first post which was edited to add this info. It is a MKI. MK1 and MK2 both came in 2 variants. First were nickel plated The King razors sold in Dollar King sets, the one you have pictured and second were silver plated and Silver King razors sold in Silver King sets.

They had other SE sets but they used the autostrop style blades. The Winner as you mentioned was one of them.

Here are some pictures of the Winner razor. These used the Autostrop style SE blades. They could also use a despined Gem blade if one wanted. The King razors on the other hand were specifically designed to use unmodified Gem style SE blades. Technically they do belong in this thread since they use the same style blade locking method as the Clark King razors.

You may want to renumber them as there was a model named "The King" which I believe was 1st. The blade holding mechanism is totally different from the ones that followed. I have all 3 of these which were followed by a 4th named "The Winner" which I've not owned...yet

Re-read the first post which was edited to add this info. It is a MKI. MK1 and MK2 both came in 2 variants. First were nickel plated The King razors sold in Dollar King sets, the one you have pictured and second were silver plated and Silver King razors sold in Silver King sets.

They had other SE sets but they used the autostrop style blades. The Winner as you mentioned was one of them.

Yep, wasn't there when I posted.  Also, I found The King to be much more aggressive I figured due to the way it loaded and arched the blade compared to what they changed to in subsequent models. The Silver King is my favorite.

Nicely done BBS