Quote Originally Posted by Rami View Post
Wonder what brands you go for. I for one don't have the opportunity to handle many in person. Nor the knowledge to work out what's good.
None.

And here is why.

There were very few drop forges even in the heyday of Solingen razor making. The steels are basically the same across decades. They may have become more uniform after WW2, but I doubt it. Bear in mind that Solingen was, first and foremost, just another industrial town. One renowned for its precision made weapons.

"But the razors!!!1".

Yeah, those too. And scissors. And cutlery.

But mainly weapons.

So, think. Do you honestly believe that the Reichswehr would have accepted wildly varying quality?

No?

If so, do you honestly believe that there were were wildly varying types of steel floating around?

No?

See? And that is it, really.

Some people here make a pitch for certain brands. And it might even make sense from a US perspective. Solingen razors were, and in my and my other people's opinion still are, the best razors you can get. But only a few brands were exported.

So, Dubl Duck? Yeah, great stuff. If you like dysfunctional scales prone to gassing. And so on.

There were dozens, if not hundreds, of razor makers in Solingen. Any razor to have survived the seventies and beyond is bound to be functional. Otherwise, people would have discarded of it. Think of a razor as a milking stool, or a cooking spoon, instead of a collectible. Because it used to be just that.

So, brands? Unfortunately, my review of this razor went down the proverbial drain when Ivan the Terrible nuked the review section, but it was one of a kind: Gebrüder Lutzenkirchen "Seal" 5/8 - Straight Razor Place Library. The title of the review was "The Filarmonica Killer", and I maintain that this little gem, which cost me something like €15, would outshave and Filarmonica, given the right edge. Which it had. I kinda miss it.