Thread: Best vintage shaver?

Sheffield steel > DD. I'm going to sell my Wonderedge...people are willing to pay WAY WAY too much for it.... Its just not that awesome.

edit:
I'm not saying Sheffields shave better. There are other concerns that go into my "calculation." One of them is value. DD's are way overpriced.

I have several in the 'best' category, but they may not be your best. My Wonderedge is among them, there are others made in different parts of the world, and in different grinds and sizes. Some, I'm pretty sure, you won't be able to find and even if you do they probably won't be as good as mine.

try a puma. pricier but nice nice nice.

vintage henckels also hard to lose.

and try one of the americans (genco, robeson, cattaraugus, christenson, kinfolks, etc.)

also, go with the grain and across the grain, and skip against the grain.

To personal to nail that down I have my favs but that doesn't mean to much to someone else....

Once you figure out Size, Grind, and Point styles, that appeal to you then it gets easier...

For me I target certain razors, 11/16 size, extreme hollow grinds, and spike points.... 95% of all my razors fall within 1/16 of that razor.... So now I really can tell the differenecs in the steels.....

Henckels, Wade and Butcher, Joseph Rogers and Sons, GOTTA, Bengall, Puma, etc. There is literally hundreds of good Straight razor brands out there from back in the day. A lot more than there are being made right now. Check out the wiki for brands to avoid, that'd be easier.

I would recommend taking a look at Good Straight Razor Brands - Straight Razor Place Wiki and Brands of Straight Razors to avoid - Straight Razor Place Wiki.

Ceterum censeo that Pumas are totally overrated (as I do not own one), but Gebrüder Lützenhoff made the best ever razor (mine).

Most vintage razors should be fine shavers so long as they are quality and honed correctly.

Personally I don't buy into one brand or the other being levels above the rest. I think a quality blade, honed right, in the hands of an experienced shaver is what makes the difference. Also taking into account personal preferences, etc.

I think the top brands are highly regarded because of the consistency they had in producing fine blades. Not to say though that any specific razor is better because of it's name.

Spendur has it spot on. American blades can be had for cheap and are top quality. Also many American blades were made in Germany and marketed here by US companies. So you get a fine German steel blade for cheap.