Thread: Here are my two razors .

Hello all,

I have been straight shaving now for about four months and am loving it .
My wife got me a teriffic razor for Father's Day , that I have been using avidly.
It is the olive green scales Frederick Reynolds Barber's Notch .

The other one I got from a fine chap here in the classifieds . The scales are Red Imp Ludo and the blade is a C-Mon Blackie . Great razor to shave with !

Thought it was time to show my meager collection .

Cheers the now ,

Scott

Is the green one a 7/8? Just eye~Balling.

That's 2 fine razors.

From what I understand both brands are of high quality and should, as you say, give great shaves.
Congrats, and thanks for sharing

That Frederick Reynolds is a beautiful blade. It appears that your wife has excellent taste in blades.

I think you should use your computer and haphazardly leave it around with either the german Revisor page or ShavingShop's page of Wacker's open and see what happens....and experiment of obtuse subtlety if you will.

Originally Posted by Birnando

That's 2 fine razors.

From what I understand both brands are of high quality and should, as you say, give great shaves.
Congrats, and thanks for sharing

Hi Birnando. This is going to be a REAL newbie question, feel free to smack your forehead in astonishment and banish me. I, at this point in time, have really only shaved with a what I gather is a 'cheap' Burrell Top Flight. I had a brief affair with a massive W&B which a friend agreed to trade for a rather more reserved W&B; and I'm also getting an Emil Kronenberg. From what I gather, only the W&B is a real quality razor, maybe also the Emil Kronenberg. What real discernible difference will there be? Is quality more related to quality of steel and longevity, or is it related to 'feel'? Would I 'feel' the difference between, say, the Burrell and a W&B of similar proportions? Just asking, I have no idea yet, really...I hope everyone else will free to chime in. A LOT of the razors I see here look really, really cool, but that's not a judgement of quality, just nicelookingness. What do we look for in a quality blade? Flexibility? Longevity? I'm not yet really sure what I should be looking for, other than really cool looking Canadian Maple scales on a nicely proportioned clean W&B ...

Originally Posted by carlmaloschneider

Hi Birnando. This is going to be a REAL newbie question, feel free to smack your forehead in astonishment and banish me. I, at this point in time, have really only shaved with a what I gather is a 'cheap' Burrell Top Flight. I had a brief affair with a massive W&B which a friend agreed to trade for a rather more reserved W&B; and I'm also getting an Emil Kronenberg. From what I gather, only the W&B is a real quality razor, maybe also the Emil Kronenberg. What real discernible difference will there be? Is quality more related to quality of steel and longevity, or is it related to 'feel'? Would I 'feel' the difference between, say, the Burrell and a W&B of similar proportions? Just asking, I have no idea yet, really...I hope everyone else will free to chime in. A LOT of the razors I see here look really, really cool, but that's not a judgement of quality, just nicelookingness. What do we look for in a quality blade? Flexibility? Longevity? I'm not yet really sure what I should be looking for, other than really cool looking Canadian Maple scales on a nicely proportioned clean W&B ...

You know, that is a very good question.
I have about 100 razors, and most of them are vintage blades of various origin.
ALL of them are very good shavers, I haven't seen a bad shaving vintage yet.
I'm talking of specimens that are in good working condition.

I'd say the differences is more in personal preference.
Grind, size, weight, balance and steel-hardness are amongst the varying factors.

Some older English blades are of softer steel, and that works for some, others don't like it.
That's just one example of what constitutes "good vs bad". (bad expression, I know)

Originally Posted by Birnando

You know, that is a very good question.
I have about 100 razors, and most of them are vintage blades of various origin.
ALL of them are very good shavers, I haven't seen a bad shaving vintage yet.
I'm talking of specimens that are in good working condition.

I'd say the differences is more in personal preference.
Grind, size, weight, balance and steel-hardness are amongst the varying factors.

Some older English blades are of softer steel, and that works for some, others don't like it.
That's just one example of what constitutes "good vs bad". (bad expression, I know)

Oh good, and that, I feel, is a good answer! As much as I persevere with it, the spike point of the Burrell is getting a little annoying; I find it scratches under my ears when I do under my jawline near the ear. I realise with many things quality has to do with longevity, and others with 'feel' (tactile quality; balance, etc, like with sports equipment, surfboards, etc). The Burrell I have is a full hollow, and I do like the feel (other than the wicked spike), so was just wondering what feel (tactile quality) one could feel in a 'better' razor? I saw a brush today on line for $450. Now, to me, that's just silly, even if I had money to burn, it would still be silly. On the other hand, a fountain pen of mine (a Geha Goldswinge 14k) is worth its weight in gold, as is my simple Indian Silver bracelet that I treasure. Yes, beauty is in the eye of the beholder (and handler)! But I was just wondering if 'cheap' razors are really 'cheap' in feel, because surely, in shaving (as in Fountain Pens) feel is VERY important...Guess I'll only know as I get more...

You are correct sir , well 13/16 th if I remember right !

Cheers ,

Scott

Originally Posted by carlmaloschneider

What real discernible difference will there be? Is quality more related to quality of steel and longevity, or is it related to 'feel'? Would I 'feel' the difference between, say, the Burrell and a W&B of similar proportions? Just asking, I have no idea yet, really...I hope everyone else will free to chime in.

Carl, I'm chiming .... In my limited experience, quality pertains to how well a blade will hold it's edge, as much as grind and shine, etc. Quality also can apply to how it shaves for YOU. i.e. you might have mastered smaller blades and prefer them over larger ones, or you might find a larger blade easier to shave with. Neither condition is symbol of quality, except in the hand of a quality shaver. No shaver will enjoy shaving with a low carbon blade specifically shaped as a razor, but that being the only common characteristic between them. A real razor of quality has a certain hardness associated with it, a high carbon content, that allows it to take, hold and respond to maintenance, a decently sharp, shavable edge. Cheap razors are soft and poorly designed and require a master on the hones to even resemble something you can shave with.

See some of the wiki stuff on razor NOT to buy and these are examples of bad quality razors. Folks won't even attempt to hone most of them because they have already experienced the results. Bad quality razors. No homemeister has ever said bad things about W&B's or Westers or ... etc.. because they were quality razors and take and hold an edge well, no matter what they happen to look like condition wise. They can be made to look cool by being artistic with the only thing available, the scales. A pig is still a pig, and wrapping it in a fur coast doesn't change that.

My 2 cents,, Happy shaving!

M