Have You Ever Found THAT Razor?
I was at my regular antique store the other day when the proprieter asked for my attention. She knows what I look for in a razor but this time she asked if I were interested in something different. She was selling some items for a local man who needed cash for cancer treatment and even though it was a 4/8 with some grime and a slight frown it was only $15.
I figured that I knew of a friend who liked 4/8 razors. Called him, he wasn't very interested.
I looked at it and cleaned it up a little, noticed that there was little to no hone wear (strange for a frowner), then realized that it was solingen made.
I figured that I would hone it up and throw it in the classifieds. I sat down and started honing. It just felt right. It honed up like a dream: very little work to eliminate the frown (~1/32"), bevel set was perfect, progression went smooth and finished smooth as silk on a thuringian. I let it sit for a while as I had a lot of edges to test over the next couple of weeks and timed it to where this was the last razor to test before I went in for my oral surgery this last Friday.
I had forgotten why I saved this little unimpressive razor for my last shave for a couple of weeks until I started stropping with it. I believe that stropping is an art and the feedback is essential in performing said art. This razor stropped like a dream.
Finally I started shaving with this tool. Bliss!
I own many solingen razors; some no name, some big name, none like this. In fact I have decided to keep this little gem and even am debating on losing one of my bigger dollar customs because that one has never shaved as well.
How many here have honed and shaved with a fair number of razors and are still impressed by the no name gems that come through your grasp?
