Thread: Beginner's take on Henckels Friodur 472

I've been wanting a stainless razor for long time now, and finally bought my first, a Henckels Friodur 472 from eBay: http://straightrazorpalace.com/razor...ml#post1345673

The razor arrived in a perfect condition, but it was, as clearly mentioned in eBay, not shave ready.

After a year of daily use, I still consider myself a beginner in straight razor shaving, not to mention honing. Here are some of my experiences about honing: http://straightrazorpalace.com/honin...ml#post1341185. Beginner as I am, I dare to say I am capable of honing razors in such a condition that I am able to shave with them, and I consistenly get better results using straights than other methods of shaving, say Gillette Mach-3 that I used before straights.

The edge of the Friodur was in a good shape, I felt it needed refreshing only. HHT did not pass, but I was able to shave arm hair with ease and in arm-hair test it showed some promise. Here's what I did:

Attempt 1:

• 100+ laps with Dovo Black -> HHT-2 (yes, it immediately started to slice hairs after this, I would say it was even near HHT-3)
• 100+ laps with Dovo Red -> HHT-3 (part of the blade)
• 100+ laps with Dovo Green for part of the blade that didn't pass HHT-3 in the last step -> HHT-3 all the way
• Shave-test (good growth of 2-3 days, I have a wiry, black, tough beard): uneasy feeling from the start, the razor was pulling (even painfully) and I had to finish with another razor

Attempt 2:

• Progression with 3M lapping film, starting from brown (5 micron), ending with white (0.3 micron), 50 laps or so with each sheet, using X-pattern and extremely light pressure, finalized with a sheet of paper under the white film -> HHT-1
• 60 laps with Dovo Green, Red and Black -> HHT-3
• Shave-test: I got a feeling it really starts to shave now, but was not satisfied with the results. The shave was somehow uneven and not near as smooth as with my other razors.

Attempt 3:

• Progression with 3M lapping film, starting this time from blue (9 micron), ending with light green (1 micron). I started with 40 laps with blue and ended with 70 laps with light green. Finalized with a sheet of paper under the light green film. I used X-pattern and light pressure. -> HHT-1 (or slightly better, difficult to say as the response was not very clear)
• 60 laps with Dovo Black -> clear HHT-3, almost HHT-4
• Shave-test (again with a 2 days of growth): Yes, it is smoother now, coming close, very close to my other razors. I feel it could be a little smoother, but I need to re-test, as it might have been my prepping as well. There's some soreness of the skin in my chin area, and I have seen closer shaves, but perhaps I need to give it some more time.

So, I am ready to try the razor again, but is there some tips you would give I could try next? I feel I should get HHT-4 before it would really start to feel smooth, but I don't think my other razors actually pass HHT-4, at least not very clearly. My Wapienica did clearly pass it once, but now I think it needs refreshing.


All in all, I like the razor very much. It looks good, is extremely balanced and has, being 6/8, some weight to it for better stability and easier handling. And most of all, it is stainless and in perfect condition, no dark spots to be seen and shiny as new.

Well here’s my two cents worth.

I think that you may want to consider having the razor honed by a pro. My reasoning is that this way you will have a reference as to how it should shave. Then when the time comes and you truly only need to refresh the blade you will know if you are helping or hindering the edge.

Now if sending it out is out of the question I highly recommend that you start from scratch and set the bevel on the Norton 4K. A 1K would make the task much easier but it is entirely possible to do with the 4K/I know as I’ve done it many times just for kicks and giggles.

Here’s a link to an excellent video that my friend Glen (GSSIXGUN) did showing how to make that 4K really do some work.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y53SL9QMq6I

Now if you can’t get a nice, close and comfortable shave off of a 8K stone then all of the fancy films, 12K Naniwa etc are a waste of time and money.

I’ve posted time and time again that if I were to drop and break my Naniwa 12K I could live off of my Norton 8K for the rest of my life.

However if I were to break my Norton 4/8K I’d eat peanut butter sandwiches day in and day out until I could save up to buy a new one!

If you take the time to learn how to get that Norton 4/8 to work, you will be rewarded years of sharp shaves.

Two Friodurs live here an 11/16 and an 8/8 I’ve honed a couple of hundred razors and they are always a challenge! Please keep that in mind. As my father (a machinist) said about stainless steel “It’s not that ‘hard’ it’s just that it’s ‘tough’!”

Good Luck!

nice info
like a science report to help you improve

cudarunner: I actually got Norton 4/8k. It is my first and only stone this far. I haven't got much luck with it, but it is long time since I last tried it, so I might give it another try. One thing I've noticed with all my honing methods, be it a Norton or lapping films, is that I gain HHT(2-4) only with Dovo pastes. I have Dovo green, red and black, and they seem to work wonders for me with balsa, at least when it comes to HHT. Wonder what other pastes, like Crox or diamond pastes, would do.

I also got couple of honemeister-honed razors to use as a reference, and I would like to practise honing, as I am slowly starting to get better results, so I would not like to send this one to a honemeister. I actually tried the razor again today and I would say it is almost good enough. However, I was wondering to buy a second Friodur from japannippon in eBay -- he sells some that come shave-ready. That would give me a good reference point of how well-honed Friodur should feel like.

Originally Posted by joemonco

cudarunner: I actually got Norton 4/8k. It is my first and only stone this far. I haven't got much luck with it, but it is long time since I last tried it, so I might give it another try. One thing I've noticed with all my honing methods, be it a Norton or lapping films, is that I gain HHT(2-4) only with Dovo pastes. I have Dovo green, red and black, and they seem to work wonders for me with balsa, at least when it comes to HHT. Wonder what other pastes, like Crox or diamond pastes, would do.

I also got couple of honemeister-honed razors to use as a reference, and I would like to practise honing, as I am slowly starting to get better results, so I would not like to send this one to a honemeister. I actually tried the razor again today and I would say it is almost good enough. However, I was wondering to buy a second Friodur from japannippon in eBay -- he sells some that come shave-ready. That would give me a good reference point of how well-honed Friodur should feel like.

Well, that's your problem right there. The Norton 4/8 is the honers hone and really the basic equipment. I would say get yourself some Eboy specials and sit down and learn to make the Norton do it's job. You really need to get the basics down and then you can experiment with other media and methods. I don't mean to sound harsh but to me if you can't use the Norton you can't hone period.

Originally Posted by joemonco;

. However, I was wondering to buy a second Friodur from japannippon in eBay -- he sells some that come shave-ready. That would give me a good reference point of how well-honed Friodur should feel like.

Not or that I don't recommend the purchase of another Friodur but I'd hold off. I own three Friodurs and I am always impressed by how awesome these razors are. If you are only getting "good enough" from your Friodurs, you're really missing out on a great shaving experience. Do yourself a favor and have it honed by a pro. Then take some time to learn honing on something less precious. When the time comes to hone your Fridur again, (assuming you're now proficient at honing) you will really come to appreciate the quality of your razor. The steel and grinds on all my Friodurs is exceptionally consistent and they take an edge that is hard to beat. I've had other top shelf razors that were not nearly as consistent in grind or quality of steel. The honing process is really where you get to appreciate the quality of a good razor because it's showing you what it's capable of. I'm sure yours is dying to show you as well. The words Friodur and "good enough" don't belong together. Get a good hone on it and you'll see what I mean.