Thread: Trying an American straight

Sheffield, US or Soligen, can anyone tell the difference in a blind test do you suppose?

Originally Posted by Pringr

Sheffield, US or Soligen, can anyone tell the difference in a blind test do you suppose?

I'll throw in Spanish, Swedish, Japanese and French to make it interesting and bet no you couldn't tell the difference in a blind test.

Bob

Originally Posted by KarloT

DoughBoy,

I kept hearing good things about Torrey so I sought one out and found a 6/8 in very good shape. I acquired it before Christmas but I told the seller to ship after the New Year instead. It should get to me in a couple of weeks.

Looks like you gt a winner.

re: Torrey - I bought a 8/16 a couple of years ago and it is one of those silent, smooth shavers, asy to maintain. I like it a lot. Stumbled on a 13/16 notched Torrey on Dec. 24 for a song; scales and pins perfect, the edge undamaged and the top third mostly rust. After a few hours of sanding, buffing, polishing, honing and stropping it revealed itself a great razor from shave #1. I hope you enjoy yours, too!

Originally Posted by BobH

I'll throw in Spanish, Swedish, Japanese and French to make it interesting and bet no you couldn't tell the difference in a blind test.

Bob

Bob is right. A fine edge on good steel cuts well and generally gives about the same comfort on a shave. That's why so much on SRP is devoted to getting the right edge and maintaining it.

Among my favorite Sheffield and Solingen razors are several humble American made Torreys, Gencos, an H. M. Christensen, and even a couple Electric Cutlerys, just to name a few.

Where it starts feeling different is the blade size and configuration. Wedge vs Full Hollow, 5/8 vs 15/16, Spanish vs French point, smiling etc. I also notice a difference is steel manufacture obviously when honing. Carbon, Stainless, etc. These things start getting in to personal preference.

My bottom line is my favorite razor is a quality razor!

American razors are very under rated. One of the best shavers I ever had was a Shumate Ben Hur.

My genco grant, robeson shuredge, wester bros., and torrey shave as well as anything in my modest collection and better than most. American steel rocks!

Yes, American razors tend to be under rated/appreciated for some reason unknown to me. The ones I have shave as well as any others in my rotation. Wouldn't hesitate to buy another one that I liked the looks of.

Bob

That is an oldie made by HMC from 1889-1916 in Brockton. The company was then sold and moved to New Bedford.
I have had both, but prefer the old ones. Nice blade!
Here is the tang stamp from New Bedford.

Originally Posted by sharptonn

That is an oldie made by HMC from 1889-1916 in Brockton. The company was then sold and moved to New Bedford.
I have had both, but prefer the old ones. Nice blade!
Here is the tang stamp from New Bedford.

Thanks for sharing that picture! I came across some posts that suggested these were made in Germany and imported or finished in the US. Given the metalworking tradition in New England at the time, I had a strong hunch that these were more likely American made.

The more I use it, the more I like it.

Well, Christensen was a big hardware dealer back when. I like to think the older ones before 1916 were made there in Mass. I have found no info to the contrary.
After he sold out, no telling where they came from but the later blades, while quite good, look sort of generic compared to the older ones. Still, lots of American makers produced razors and knives for hardware concerns throughout the country with names stamped, so who knows?