I am seriously considering a J.A. Henckels straight as a new purchase but am wondering which models to look for. Friudor, twinworks, zwillingsworks, etc. What is the difference and what should I be looking for? I would prefer something around 6/8.
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I am seriously considering a J.A. Henckels straight as a new purchase but am wondering which models to look for. Friudor, twinworks, zwillingsworks, etc. What is the difference and what should I be looking for? I would prefer something around 6/8.
Condition, condition and condition. They are a seriously great blade. Friodor is their frozen temper stainless steel, Zwillinswerk is German for TwinWorks. There are a lot of 1/2 hollow models and tons of full hollow, the 1/4 hollow and near wedges are very hard to come by and the more recent 1/4's are indicated by a 'V' at the end of the model number, 72V for example is a 13/16- 1/4 hollow square point. 1/2 at the end of the model number indicates a round point. So a 72 1/2 would be the same size but full hollow and round point. I have a lot of Henckels razors if you have any specific questions let me know. I think there are a couple of others here with some Henckels collections too. There is a thread http://straightrazorpalace.com/razor...ing-twins.html
The J.A. Henckel Friodur is one of my favorite S.R. They hold a fantastic edge and produce an awesome BBS shave. The loud ping produced from the HHT is very distinctive for the blade grind. My favorite is the Friodur 17 1/2 model. You will be very happy with a J.A Henckel Friodur in your razor rotation.
I also have a few Friodurs and think highly of them. They are easy to maintain and usually do not stain or rust with any normal care. No risk of a stain or rust issue if a drop or two gets between the scales unnoticed. I have 4/8 to 7/8 widths. I like 5/8 and 7/8 best. Wider blades are a bit easier to judge angle when shaving, strop, and hone, but are harder to get into tight places. 5/8 is nimble and not hard to strop, hone, and judge angle. 5/8 are the most common width seen. I suggest one of the vintage blades with the metal Friodur inlay on the handle in as good a condition as you can get as restoring a tired blade may cost more and be less satisfactory in the end. Professional honing is a good place to start as the edge needs to be shave ready to start and the scales tight enough on the pin.
Dimitry has a can't miss in the classifieds right now.
I have a J.A. Henckels 415 that I bought NOS. 5/8 square point, full hollow ground. It is a GREAT shaver. Beautiful, effortless.
Well I took your advise and bought a NOS 72 1/2 friudor. Cant wait to give it a test drive.
Never met a Henckels I didn't like, congrats
Once you get that honed up you will be a happy man.
I have one myself , LOVE it !! we didn't get along at first as every time I used it I cut my face but we have bonded well now !!Quote:
Originally Posted by Straightandproud
So to my understanding the 72 1/2 Friodur is a 6/8 Round nose in cryo treated stainless. As a newb to honing, is there anything I need to be aware of?
You are correct. Once it is properly honed, all should be good. Depending on where you got it, it may come shave ready. If it does come shave ready don't strop it until after your first shave, that way you are actually shaving with the sellers edge and you know it is undamaged by ineffective stropping.
It is NOS in the original packaging. never used and factory edge.
you should get it honed. At various times in the past, factory edges were shave ready. Overtime that standard has slipped. Henckels has a very long history of making razors, since 1781 I believe. Seeing as we cannot be sure how nice that edge is, when you receive it, do a quick assessment of the edge. If it can pass a few calibrated sharp tests it may be worthy of a shave test. Unless you bought it from someone who knows what shave ready really means it is unlikely you will get an accurate answer from the seller. I have not personally experienced a shave ready factory edge, they are usually sharp but not shave ready.
Thank you very much for the advice. Looking forward to a great Henckels experience.Quote:
Originally Posted by RezDog
I have several of each. The Friodur Inox is by far my favorite. You simply cannot get a better shave than one of these can produce. All Henckels are great though. It is a wonderful starter razor for anyone
If you have used a shave ready razor and are confident in your stropping technique you will know what it feels like to shave with. You could just clean the NOS blade, give it a good stropping and do a few shave strokes, sideburn down, to see if it is shave ready out of the box. Alternately just send it out to be professionally honed and you are sure then it is shave ready.
A shave ready Friodur is a pleasure to use, enjoy.
Bob
+++1 on the Inox - great steel.Quote:
Originally Posted by cubancigar2000
-john
This was my first great razor. Previously I had tried some ⅝ full hollows from whipped dog which infuriated me, and although it was surely user error, they just didn't seem to have the mass I wanted to get the blade moving and keep it moving. I almost bought a Hart just to get a ¼ hollow, but then I was drawn to one of noah's beauties (shaveready.com) and ended up with the same razor you just bought. Day and night: this razor just plain shaves! It is huge and wonderful, 73g of nostalgic elegance. It is a round point, but the roundness does not get in the way at all, and has all the reach I need for under the nose. It wan't in NOS condition, but that hardly matters. Good choice!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Straightandproud
Quote:
Originally Posted by RezDog
I agree, Henckels standards slipped towards the end. I bought a NOS Friodur (black scales, no model number) and it proved one of the most difficult razors to put a decent bevel on.
As it was my 3rd or 4th Friodur, I knew how good Friodurs can be and didn't give up.
They might have lost interest in straight razors towards the end, but in general I don't find Friodurs more difficult to hone than carbon steel razors.
Among my Friodurs I own one of the 250th Anniversary razors, they show "1731-1981" on the blade, so Henckels seems to trace their history back to that year.
It's a pity they gave up making straight razors.
B.
I have quite a few Henckels both in carbon and stainless steel. Some of the Friodurs are more difficult than others for sure. I have no idea why. I do really like my NOS 250 as well. I agree that the dropping of their straight razor lines is sad. They sat on top for a really long time.
My Friodur is still one of my favorites. It doesn't get as much use in the rotation though.
Attachment 194383Attachment 194384
Well here is the update.
I lightly honed the chip out of the blade with a 600 grit diamond hone. just followed the existing radius and now you can't tell it was ever there. Getting a shave ready edge on the Friodur was as many of you mentioned, time consuming. I set the bevel with the 4k side of my Norton and finished it on 8K. Took about 3.5 hrs but she shaves like a dream. Now I know what many of you are saying. Should have set the bevel on a 1K. Your right, but I don't yet have one. It took a little longer but the good old Norton 4K/8k combo came through for me again.
I must say that this is an exquisite blade. I really like the heft of it and the quality is obvious. It Just mows down the stubble.
Thank you all for your suggestions.
Quote:
Originally Posted by scag315
Can you give me any background information on this blade. I just purchased one off of ebay, although not as nearly in good of condition, and I would like to know about when it was made. Any other information you might have would be great as well.
Thanks
Attachment 194888
Here is a reference chart to the changes in their logo over time. It will give you a very general timeline
nice chart Shaun, thanks for sharing
I'd like to take more credit but I got it when someone else posted it. Being a Henckels buff I couldn't help but save it.
The grinders at Henckels surely were excellent. Esp in the old days.
