Thread: Revisor - Solingen

I am very excited to see my Revisor arrive. It has been 1 week since I completed my order, and so far seems to have cleared US Customs and is now on its way to Denver from the East Coast. Hopefully by the end of the week it will be in my hands!

As to which razor is better/worse/sharp/dull, etc....
I have shining example of most major modern mainstream razors, as well as a couple of customs and a good vintage collection that covers quite a few bases. In my experience, most honing from reputable sources is very good. My neck in particular is extremely sensitive to daily shaving, so I care about sharp, but I really care about smooth. Most razors show up at my door at the former, and I need to do a bit of work to get them the latter. For me this is usually several laps on a 12k naniwa and then 200-250 laps on leather. Most major "Meisters" are understandingly most concerned with getting something good and sharp, then getting it out the door to keep fulfillment times short. My comment in no way detracts from the quality of the edges, as each person is different and finds what they love the most. If a person can become self sufficient and produce an edge they need to have comfortable shaves, even better. I for one am very happy with my abilities to hone, especially as they continue to develop. I have put new edges that work well for me on antique store finds, worked out chips and dings, and worked with a few that have excessive hone wear. Am I some sort of self-professed expert...not in a million years. It works for me though, is fun, appeals to my meticulous nature, and has allowed me to build and maintain my own fleet of 27 razors.

Revisors are a fine razor. Made by even higher quality people. They are a pleasure to do business with. Mine was shave ready and hasnt seen a hone yet, still doing an excellent job. My TIs well those are another story. As those from the Wisconsin meet saw first hand. Straight razor implies NO frown. Now for $100 from Lehmans No complaints. When you spend upwards of $350 for a Sparticus with rose spinework and in rams horn that frown hurt my feelings a little more. Thanks to Randy Tuttle for 1) fixing that frown took more than a few minutes.2) He taught me how to remove the frown from my other TI. Before this meet I only breadknifed frowns out.
I need another razor like I need another hole in my head. That said I keep checking Revisors web site and dreaming.

My experience w/ Revisor does not mirror the positive ones posted so far - either in quality or service. It is my hope that my unfortunate experience (and that of others I spoke with a few yrs ago) are in the past & not to be repeated. I can say with fair confidence - that if yours arrives in good condition - all of the praise seems well warranted. Those in sound condition were excellent shavers - which is what caused me to try one of my own. I hope yours gives you decades of smiles & great shaves.

You know, "pinklather", each time I read something like this, I wonder why you didn't just return the razor. Because, you know, Germany is not exactly a third world country, and the Kronenbergs have been rendering impeccable services ever since I've known them. But humans make mistakes, and they are only human, too.

So, why did you keep that razor? Does it make you happy to repeat that horror story of yours even years after it happened? Because to me, that seems a bit petty.

To put this into perspective, I received a very expensive "custom" razors some time back. It was, and there is no way of putting this diplomatically, a pile of the proverbial brown matter. Now, I could have written an in-depth review of that razor, and referenced that review each time someone said, "well, I think Mr XYZ makes really good razors, and is a dedicated craftsman.". I chose not to. Because, well, doing to would seem petty.

Originally Posted by RobinK

But Bob, that wasn't the point. There was always ever to be meant one (1) honemeister, the great, powerful and venerable Lynn Abrams. I forget the name of the gentleman who first called him that, but it was meant as a humorous token of appreciation. So far, so good.

Then, however, and because certain people recognised that you can get more business if you sound more like you knew what you were doing, honemeisters (self proclaimed, mostly) were popping up everywhere. It typically went like this:

• Week 1: "Hello, my name is $SILLYNICK, and I want to learn to shave with a straight razor. I already got $ASIANIMPORTCRAP razor, and $CHEAPLOWGRITHONE."
• Week 2: "Yo, wazzup? I just bought a full set of $SYNTHETICS!!! I even took $3DIGITFIGURE of pics I want to share with you!"
• Week 3: First forays into honemeister territory lead to a two week ban from SRP.
• Week 6: "Right, I recently took some time off to learn to hone properly. I now got $JAPANESENONSENSE which is much better than $GERMANHONE or $BELGIANHONE! Free honing for everybody!!!!"
• Week 7-8: $SILLYNICK is using his second ban from SRP to set up a website with a shopping cart system. All over the social networks, people start whispering his name in awe. Because he puts TOTALLY AWESOME edges on blades and has, REALLY!!!! become A HONEMEISTER!!!!! [Sorry for the multiple exclamation marks, but they go with the territory]
• Week 9 and beyond: $SILLYNICK has got himself some $SERIOUSNICK, because business. Unexplicably favourable reviews pop up all over SRP, mostly to the tuneless tune of "WOW!!!! Totally awesome customer service!!!" or "BEST EDGE EVER!!!".

So, this has nothing to do with the superiority of the German dual education system. It's just that this honemeister nonsense has grown very, very old. There are some people out there who can hone anything. And I don't mean youtube five minute heroes from Russia who shave with sharpened shovels. I mean people who can hone any razor, irrespective of the defects it has. And who bring the time, patience, and dedication to actually do that. Lynn, Glen, Bart, and a few others. Which is great, especially if you need things like a rare rusty vintage razor restored.

And then there is pond scum who call themselves honemeisters. And that is not so great in my opinion. YMMV, of course.

I don't know. Maybe I don't spend enough time reading the honing threads. But is this really a problem? Who are all these self proclaimed honemeisters? Maybe I'm not paying enough attention to the right forums. In any case I have a $JAPANESENONSENSE and I love it. Great shaves.

You know Robin that stating your honest opinion or experience, good or bad, with a particular product is useful to others trying to make a decision on that product. If your experience has been a bad one it is in no way petty or bashing to say so.

I do think people realize others, also being human, can and do make the odd mistake. If in researching a product the favourable opinions far outweigh the negative ones then you have a pretty good idea the product is sound. That is particularly so if the quibbles with a product are minor in nature.

Bob

Originally Posted by OCDshaver

I don't know. Maybe I don't spend enough time reading the honing threads. But is this really a problem? Who are all these self proclaimed honemeisters? Maybe I'm not paying enough attention to the right forums. In any case I have a $JAPANESENONSENSE and I love it. Great shaves.

I think it depends on who you ask. Why are we even discussing this? Because there is a difference in perception of "shave readiness" (or, as I recently learned, "true shave readiness"). None of the Revisor razors I have owned or tested were not shave ready. Meaning, they removed facial hair without tugging. Which, in my opinion, qualifies as "shave ready". There are others who think that sharper is better. I would beg to differ, and quite strongly so, but that is just a personal preference. I positively hate Feather DE blades for the same reason - my skin finds them quite unbecoming, and the extra sharpness does not add any extra closeness. But, YMMV.

So why is this a problem? Because it raises unrealistic expectations, especially among beginners. Let's be honest here for a moment: For a successful shave, you need 50% preparation, 10% stropping, 10% maximising the potential of the blade, and 30% aftershave care. For example, I find vintage SE wedge blades cumbersome to hone, and therefore, I am fine by their delivering what is commonly referred to as a "dull but shaves well" Coticule edge. Others would think differently, and depending on where you put your focus in this whole hobby, they may well be right. From their perspective.

But for a beginner, a connoisseur edge (apologies, but I quite like this term by someone whose name escapes me in a German forum) means next to nothing. These maxed out edges are brittle, and require careful stropping and shaving lest they break. And beginners won't be able to perform either. So, a nice, sturdy double bevel (made popular with the Unicot method, but in reality, and finishing honing with a layer of tape) will serve them better. In my opinion. Based on first hand experience with helping beginners.

I know this is not a popular opinion in here, and that is perfectly fine. Everyone has their favourite topic, and when it comes to honing, mine is "if it works, that's enough already."

Originally Posted by BobH

You know Robin that stating your honest opinion or experience, good or bad, with a particular product is useful to others trying to make a decision on that product. If your experience has been a bad one it is in no way petty or bashing to say so.

After several years and having failed to settle the issue with the manufacturer? Sorry, but that is petty. I have a rather expensive paddle strop. One of the leather strips came loose. Bad glue, bad karma, who knows. I informed the manufacturer, and refused to have him settle the shoemaker's bill. Mistakes happen. I would never even dream about telling anyone the name of the manufacturer. Life is hard for small manufactures. Why make it even harder by bringing up mistakes over and over again? Especially those in the distant past? Sorry, but that's just petty.

Originally Posted by BobH

I do think people realize others, also being human, can and do make the odd mistake. If in researching a product the favourable opinions far outweigh the negative ones then you have a pretty good idea the product is sound. That is particularly so if the quibbles with a product are minor in nature.

Actually, that's not true. People are far more strongly influenced by good reviews/news than bad. Thankfully, SRP's moderation team keep the actual bashing at bay, unlike the guys in another popular forum where manufacturer bashing is ripe. Which is good. But when I compare the number of duds Revisor has produced in my personal opinion (0) to those of well known and popular so called artisans (2), things look pretty grim for the so called artisans. Do I keep reminding everyone of those duds (naming names, that is)? No, I do not. Even if that were allowed - which it isn't, for good reasons - I wouldn't. Because, as I said, I find such behaviour petty.

Yup, Revisors are excellent razors.

Now that we have the honing issued solved, can someone tell me the best place to buy these Revisor razors from?

Originally Posted by johnnypipe

Now that we have the honing issued solved, can someone tell me the best place to buy these Revisor razors from?

Shockingly enough, you buy them from Revisor!
Pick out the razor that you want, email them your pick, they will email you payment information, you pay, and in a couple of weeks you get your razor.