Thread: Revisor - Solingen

Originally Posted by Pithor

Why?

Because "Meister".

Whenever I read this "meister" (or, for the spellingwise challenged, "miester") humbug, I wonder if it ever occurred to anyone that maybe, just maybe, officially trained, qualified and accredited German craftsmen in their sixties and seventies may be just that tiny little bit more knowledgeable and experienced than some self taught individual from the interwebs upon whom a nonsensical and entirely meaningless title (which started as a joke to honour our fearless leader here, and should have stopped right there) has been bestowed?

Because, you know, there are things like "True Honing – So Good It’s Patented" (and no, I am not going to dignify this idiocy by adding a link here), and these things are so mindnumbingly idiotic that, well, my mind goes numb. Likewise, each time I have to read "oh, and then I put that German razor onto some $$k grit $SUPERHONE, and only then was it truly shave ready", I go

And Thiers Issard, well... no. I've had a few, I sold them all. They used to be good, though, or so they say. Then again, one should never really believe anything that's written on the interwebs...

Originally Posted by RobinK

Because "Meister".

Whenever I read this "meister" (or, for the spellingwise challenged, "miester") humbug, I wonder if it ever occurred to anyone that maybe, just maybe, officially trained, qualified and accredited German craftsmen in their sixties and seventies may be just that tiny little bit more knowledgeable and experienced than some self taught individual from the interwebs upon whom a nonsensical and entirely meaningless title (which started as a joke to honour our fearless leader here, and should have stopped right there) has been bestowed?

Because, you know, there are things like "True Honing – So Good It’s Patented" (and no, I am not going to dignify this idiocy by adding a link here), and these things are so mindnumbingly idiotic that, well, my mind goes numb. Likewise, each time I have to read "oh, and then I put that German razor onto some $$k grit $SUPERHONE, and only then was it truly shave ready", I go

And Thiers Issard, well... no. I've had a few, I sold them all. They used to be good, though, or so they say. Then again, one should never really believe anything that's written on the interwebs...

Yes, you are right. Meister has been Anglicized and has come to mean a person recognized by others as being very good at a particular skill. It does not necessarily mean that person has gone through a long official apprenticeship with a certificate issued at the end of it.

Meister | Definition of meister by Merriam-Webster

Recognizing the difference in usage I find nothing to get my knickers in a knot over.

Bob

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.

Originally Posted by RobinK

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

Yes, I agree. That should not be too much of a problem because the way it is used in the English language. Anyone bestowing the honourary/mythical title upon themselves in a effort at self promotion is/should be laughed at. That is unless you are extremely gullible. It depends on by whom and how the very much honourary/mythical title is bestowed as to how much credibility it should carry. It is a nuance of interpretation that is not required in German language usage where the term has a clear cut definition on how such a title is officially earned.

Bob

Speaking as a guy who has experienced a lot of "Honemeisters" I was searching in the beginning by doing a real test, now I didn't get to them all and it's not to say I didn't get some fine razors back, but in this case I actually agree with Robin! Eek!!!!! But he's right , it's a term best left out of the ads. I've only found 2 that Hines my razors and one that does the finest job I've ever had, I still don't hone because if this, I'd need another 50,000 razors under my belt to get there,no why. I only shave with my razors , so I like the best edge possible,mand I know my limitations. As far as my razor from Revisor , I got one of his vintage new stock , I asked for it to be shave ready and herr Kronenberg delivered , but I had to request it for them to put it to the stones. Tc

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.

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.