Here she is, boys . . .
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Here she is, boys . . .
I have to say the packaging is very nice. The wool sleeve is very thick and it all just fits together in a very classy and slightly humorous way. I particularly love the tag-line, "On the cutting edge of antiquity."
I particularly like the WIDTH of the new blade stock. It is very substantial, and reminiscent of some of the heavier Wade and Butchers I have seen. Love the vee notch in the spine out on the toe.
Very nice. Let us know about the first shave with it.
I'm happy to see the PRC Boys are still delivering a nice product to their legion of customers.
I did not notice any "damage" as was noted by another member, so either I got lucky, or his issues are a one-off that PRC will have to deal with and make good. That being said, I am a little disappointed in the finish on the blade and tang. Looking at their site just before posting this, and I was expecting the same mirror finish that the pics on the site show. It does detract somewhat from the etchings when you have to look "around" the scratches to see them. There is not complaint whatsoever with the scales, the fit and finsh of the blade within the scales, or the pinning, which looks GREAT when doubled up. That being said, compared to the finish on the Ralf Aust I purchased it is not as good, not even close. That is a disappointment. It is not something I will be shipping the razor to Portland for correction over, but it does put a bit of a down note to the whole experience. Lets call it an 8/10
That being said, a quality shave tomorrow with what appears to be a very crisp and keen edge will go a long way towards forgiveness.
Lovely looking razor, but if I'd just paid for it, I'd be a little disappointed with the lack of attention to detail on the finish. Just saying. Hope I don't offend anyone!
Not Dissin,Blade looks servicible,My only complaint would be why the they used a clunky spacer instead of a wedge??
Nice Orville. Shave report next.
I know these PRC post are making those sitting in the control tower nervous an on edge.
The small 45 degree grind at the end of the spine is quite rightly called a 'grob' as you say, Ed.
However this old name existed before our dear Kenneth (Hawley) did.
Ken came across it when he interviewed the venerable Billie Hukin, last employed at J & W Wraggs at the Little London Works in the 1970s, though Ken interviewed him after he retired. Billie was famed for being the last razor grinder in Sheffield.
For some reason or other a grob tip was known as a quick and dirty way to finish a razor (I believe this is attributable to Billie but I might be wrong), but in my opinion it looks quite stylish.
Regards,
Neil
Not offended at all, and it's mine. See my comment about it up above. I am willing to chalk it up to the rush to fill orders quickly. Am I happy about it? Not especially, but I can take some polish to it later if it really starts to grate on my nerves. The bevel is clean as a whistle and laser straight as per my loupe examination, so I am willing to let the cosmetics ride . . . the shave is the thing.
I like it, mostly because it is Maple, and thus satisfies my inherent need for a "Canadian" link. Could it be something to do with the width of the stock? Perhaps the stiffness of the wood? I am guessing that it isn't, but I truly would not know, one way or the other.
Razor is a Spanish Point. The "vee" I am talking about is visible in the third razor pic. Top of the toe, on the spine.
Tomorrow night. One thing I will add is this . . . someone mentioned the shortness of the upper jimps in another thread. For my hands, it works out perfectly when I have two fingers on that side of the scales. The jimps sit just under the curve of the forefinger, so I am quite happy with them as is. Lucky me, to have such fat fingers.
OK, so you are saying that the "vee" existed before Alex Jacques started doing it? In other words, is it OK for me to rip it off occasionally without feeling guilty? I always considered that to be a sort of signature motif that would be kind of obnoxious to imitate.
Like Tom I am not really sure what you mean, Scott posted here early on and received constructive criticism and encouragement from memory.
I don't think anything that has been said here is controversial, some like the esthetic and some don't, the OP likes the razor but has reservations about certain aspects of it.
I think people have been honest but fair.
I just enlarged the pic and looked at the tip again (still got a bit of double vision, dammit) anb that is not a grob. A grob is a flat 45 degree grind to the end of the spine at the tip. This one is a simple curvature like you would find on a round tip (although this has a kind of Spanish hollow tip) with a little groove ground into the curve.
Regards,
Neil
Just wanted to say thanks to Orville for his detailed overview of his new Hydra. I'm glad that yours doesn't exhibit some of the issues that mine did, and I hope you find it to be a good shaver tomorrow. I'm definitely pleased with the way mine shaves, and of course that's the most important thing.
Just out of intellectual curiosity, it would be interesting for me to compare my razor with one that PRC might have made a few months ago, before the backorder situation became so worrisome. I'm sure they're (understandably) feeling pretty under the gun right now, and I'm wondering if the luxury of giving the blade a perfectly even polish has been somewhat sacrificed due to the time pressures.
And I'm glad I learned a new word today! I wonder if I'll ever figure out an excuse to use "grob" in a sentence outside of SRP ...
Personally, I'm glad they're giving the razor business a go, and I like the style and the look of heft in the blades. I'm really interested in shaving reports and feel in the hand when used.
Best of luck to the PRC folks! Hang in, this growing pain and illness will hopefully pass!
Sure. The basic design of a wedge is tapered so that it splays the pivot end before assembly.
On assembley the scales take a tension that allows even contact with a tapered tang thru the range of movement.
Open & close a vintage razor slowly & you will see the scales "breathe" so to speak
A flat wedge does not allow this & possibly some modern makers may not even taper the tang so this mistake can work in a fashion.
It kind of turns the razor into a penknife type operation but if the tang is tapered then the problems arise in time ie the pivot will loosen or the razor will have tight & loose points on rotation much like a bent pivot pin.
If the wedge which should have been tapered is a flat, fat, spacer to match an equally fat tang then the razor will drop into the void created by such & only the very end of the spine will stop the razor from falling thru. Even some of the biggest vintage blades had comparitively slim wedges which would stop the blade much earlier.
A problem with a razor that sits too deeply in the scales is that it necessitates levering the tail to open it rather than using two hands. This can lead to "stropping" the blade against the scales if you flex them.
Look at how high this John Barber sits out of the scales & also the design of the wedge.
There is such a thing as TOO deep in the scales?:shrug:
I purposely make them ride deep.
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Abosolutly an aesthetic issue,spacers work fine for smaller blades.
These are all 8/8s (scaled in ivory) all have true wedges,no way I could have used a spacer on them.
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Reads more like a traditionalists philosophy. This is the way it was done so this is the way it must be done and if it wasn't done this way then it's wrong.
I hope that the original poster took up his concerns with PRC first before posting the issues.
They should have the opportunity to make it right beforehand and not after the fact.