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I got it today. It looks cool and I don't think the edge will need much work at all. It appears to be a half hollow grind like I thought. It looks to be the same size as my 5/8 dovo. I bought it because I had heard that a stiffer grind may help with a tougher beard. Now I have been reading that a larger blade may help more than a different grind but I guess we will see. I have no way to sharpen the blade so I guess I will need to send it out to be sharpened. Any takers for this duty? :rolleyes:
Lynn does some honing, as well as Glen (Fud). I'm going to have to send my latest purchase to one of them for honing. It is far too nice for me to take a chance on ruining.
JoshEarl does honing as well.
the wapienicas are very stiff, and exceptionally good blades.
Yesterday I had a proper testshave with the one I will send to FreeBird tomorrow, and the results are very good. BBS shave and it passed the aftershave test with flying colors.
for those who don't know that test:
splash alcohol based aftershave on your face after a shave (I use hugo boss because my wife likes it). if it feels cool and tingly, the razor was sharp and your technique was good. :)
if it burns a bit, either the technique or the razor was lacking. :(
if it feels like you are flayed alive, both were less than perfect. :eek:
Sounds good Bruno, that one will go directly into rotation, the Challenge I purchased from ebay will have to be honed.
Slightly :OT , but about Wapienica blades sooo...
I just don't get that they're described as 5/8. I have two other straights, a Dovo Bismarck 5/8 and a TI 4/8. Both of my Wapienicas are exactly the same size from spine to edge as my TI, i.e. 4/8. And both are visibly smaller than the Dovo 5/8 (and I am measuring from inside of spine to edge of blade).
Don't get me wrong, I'm more than satisfied with the Polish blades, have had success in honing one so far, and gave a pretty good shave, so I'm a happy customer.
But no way are they 5/8. Unless both Dovo and TI operate with a different scale!
I would really like a larger half hollow blade. If I can not get good shaves out my dovo 5/8 how do you think this one will perform?? The razor Lynn uses in his DVD looks about right. Although I am sure it is one of a kind.
Mark - If I understand the measuring properly, you should measure from the top of the spine to the bottom of the edge to get 5/8 or any other size. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.Quote:
Originally Posted by majurey
Matt,Quote:
Originally Posted by matt
I have this Wapienica razor and LOVE it. It honed up so easily, even for this novice, and I enjoy it's extra weight and the half hollow. It shaves like a dream, too.
My only complaint with them is the weight is predominantly in the handle which makes for a dodgy balance. I will rescale mine when I have time with some nice hand made scales.
Nick
I concur with the measurement Marks done...it's defo 4/8 compared with my normal shave 5/8...
It arrived today with almost no bevel visible at all...I am lookin forward to the challenge!
Don't just go by the bevel visability on these razors because in my experience the bevel on these razors when properly honed is very small. They get VERY sharp fairly easily though.
I noticed on ebay sometimes he listed both 5/8 and 9/16 razors. Any chance somebody accidently ordered wrong size? Just a thought. I haven't measured mine yet. hoping to getting around to honing one of them up this weekend and test shaving. Will be my first try at honing!
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Del
Mine looks like the blade may be a little loose from the pin. Do you think I should just try honing it up on a pasted paddle?? Also when I bought it the auction said 9/16ths. It looks like a 5/8 but I guess that a 9/16 is smaller???
These razors seem like they are very popular. They are cheap as well. Why are they so affordable. My dovo was 60 bucks
These are not half hollow grinds. They are single concave grinds that are referred to as 1/4 hollow. Check out the Razor Central pdf in the archives.Quote:
Originally Posted by matt
I would also definitely consider my Wapenica closer to a 4/8 than a 5/8. It honed up well, although I haven't tried shaving with it yet...
The pin was also a little loose when I got it. Matt, you can tighten that by setting the bottom part of the pin on something hard and gently tapping the top of the pin with a hammer. Just a few taps at a time until it's nice and snug.
I think the only reason these are so cheap is that the seller stumbled across a cache of them and got them cheap. They're nothing fancy, but they are good razors.
Josh
Hey Randy,Quote:
Originally Posted by randydance062449
Thanks for the correct description. I, too, thought it was a half hollow. I'd be interested in learning why it's a single concave because it appears to be concave on both sides (slightly). I know I must not understand the terminology correctly, though.
It has a single concave on each side of the razor. A razor with two concave grinds on each side, bi-concave, is usually referred to as "full hollow". There is a lot of confusion about this because the mfg's of the razors did not abide by a common terminology. I try to follow the definitions given in Razor Central.Quote:
Originally Posted by steve
Much obligedQuote:
Originally Posted by randydance062449
I received my Wapenica in today's mail and am quite pleased with it. The weight feels good in hand, I tend to like a heftier razor. Appearance wise, it does appear utilitarian, it reminds me of a surgical insturment, but that is not a bad thing. I'd seen some photo's on the board and elsewhere on the net and although the photo's were quite good, the appearance, quality and feel all exceeded my expectations. I'm looking forward to the first shave with it, which will be sometime next week. I already believe this is going to be one of my favorites! Thanks again Bruno, I appreciate this one! :tu
I think someone mentioned that it was a surgical razor originally.Quote:
Originally Posted by freebird
Correct, according to my girlfriends translation these are/were used in hospitals for shaving patients.
Not a problem for me, I'd rather be shaved by one fo these than by a mach3! :roflmao
Remembering the angiogram I had to have several years back ,makes me think they trust the nurses/docs more than I would. One slip and it could be another case of Lorena Bobbitt. :eek: :eek: :cry:
If it's measured from spine to edge (I thought it was side-to-side, and that is probably how Woj measured his), then Joe C needs to advertise "blade widening." :D
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y71...FRWedge005.jpg
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y71...FRWedge006.jpg
- Scott
Hey, I was wondering if anyone has bought any of the strops this guy is selling and if they're any use. Cheers.
I bought one. It's narrow, and poor quality leather. But the hardware works, and the leather is good enough to strop on. Oh, and it's cheap.
Hmmm, I might pick one up before getting some tony miller stuff. I'd like to iron out my clumsy ways on something that's reasonably effective and very cheap!
I have one, its not pretty, but it works very well