Thread: Wapi's under new management

So are all the Wapis you guys buy in bulk bought off Ebay? I was wondering because I want to try to get a couple cheap razors to practice on my new Norton 4k/8k hone. I need to see if I can find any antique stores over here, I might be able to find some cheap razors there, but I don't speak German, so I think it would be hard to find a little Mom'n'Pop store like that. Thanks.

Gents (and billymeter)

I think so. Marek or Woj. Woj's store is: http://stores.ebay.com/classic-razor_W0QQcolZ2QQdirZ1QQfsubZ0QQftidZ2QQpZ2QQtZkm
He doesn't have razors, but has some interesting stuff. If I was in Germany I'd probably buy some of his accessories. Get there faster.

Marek has razors listed at:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Straight-edge-razor-Wapienica-5-8-NOS-Beauty_W0QQitemZ220145133274QQihZ012QQcategoryZ359 90QQcmdZViewItem

The 'buy it now' is $16 and 4 bucks to ship. He does combine shipping.

FWIW, I've got a new, no frills Wapi and a logo Wapi with bottom jimps sitting right here. Haven't honed the logo model yet so can't say about that, but I think judging by appearance I prefer the plain Wapi.

The pins are nicer and the blade is wider--6/8 (as in 3/4 inch) for the no frills and 11/16 for the logo model.

Anyway--billymeter, if you read this, it is MO that either would make not only a good practice razor, but a great shaver.

I had my first one honed nicely and dropped it. . . probably not fixable.
I shaved with the second one today. . . needs a little more work but still a good shave.

Anyway, Marek's current batch is listed as logo 5/8's. Of course the plain 6/8 and the logo 11/16 were also listed as 5/8.

Looks like they're just about to clean out whatever stock remains. I've got two 6/8 and two 11/16. If I could be sure of getting 6/8, I would order a couple more in a heart beat to give as gifts. . .but I'm not really down for a crap shoot.

Regards

So the new Wapis are more difficult on the intial honing, but what about subsequent hones? Any one had one long enough to require a second honing, how does it compare to the stamped version?

Duh. . . I think my blade measurements need rewriting. I was measuring from the back of the spine to blade edge. I don't think that's the correct way.

Last night I measured some 5/8 razors and they all are 11/16 or slightly greater. So, I assume the logo models are a standard 5/8. But what does that make one that measures 3/4 from spine to edge. . . 11/16?

Whatever. . . I do know I prefer the slightly wider blade.

I think I do know that honing frequency depends on. . . how often you shave. . . how thick are your whiskers. . . how hard is the blade steel. . . . how carefully you strop before each shave.

I know that I know experience is the way for me to learn about razors. I've read the advice of the real experts on this forum for countless hours. But I hadn't really learned anything until I did some work on my own.

Regards

(from someone who is still in shallow part of the learning curve)

Originally Posted by oldschool

Duh. . . I think my blade measurements need rewriting. I was measuring from the back of the spine to blade edge. I don't think that's the correct way.

Must be like that old joke about why women are bad drivers...

Well my next three arrived in the post finally yesterday direct from Poland.
I'm a bit confused though in what I thought I was getting. I thought I was getting the ones with the SFK stamp on it, but instead got the unmarked ones.

So which are supposed to be the better ones the stamped or non stamped?

Another strange thing is there is no record of me buying this in my ebay account. It tells me I have one feedback to leave, but when I click on the link it takes me to items Ive won which is blank. There has also been no feedback left for me by the seller also, what's going on?

Cheers
John

Which razor is best seems to be highly subjective. As stated above, I prefer the wider blade. I don't care if it takes more time to hone.

The question in my mind is--how do we know the razors I have (w/ logo or w/o) are the same as yours. Even though they seem to be made at the same factory, there are definitely variations in size and appearance.

You've got to remember that manufacturing in Poland during the 60's and 70's was done almost entirely by inebriated workmen. It was customary to carry a hip flask of Vodka to the Wapi factory. They also drank with lunch and were fond of smoking a little hash before going back to the production line.

Now, guys loaded up like have been known to turn out some very high quality work. They just have a tendency to forget exactly which part fits where and what goes on next.

I think we got a real crap shoot going here.

Regards

Mine arrived yesterday...I ordered around the same time as Morturn, but should probably double check that.

Anyway, mine arrived with the oblique point and SFK triangle stamp. The stamp size is slightly different between the two razors.

Time for rescaling...

Hi Brian,

I can't understand it, this is the link to where and what I bought and it clearly states SFK Wapis, I even asked Woj if I could have stamped ones. They may certainly be SKFs but mine were certainly not stamped. Granted though the picture does not show it being stamped, I just want to buy a couple of stamped ones.

http://cgi.ebay.com/straight-razor-S...QQcmdZViewItem

Cheers
John

Originally Posted by johnmw1

Hi Brian,

I can't understand it, this is the link to where and what I bought and it clearly states SFK Wapis, I even asked Woj if I could have stamped ones. They may certainly be SKFs but mine were certainly not stamped. Granted though the picture does not show it being stamped, I just want to buy a couple of stamped ones.

http://cgi.ebay.com/straight-razor-SFK-Wapienica-5-8-NOS_W0QQitemZ140155059616QQihZ004QQcategoryZ887QQc mdZViewItem

Cheers
John

Mine came from stamps222/Marek... I don't have the link here. When I get home I'll double check.