pierre thiers historical 1884 advice

hello people....i d like to buy this lovely razor (i like the shape of the blade) what do you think about this razor? it is comparable to the newest production of thiers issard?

thanks

danzyc,

I bought one from Classic Shaving and asked that they send it to our estimable Lynn Abrams for professional honing. Lynn responded to a PM that I sent him after receiving the razor, asking what he thought of the razor and his comment was that he thought it had an "interesting shape." Personally, I think it is as ugly as sin and chuckled at Lynn's observation, but I bought it in a typical moment of weakness thinking that having a litlte piece of history was a "reasonable" reason for getting it.

I have not yet shaved with it, but will do so tomorrow morning and report back. Don't let my tongue in cheek carping about the looks of the razor dampen your enthusiasm; after all, there are/were comparatively few of these blanks available for finishing. History is history. Had the master himself made these into razors they would have been your grandfather's or great grandfather's razor and now much the worse for wear. :D

Cheers, Bruce

I think the quality of these razors exceeds current production by a wide margin. I have one and to me I would rate it as an exceptional shaver. As far as looks go thats a personal thing. I don't look at my razors I shave with them.

They look great, if you disregard the gold wash. I think they might be an acquired taste, though...

Had one, returned it, got another one - but still have not fine-tuned it so I no personal experience. Many very respected members say it's as good as it gets :) I believe them

Cheers
Ivo

My first one was perfect, looked great (in my eyes), honed up easily and shaved great. Stupidly I sold it to Joel. :rolleyes:

My second one was not so great, the gold wash started coming off whenever I wiped it on a towel, after a few shaves there were patches missing, so I got the Dremel out and polished the rest off - I think it looks much better without.

My second one was also slightly warped. I couldn't get it sharp so I sent it to Joel, he confirmed it was warped but salvageable, and he managed to hone it up for me. It's now a great shaver, just as the first one was.

As far as I'm concerned, I love the shape, it's a little different and has lots of charactor. Plus it shaves great, and is pretty rare/historical. Even with the problems I had I don't regret buying it. I used it this morning and as always got a perfect BBS shave with no irritation.

danzyc,

I'm clearly in the minority here and likely would be well advised to hold my tongue, then again tongues are generally too slippery to be easily held, so here goes. I didn't like shaving with the razor. It doesn't fit my hands well as the tail is too short to work well with the finger that's supposed to rest there. In addition to that I don't like the point on the end of the tail; a rounded end is more comfratable for me. I'm also in my 6/8 mode and the TIPTLE doesn't feel as good in the hand as the wider razors.

I won't give up on Pierre and will try it more. When you get yours, please let us know how you and Pierre get along.

cheers, Bruce

i thought they were sold out awhile ago...must be my imagination

I have a matched set of these in my permanent collection. I love the way they shave, even if they do have an "interesting shape" :roflmao

Have fun,

Lynn