Thread: What makes a Kriegar no good?

Ok, so lets forget the political correctness and niceties. When it really comes down to it why are these razors garbage? Is it that they won’t take an edge? Hold an edge? Scales are unbalanced? Materials corrode? What!? I completely understand you get what you pay for and am saving for a few nice customs (probably made by a few guys here from what I’ve seen) I have used disposable straights for a while and have never partaken in the pageantry of honing and stropping a good blade. I simply buy a hand full of thin, light, garbage and run through them.

Or is it just that they are crap compared to a Damascus Maestro with Ivory handle?

Just curious, thanks!

These are probably pakistani made. They use poor steel, poor workmanship in forging and hardening which equals a blade that will not take a really kean edge and if you are able to get a reasonable edge on it, it will not last very long. However having said that if you do shave with one and like it let us know.

Originally Posted by speed_pigeon

[FONT=Georgia][COLOR=black][FONT=Garamond][SIZE=3][COLOR=black]Ok, so lets forget the political correctness and niceties. When it really comes down to it why are these razors garbage? Is it that they won’t take an edge? Hold an edge? Scales are unbalanced? Materials corrode?

The above pretty much covers it.

Those razors are good looking and when honed properly will give a really great shave…
…
… for the first 3 strokes. (it wont hold an edge for long).

Good razors are manufactured by:
-Forging the steel (heating hammering to shape).
-hardening and tempering (heating and cooling the steel to right hardness to take and hold a good edge).
-Careful grinding between at least 2 different pairs of abrasive wheels (to get the "hollow").
-finally they are pre-honed at the factory

Those Kriegar blades and others like... are manufactured using a stamping process (stamping is cheaper and quicker than forging).
A little grinding for an edge.
The steel is not hardened and tempered.

I own two of them and shaved with one a couple of times.
Half way through the shave it began "pulling whiskers" and the strop didn't help, had to finish with a real razor.

You could use it for hone practice..... if honed properly it will even "pop" hair... just don't expect a pleasant shave.

that's pretty much what i figured. my guess was it was "a cheap pocket knife in the shape of a razor" which probably sums it up from the response i got. my only confusion was how much worse than the $3 disposables i've used (not always, but i have before) can it be?

i specifically asked about Kriegar because they seem to be the most popular of the cheaps. although they have a few eye catchers, i'm sure my face won't care what it looks like as i bleed in my sink.

i have seen auctions end for 99 cents on ebay and for a buck they can at least serve as sacrifices to the honing gods. hopefully bringing good fortune to me and death to my whiskers. after all, no reason to damage a good blade perfecting my skill.

as i have mentioned before here, i'm a knife freak (so i get the material and method importance) and have some nice knife stones (not good enough for a razor) and besides an upgrade in equipment, i feel confident with the help i have found here (this site in general) i can fall comfortably into a few permanent blades and go all straight


final thought, anyone use a regular shaving cream or shave gel out of a can instead of mixing lather with a brush and mug? i usually use Gillette gel. is there a huge difference?

(hey, it's my thread and i can hijack it if i want to!)

I have had a bunch of $0.99 auctions end up being a hell of a lot better than a krieger. Gamble on a crappy photo, it may turn out to be a decent shaver. I scooped a DD in a huge lot on the cheap. Just don't blame me if you get a box of rusty letter openers.

[QUOTE=speed_pigeon;175135]that's pretty much what i figured. my guess was it was "a cheap pocket knife in the shape of a razor" which probably sums it up from the response i got. my only confusion was how much worse than the $3 disposables i've used (not always, but i have before) can it be?[quote]

But the only thing the $3 disposable care about is a sharp blade everything else is injection molded plastic. A pocket knife should at least stay securely open a Kreiger doesn't do even that right

Originally Posted by speed_pigeon

final thought, anyone use a regular shaving cream or shave gel out of a can instead of mixing lather with a brush and mug? i usually use Gillette gel. is there a huge difference?

A decent soap like The Gentleman's Quarter even applied with a cheapo brush will blow your mind. It feels better going on, gives you a smoother shave and smells a hell of a lot better. Even a simple cake soap like Williams mug when applied with a brush feels much better than the goop from a can.

Originally Posted by Wildtim

A decent soap like The Gentleman's Quarter even applied with a cheapo brush will blow your mind.

forgive the ignorance, but this is what i'm talking about. i have never tried it because i just don't get what a brush has to do with anything. since my warm lather dispenser died (waterproof my ) i used shave gel. now a specific item like shave soap i get, but how does the application tool factor in?

The one Kriegar that I have attempted to hone was really poorly ground. The blade was insanely thick and the bevel was set to probably a 30-degee angle instead of the usual 17. I wound up taking the blade to my belt grinder to attempt to put an edge on it, and even that was taking too long. It would have required a full regrind, and even then it wouldn't have held an edge.

Kriegar = no good.

Josh

I haven't personally tried this, but supposedly when you try to "break" the edge of the blade, it just bends... that's bad steel.