Thread: Thiers Hard steel

Ive got a pair of new thiers Special Coffeur 5/8 razors ,1 has a blade that is badly out of true(approx 1mm from heal to toe) & the other is ground staight but is the hardest steel iv'e ever come across I've been honing it for 2 days now & although i've established a bevel it Just will not take an edge good enough to lift hair.
To put this in pespective I've just cleaned up & got an old Taylors 1000 5/8 cleaned & shave ready in about 2 1/2 hours.
Im thinking of sending these back regardless so the seller i got them from can give me thier own opinion on them.Paul

I've had some problems recently with TI's - the things are so hard I now have forearms like Popeye! Also I found the edges finicky and, although good and sharp, not as smooth as I would expect. They also took a hell of a lot of work to get them into shape, I would say at least 4 times as long as normal. Not my favourites, that's for sure!

TI's are always harder to hone because of their lead hardening process but its usually not an extreme difference. The new steel they are beginning to use like in the Silverwings is totally different. It can be very challenging to hone. It took me quite a while to get mine honed up and you need to use a different order of things to hone it. You need to really experiment with it.

I'm not sure why you feel the need to redo the bevel on a new razor. Was it that bad? I would have just returned if it was that bad. same with the warp, return it.

Both razors had no edge on them ,In the case of the warped one it was a little sharp at the toe& inthe case of the good?one it had no edge on it whatsoever .I'm afraid that these are both going back to the Dutch retailer i got these from.I am reasonably esperienced & these are the first razors apart from 1 tosuke that iv'e been unable toget up to my usual standard.So the search goes on for the 1 razor(probably a Pair).Paul
PS [I]'m off to Trumpers Today so Imight find a sutible replacement !

The latest update on these . The retailer I got them From has asked me to forward them directly to David Loft at ThierIssard Sabatier so I will get the best possible service?.
I will post a response when I get a reply from David Loft at Thiers.Paul

Spendur, you're quite right - they do need a different regime but the factory bevel was quite rough. I licked it into shape but give me a vintage TI anytime!