Thread: Damascus style blade: great razor, or just a show piece?

Ran across a Boker Damascus steel razor the other day (very pricey)
It looks great of course, but, being new at this I have no idea what to look for when buying a new blade to determine how well it will cut.

Is Damascus steel something worth looking into as a razor? I'm not a collector, I just want a single blade that will last me 20 years (with proper maintenance and care of course..)

I understand that Silver steel, is a chromium steel allow, and therefore rust resistant.. Damascus steel is supposed to have tungsten in it, making it much harder (and more difficult to sharpen?)

Another new-guy question for you, as I haven't seen anything like a manufacturer's comparison page on the razor forums yet. Who builds the best blades?

Thanks.

Sheffield silver steel is not stainless. Damascus steel is forged from many layers of steel that were hammered onto one another. AFAIK there's no added tungsten unless the manufacturer specifies otherwise.
Here's some info from wikipedia: Damascus steel - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Who builds the best blades? The jury is still out on that one. There's many good vintage brands like Puma, Dorko, Boker, Henckels, Dovo, Heljestrand etc.

Damascus blades are pleasing to the eye, but the shave IMHO isn't necessarily any better. That is a very nice blade, but I couldn't justify payinf $900 for a production blade. Especially when you can have a custom damascus for around the same price.

If you want to spend that kind of money on damascus, look into a Zowada or a williams.

I've seen Boker Damascus blades for sale before, for quite a steep price. The ones I saw were actually made by Boker (or whoever did their grinding for them).
Of course, I believe they are now in production again, the new ones are being ground by Heribert Wacker, I believe. The older ones, I'm not sure, to be honest, but were stamped Henr. Boker as I recall.

Clear as mud, I'm sure.

John P.

If you buy a decent razor, it will last you a lifetime no matter which brand you choose.
My oldest razor is a 200 yr old John Barber razor.
It was covered with rust when I got it, but after restoration it was as good as new, and it is a fantastic shaver. If it gets treated properly, then there is no reason why someone could not shave with in in another 200 yrs time.

Damascus is not magical material. It doesn't necessarily outperform classic carbon steel.
The magic is all in the heat treatment giving the blade its mechanical properties.

I'd say go to the BST forum here, and ask for a shaveready 5/8 or 6/8 razor, and use it for a while.
If you find you really like that size, only then invest in an expensive blade.
Different people like different styles of razor (width, shape, grind, ...) and it would be a shame to buy a high end razor and then not like it.

Originally Posted by Bruno

If you buy a decent razor, it will last you a lifetime no matter which brand you choose.
My oldest razor is a 200 yr old John Barber razor.
It was covered with rust when I got it, but after restoration it was as good as new, and it is a fantastic shaver. If it gets treated properly, then there is no reason why someone could not shave with in in another 200 yrs time.

.

Agree agree agree. I now have several razors circa 1780 that still shave nicely.

That Boker is a beauty, but any good quality razor will last a lifetime, though you should have one for a back up at least.

You can ruin them by dropping them, striking them against the sink or faucet, or allowing water to sit on them so they rust, but it is really difficult to wear them out by shaving with them!

Originally Posted by Bruno

If you buy a decent razor, it will last you a lifetime no matter which brand you choose.
My oldest razor is a 200 yr old John Barber razor.
It was covered with rust when I got it, but after restoration it was as good as new, and it is a fantastic shaver. If it gets treated properly, then there is no reason why someone could not shave with in in another 200 yrs time.

.

Agree agree agree. I now have a razor circa 1780 that still shaves nicely.

If you are learning to hone on a razor, you can take quite a bit of metal off quickly, but if you can competently hone and strop, you could use a razor for decades and not remove enough metal to be easily visible.

It's amazing that barbers used to pay $2.00 or $3.00 for a razor and use it for decades on multiple customers per day.

Sure is a different kind of economy than the Gillette Mach III Turbo world.

Paul

I would tell you to learn more about razors, much more before you even consider spending that kind of money on a razor. If your starting out get a more modest razor and once you are proficient and know more about what you like than buy something better. In any case I would never spend that much for a boker when you can get a custom made razor for about the same price.