Thread: Been researching my first razor.. now I'm *really* confused...

So I've been looking at this razor... 5/8 Giesen & Forsthoff TIMOR #306 "Hamburg Ring" - white celluloid : Shaving Shop - luxury classic wet shaving products - straight razors the 5/8 Giesen & Forsthoff TIMOR 306 "Hamburg Ring" - white celluloid.

There seems to be a bunch of conflicting information around the 'net regarding this razor.

So to un-muddy the waters: is this a good razor or not?

The other one I've been considering is a DOVO at about twice the cost. That extra sixty bucks would go a long way toward other shaving stuff (hones, paddle strop, etc), but if the Timor is a POS, I'd rather spend the extra sixty bucks on a decent razor (which I believe the DOVO is).

Reading and researching all of my questions seems to just bring up more questions.

I don't think it's a POS, and it's inexpensive. You may want to wait for somebody who has tried it to tell you. I'm going to move this to Razors where it will likely see better attention.

Just the most important thing is to get a razor from a good supplier - i.e., one who is known around the forums. The most important distinction is - vintage or new. Either is good, providing you buy from a good source. What is a good source? Well, one who will enter into dialogue to discuss your needs and budget - both are factors that can affect your choice. I would be happy to sort this with you but in any event DO NOT buy before you are sure of your choice. (The smilies mean nothing but they are fun!)

Any razor from any of the reputable dealers will be fine. The shaving shop is such a place, as is Vintage Blades LLC, Classic Shaving, Straightrazordesigns and several more...

Now, you mention being a bit challenged in the $ dept. and who isn't?!?! <sigh>. I would suggest you pick up a used vintage razor from either someone here that you can trust or perhaps you can even find one at an antique/used items type store. My first razor was just such a beast... it was the best of a bunch of worn and rusty razors but it had no nicks, it wasn't all that rusty, mostly tarnish, the scales were slightly warped but not broken and it cost me $20. That razor taught me everything I know about honing... well.... almost everything, my second used razor taught me the need for the rolling hone stroke but that's a whole other story.

Now, had I not been so stubborn, I could have spent another $25 and sent it out for a proper honing and I would have been shaving just as well as I could have with a $300 razor. I did end up learning to hone with that razor all by myself and it took a while, I made some mistakes including grossly over honing it on my first attempt but I ended up getting a decent edge and a decent shave out of it. Even though I now have almost 30 shave ready razors... more often than not, I'll still reach for that first razor... it's become an old friend, a little tatty looking but very comfortable, very familiar. It's also my testbed razor for any new hones I acquire as I don't worry about ruining it... after all, it's only a grungy $20 razor! There will be plenty of time to get a nice razor or two down the road, so why subject such a nice new razor to all your beginning mistakes?

Speaking of used razors... the local shopping mall here had a 2 day antique dealers thing going on... the various dealers set up some tables in the mall and you could browse as you pleased. One had about 8 razors in a corner..... I asked to have a look and found 7 beat up and near useless razors... the 8th was an almost prestine 7/8" French point concave ground blade with nary a hone mark on it. There was no box but the price tag said $20 so I grabbed it. I took it home, checked the edge and much to my surprise it was darn near shaving sharp... so close in fact that it only took about 30 strokes on my Coticule, and my usual 50 laps on my bench strop and it was ready to go. I admit I have no idea who made it.... the concave grind indicates an older razor, there is a name and trademark on the tang but I've not heard or seen it before but it did say Sheffield and that was good enough for me. I had a great shave with that razor and the edge held just as I would expect of any vintage razor.

I've bought a bunch off ebay, but most needed serious work and it's hard to tell what you are buying from those lousy pictures... I've never been stiffed but I've gotten some that weren't as good as I had hoped.... usually in spite of what I saw in the picture!

So, spend only as much as you need to on the razor, and get yourself a middle of the road strop and perhaps a pasted strop, small coticule or something like that and have fun with it.... when you are comfortable with the gear you have... THEN you can decide what you really want, and have the confidence that you're not going to ruin it like I did when I bought my first *nice* strop, that in one day almost became 2 strops........

Hope you find these thoughts of use.

(Edit) After all this I checked the link you posted... $59 for a new razor is a decent deal.... it would still need honing but that IS a nice razor for the money.

Regards

Christian

I almost bought that one myself! I would feel comfortable buying any German-made razor-----in general, just about ANYTHING made in Germany is going to be very well made and with PRECISION and great attention to detail. That's just the way they do things over there. BTW, I ended up with a new Dovo Tortoise as well as a HESS 44 as my first and second straights, both of which are at Straight Razor Designs (Lynn Abrahms) being honed right now! Good Luck!

Originally Posted by AverageJoe

in general, just about ANYTHING made in Germany is going to be very well made and with PRECISION and great attention to detail.

Not if you get one of Dovo's "monday morning specials"... ouch! They have their own quality control issues like TI does.