Thread: Ordered a NOS Friodur

Hi,

I have ordered a NOS Friodur 7/8, but have done some searching am getting mixed messages about the steel and honing. I thought the Friodur steel was very hard, but I have also seen it said that it is soft. Hints on honing this thing are also welcome, as I saw someone say that taping the spine with three layers is optimal, whereas someone else said that no tape was best!

I imagine that things will be clearer once I have it in my hands, so I can get a feel for it.

Thanks

Hi,
The thread you're refering to is very helpful. I've tried no tape, one layer, & now three. I got good edges with each, but with three i found that the edge remains, rather than breaking down.
I also found that once i'd established the bevel, going to the BBW with slurry, then without & finally jumping straight on to a thuringian with slurry & then without worked well. I didn't polish it too much.
You can adapt that depending what stones you have.
There were a few conflicting ideas in the thread, so i guess they can be a bit individual & you'll have to find what works with yours!

Read a little about these Friodurs... are they particularly good shavers? Where do you get them NOS?

I ordered mine on ebay from open-razor - Straight razor Zwilling Henckels Friodur 7/8 NOS on eBay, also, Golenie i depilacja, Pozostałe, Kosmetyki i Perfumy (end time 11-Feb-09 21:02:29 GMT)

Thanks for the advice. I was thinking of heading straight for 3 layers of tape, to the BBW, and then onto the Coticule with only water. Not sure if I like the scales in the picture, so I might get it rescaled with something nice as well.

That sounds like it'd work. Give it a try. They're better scales than mine came with, but they're probably still awful! Mine didn't centre properly & was in danger of catching when closing too, so they went!

I had a 7/8 that I gave to my best friend, Eli, for Christmas.

I found it very easy to hone, and that it was a fabulous shaver!

I used one layer of electrical tape on the spine. Established the bevel with a DMT, 1200 grit, D8E. The bevel was no problem, easy and fast. I took the razor through a series of my Shaptons on glass stones: 4K, 8K, and 16K - all were done quick with no problems. Each stone was 25 to 60 laps. I then finished with 100 laps (my minimum) on my Nakayama Japanese finishing hone.

This produced one of the best shaving razors I have ever used. I own a lot of great razors. I could join about 99% of all the razor clubs here at SRP (I don't have a Japanese razor). I also own a Maestro Levi and a Robert Williams; and both of these give unbelievable shaves. What I am saying here is that the Friodur gave me a shave that was comperable to most of my best shavers.

Before I bought the Friodur I had read that stainless (INOX) razors were a bit more difficult and took longer to hone. I did not find that at all. I found it honed up very easily!

I bought it from John Crowley at ShavingShop.com.

Regards,

Steve

The 7/8 Friodurs I had were a pain to hone. They didn't like the synthetic stones. I had to use naturals. The edge would constantly crumble, micro chip if not being careful. Same like Ben experienced.
It seems there is a lot of variations going on with those Friodurs as some have had no problems whatsoever. I finally managed after lots of trials but basically I stopped after the Escher.

Could well be the ones I had came from the same source as many others have been complaining about the exact same problems.

To be honest, i think they're seconds, but worth every penny. Things like the stamping isn't quite perfect, or there's a couple of odd grind marks where there shouldn't be. It may be that the grind itself isn't up to scratch ()
They're still fantastic, & i may be wrong. I just think that back when they were made the company decided it could do better.
Once you've found how your's likes to be honed you'll love it!

I would tape it just because of the value! Keep it looking NOS ...if your not sure about honing it send it out whats a few more at this stage to keep it lookig NOS. There top shelf shavers and that ones a purdy one.

How about this one? Seen it for $100. 6/8 "almost wedge" (1/4 hollow?)