Thread: Le Grelot

Some quick & dirty pics I just took:





As you can see in this pic, the stamp is quite off-centered, but do I care? No!!!



Regards
Carlos

I also ordered one of the 1/4 grind's this past weekend; after all of the good things said about it I'm pretty excited to try it.

Originally Posted by captainboog

Are there some 5/8s out there?

Immediately recognisable by their honewear.

Originally Posted by Mandrake

As you can see in this pic, the stamp is quite off-centered, but do I care? No!!!

Carlos,
That stamp doesn't bother you now, but in time it will. I'll be a stand up guy and give you $50.00 for that razor and then you can get yourself another.

Originally Posted by keenedge

Carlos,
That stamp doesn't bother you now, but in time it will. I'll be a stand up guy and give you $50.00 for that razor and then you can get yourself another.

Oooh, that is so kind of you...but you missed a zero there, mate!! And by the way, do not know if there are any left there, last time I looked only some with the white bone scales....

Cheers
Carlos

Seems a good point in this thread to ask a question that's been bouncing around in my head since I started following this thread.

I've shaved with a huge number of SRs including most all grinds and widths. I find that only well honed W&Bs and Fillys handle my beard well. There is no 5/8 full hollow ground that I've used that shaves me easily or that doesn't leave mystery nicks.

So, how does the quarter grind 6/8 Le Grelot stack up against a solid W&B or a #13 Filly? Specifically ease of slicing through a horsehair-like beard and smoothness?

That is a great question Colorado. I have often wondered that myself and I hope that someone that has personal experience answers.

I to, have a nasty beard and although I was about 9 months into straight shaving, and had a half dozen carefully razor, when I tried the 1/4 grind Le Grelot it was a very different quality shave. The stiffness of the blade bothered me the first couple of times that I used it and it was physically longer than most of the razors that I tried, but what a shave!


Take care,
Richard

Originally Posted by 44Whiskas

Anyone else pick one up and have any thoughts on these?

andy

I have one from Martin too. As well as wire-brush like facial hair which my wife uses sometimes to exfoliate her feet by rubbing them along my chin.. Anyhow, the Grelot goes through that like a hot knife through soft butter. One of the best shaves yet in my own little world. Am loving it and considering whether to buy another one as back-up. Martin still has a few left, albeit the more expensive ones with Pink Ivory or Bone scales..., however I still might have to visit his website soon.. I don't really need another one but it feels sooooooo good to sometimes give in to the AD

Jeff

I really want to try one of these out, but hesitated since I've already spent about $500 on shaving stuff in the last month. I finally decided to get on and went back to Martin's site. When I got there, I noticed that all the plastic handled ones were sold out, and only the more expensive ones were still available. Didn't end up ordering one. Before I do, I thought I should check and see if there is anywhere else where I should look. It'll be a month before I can justify buying one of the more expensive ones, and I'm afraid they will have sold out by then.

OK gents - here's a little comparison shopping I did with the results and my personal decision. Be a little careful if you decide to buy a LG - make sure you get the 1/4 grind! And as a disclaimer - aside from buying from these folks now and then I don't have any association with any of them.

Based on all the posts here I decided to try to get a LG to see how well it lives up to the hype. Though once I started to look, I find that aside from the stamp on the blade face, there's a difference in shank (thumb notch) as well. That thumb notch seems to be the easy visual indicator of the 1/4 grind. I don't want to spend that many dollars and find that I didn't get the one you guys are talking about here - namely the longer length blade with what seems to be a comfortable thumb notch (and maybe a problem to stop for some).

The primary visual differences are seen in the photos at all 4 sites I visited. Aside from availability there's also a bit of difference in price (I didn't include shipping in the numbers below). But someone not paying close attention could buy a LG that's NOT a 1/4 grind unknowingly unless they read carefully!

Here's what I found as of this morning...

First, there's the Ram's Horn 6/8 from the TI site that has a Spartacus stamp on the blade face and does seem to have the thumb notch. As of this morning they're selling it for 228 Euros ($327 US). They do state that it's the 1/4 grind.
TI straight razors

Second is Classic Shaving, again in Ram's Horn and 6/8 but no thumb notch. They offer it at $250 US. Unfortunately all the LG ads carry the wording at the bottom that states "The Le Grelot blank is a 3/4 to full hollow grind". So I assume their LGs are NOT the 1/4 grinds. If they do have a 1/4 in stock I can't find it.
Thiers-Issard Straight Razors

Third I looked at Rasage Poulin which seems to have it in Ram's Horn (and throws in a block of Alum) for $370 (Canadian? If it's Canadian then it translates to $341 US. Theirs does have the thumb notch.
Le Grelot 6/8", Le Canadien, Ram's Horn Scales: Rasage Poulin Fine Wet Shaving Supplies : Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Finally there's RasurPur with the Pink Ivory - they don't seem to have the Ram's Horn. They sell for 210 Euro ($301 US), or in White Bone at 181 Euros ($260 US) and they have the thumb notch.
RasurPur Online Shop - The finest tools for a perfect shave

I guess it's really only the TI and Classic Shaving sites that's selling the LG without the thumb notch or 1/4 grind (of these 4). Is there another vendor that has the 1/4 grinds out there?

Seems to me that Rasurpur has the real deal at the best price. But with that said, there's no way I'll pay that much for a SR and have warped scales and non-centered blade pawned off as normal. As someone else stated here, I've also rescaled quite a few blades from the early 1800s and the only time I had a problem with centering was with a blade that was slightly bent where the shank meets the blade.

A pair of questions for all of you that have recently bought one of these -

1. Have either of the 3 vendors that sell the 1/4 grind increased their priced substantially in the last week or two? Just curious based upon the length of this thread! ...and my natural cynicism :-)

2. Also, are there any other vendors (not Ebay sellers) that carry this?