Thread: my first straight razor .. a wonderedge

I posted on another thread a while back about Pearlman of Pearlduck fame was still alive and in his 90's. I asked his grandson to ask him if there was any difference in any of the steel used in any of the blades and the answer came back no. I created a point of contention by asking the question of him in the way that I did. There was no difference in the steel itself but I was recently reminded of what the difference is when I saw a Wonderedgw box. The differece being the cryo hardened carbon steel of the Wonderedge - I stand corrected on that point. As far as being "electrically" hardened - that just means they heated the blade through induction - a common practice. In small foundries almost everything is induction heated.

My question to you all is this; why don't you have your razors cryo hardened and make them ALL Wonderedges if that is the difference? It costs about $10 per pound of steel to have it done - plus shipping costs.

Archangel I've bought a few razors from that seller (don't know him personally) and haven't had any problems thus far. I normally email every seller anyway with questions, and if I remember correctly, he answered in a reasonable timeframe and was fairly friendly.

As far as that razor and if it's a good buy - as everyone is saying it's your call to make. And this is important - that should have been a call made before bidding. Unless there's some significant difference between what was described in the auction and what you receive there's not all that many options for you at this point. He may be a nice guy and let you out of it (he'll still have fees to pay though) but it's more likely that he'll want to finish the sale so be ready to do that.

Assuming you get the razor, generally a DD shows a good shave. As far as how that's effected by the "mods" to it is hard to say. In any case do make sure you send it out immediately to get honed by an expert - having just a Wapi and a not-shave-ready DD you'll be tempted to give the Duck a try - and that won't be pleasant if it still has a rough edge.

the seller got back to me about my first question, he said it wasnt the same razor as the other one..

i have emailed him regarding the fact that i belive its more than 1/4inch missing and i asked him to measure from heal to tip of the cutting edge...

If it is only 1/4" missing, would this made a big differance from a new blade? my justification for the purchase was basicly that its seeems to be a great condition scales, and the blade has more of the design in tact. the rest of the blade too does look very clean.

Originally Posted by John Crowley

I posted on another thread a while back about Pearlman of Pearlduck fame was still alive and in his 90's. I asked his grandson to ask him if there was any difference in any of the steel used in any of the blades and the answer came back no. I created a point of contention by asking the question of him in the way that I did. There was no difference in the steel itself but I was recently reminded of what the difference is when I saw a Wonderedgw box. The differece being the cryo hardened carbon steel of the Wonderedge - I stand corrected on that point. As far as being "electrically" hardened - that just means they heated the blade through induction - a common practice. In small foundries almost everything is induction heated.

My question to you all is this; why don't you have your razors cryo hardened and make them ALL Wonderedges if that is the difference? It costs about $10 per pound of steel to have it done - plus shipping costs.

Thanks for the clarification on that John. I have one of most if not all of the various DD models. All were a piece of cake to sharpen to a great edge even some that were ebay specials with rough edges. The Wonderedge was the exception to that. I found it much more work to get an edge on it. Maybe it is just me but I would rather have my Goldedge or Special anyday. Don't get me wrong, it is a good razor but I believe the barbers liked the Ducks so much because they held an edge and were easy to bring back when they started needing a touchup. The cyro hardning makes that a tougher job I think.

Archangel, As a new buyer of str8s, I would suggest that you lower your price range a bit. I think that a lot of new str8 shavers can tend to spend too much for a blade based on reputation alone. Honestly I would not have paid that price for THAT blade. I think that amount of money should produce an exceptional str8 without obvious flaws. Maybe not a blade with such a high reputation, but a very good blade non-the less . There are literally hundreds of good to excellent blades for sale from manufacturers with little exposure. I would suggest that you get a few less expensive blades of various sizes , point style and grind. After a few months you will start to lean towards the size and style that you like best. After that then you can start to look for that special blade that you are willing to spend more bucks on. Remember that the str8 price paid is determined by the willingness of the buyer to pay the price. This is a "free market".

the seller and i decided to cancel the transaction... although he he assurs me that it wasnt the same razor and that it was only 1/4 of an inch cut off..

very nice seller, would recommed him in the future.

ok.. i guess i will start with a wapi.

FWIW I just put up a nice christensen in the classifieds, would be a good starter

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Thanks for the clarification on that John. I have one of most if not all of the various DD models. All were a piece of cake to sharpen to a great edge even some that were ebay specials with rough edges. The Wonderedge was the exception to that. I found it much more work to get an edge on it. Maybe it is just me but I would rather have my Goldedge or Special anyday. Don't get me wrong, it is a good razor but I believe the barbers liked the Ducks so much because they held an edge and were easy to bring back when they started needing a touchup. The cyro hardning makes that a tougher job I think.

Their is certainly nothing wrong with a DD Special #1. Gret razor as are all the DD.