Thread: What Is It About These Old Razors?

New to straight shaving, after a mistake or two, I started out with several new Dovos, professionally honed.

eBay adventures netted me some pretty nasty specimens, but also some razors that looked okay to me but that I didn't know much about. I set them aside in a "project pile" to look at and work on later.

Recently, I realized these were all actually pretty well-respected brands, so I cautiously started cleaning them and working on the edges. All seemed to have an undamaged edge, all but one had what looked like a decent bevel. Slowly, I've honed them and recently tried shaving with them.

All I can say is WOW. Since my honing skills are likely not the explanation, I just have to think those old razors had something special that made them easy to work with. All four of these old-timers give a smooth, creamy shave. I find it's easy with them to keep my touch light. I've had several days now to play with them, and I must say, I like them better than my (wonderful) professionally honed new razors.

For the record, here's what I've got:

Dubl Duck Special Wedge-This one seems to have some bluing on the rib and shank that I decided I didn't want to try to remove. I was mentored along by someone on this board with honing this one from setting the bevel through the pyramid, etc.

Robeson Shur Edge-The first one I actually felt the magic on. Made me pull that Dubl Duck out of the "project" pile, finish it and shave with it.

Wostenholm IXL-Another in the project pile, honed up beautifully and shaves great!

Yankee Cutlery/Lion-I bought this one shave ready but actually hated the edge on it, very harsh, so I worked on it from the 8K hone up. Now it's also a smooth cutter.

So what is it about these vintage razors that makes them so easy to hone and so capable of such a great-shaving edge? I have a couple new unhoned Dovos that I can't seem to do the same with.

I could post pictures, but you guys know what these look like. Mine are nothing special, except maybe the Robeson and the Lion, both of which came with nice scales.

I now call these four old razors my "Board of Elders"

Its the quality of the steel mostly. The poorer razor makers got a bad rep and went under so the ones that are still around now are, by and large, the good ones. There are exceptions of course!

It'll also depend on how well looked after it was by the previous owner(s). If they took good care of it, kept it dry and didnt cane it on the hones that'll make a real difference in how well it performs today and how easy it is to hone.

JMHO of course, but a good product well looked after will last a very long time. A cheap product or bad ownership will shorten the life hugely.

I see your point--I guess I'm wondering even why my old Dubl Duck and Robeson, honed by my unskilled hands feels so creamy when my professionally honed Dovos, which are great (no complaints!) just don't feel the same?

I don't think this is a mind-game, because I actually was a bit skeptical of my oldies, honed by myself, because I'd done some pretty bad honing and I've been very impressed with pro-honed blades.

Maybe I'm just delighted that at last my hones are making good blades rather than ruining them?

This has ruined my "rotation" because I keep wanting to shave with my "board of elders" rather than use the "right" razor for today.

But hey, it's fun and I almost want to broadcast to the world, "I HAD A GREAT SHAVE THIS MORNING!!!"

Lawson,

A good question and one that I’ve often wondered about too. I agree with the observation that older razors do have something that today’s models don’t have. I have two random thoughts:

Back in the pre Gillette days, straights were made by guys who used them and were sold to other guys who used them. There was nothing theoretical about it. Today, the majority of straights are purchased as a novelty. I’m not saying that DOVO doesn’t make a great razor but let’s face it- most of their customers probably don’t know what a great razor is. And do DOVO workers use them?

The second thought has something to do with art versus science. Back in the day, the razor smith probably had all sorts of arcane methods of inspecting his final product. He’d flex it, sniff it, taste it, listen to it ring when tapped. He might even- gasp- shave with it. Today, I suspect a great deal of QC is done by hitting the numbers- Forged at so many PSI. Heated to X degrees. Quenched to such and such temperature. Final hardness of blank. Numbers check out- Bingo, must be a good razor. And it is a good razor- just like all the other good razors made that day. But is it a great razor? See above

I remain &c,
LG Roy

Originally Posted by LawsonStone

I don't think this is a mind-game, because I actually was a bit skeptical of my oldies, honed by myself, because I'd done some pretty bad honing and I've been very impressed with pro-honed blades.

Maybe I'm just delighted that at last my hones are making good blades rather than ruining them?

Here's my two cents--

I brew my own beer, and I just tasted the very first batch of beer two nights ago. I thought it was pretty damn good beer. My wife took about three sips, and my neighbor drank about half a bottle. The point is, I think the reason why I liked it so much better than the others, is because I made it. Just like your razors, they are blades that you honed, so maybe your perception is biased?

Originally Posted by goaT

Here's my two cents--

I brew my own beer, and I just tasted the very first batch of beer two nights ago. I thought it was pretty damn good beer. My wife took about three sips, and my neighbor drank about half a bottle. The point is, I think the reason why I liked it so much better than the others, is because I made it. Just like your razors, they are blades that you honed, so maybe your perception is biased?

That's certainly a factor that can't be ignored but it doesn't cover all the bases. I had a friend, sadly now dead, who brewed beer. He knew he'd cracked it when he held a party and, when we who stayed over, woke up, we found his 10 gallon barrel totally empty and his fridge full of beer we'd all brought along but just not bothered drinking. I don't often disagree with Stubear but it's not just the steel IMO, there was a skill set amongst the old makers that is something that even now, is a joy to experience. They were damn good at what they did.

When it comes to bias, I suspect I wasn't, or was biased against these razors. I had, so far, been a total and abject failure in honing. I'd ruined my first shave-ready razor by stropping it sloppy and loose, and had to have it re-honed.

Then I managed to screw up some others on barber hones. BTW, 100 strokes on a barber hone is nearly always a bad idea!

So…I'd about decided to forget honing and stuck with 4 razors I'd gotten from SRD and protected them jealously. I also got my stropping technique right.

So I was working on these mainly to see there was any hope for me doing even touch-up honing.

So when I touched that Robeson Shur Edge to my cheek, it was a total and complete, and delightful, surprise. After four months of frustration, I had a razor that almost seemed to "melt" through my beard. So...whipped out the Dubl Duck and Wosty IXL that had been on my bench, finished and stropped them and shaved with them BOTH this AM…delighted squeal #2…

OTOH, I have been hacking away on an out-of-the-box Dovo and can't seem to get it "there." I do think there is something different about the steel, and probably something different about how the steel was worked on those old razors. They are wicked sharp, but somehow…kind.

Originally Posted by goaT

Here's my two cents--

I brew my own beer, and I just tasted the very first batch of beer two nights ago. I thought it was pretty damn good beer. My wife took about three sips, and my neighbor drank about half a bottle. The point is, I think the reason why I liked it so much better than the others, is because I made it. Just like your razors, they are blades that you honed, so maybe your perception is biased?

Originally Posted by AlanII

That's certainly a factor that can't be ignored but it doesn't cover all the bases. I had a friend, sadly now dead, who brewed beer. He knew he'd cracked it when he held a party and, when we who stayed over, woke up, we found his 10 gallon barrel totally empty and his fridge full of beer we'd all brought along but just not bothered drinking. I don't often disagree with Stubear but it's not just the steel IMO, there was a skill set amongst the old makers that is something that even now, is a joy to experience. They were damn good at what they did.

In my line of work, that elusive trait that separates the professional from the poser, is called passion...I marvel at it whenever I catch a glimpse of it. I just picked up some oldies(W&B, Reynolds, Higgins, and Morley) and I cannot wait to get home and begin this journey. Thank you all for your passion.

that's the whole point to Art I guess which includes the Art of Shaving ^_^

I may be able to add a little light on your experience. I too have a newer Dovo, my first straight that I bought new "shave ready". I later bought several razors and did as you did, honed them myself. I then thought I was better at honing than the "pro" that honed the Dovo Bismarck because the older razors left me more smooth and less irritated than the Dovo. What was the deal? As I have progressed in my knowledge and skills, I have learned this: My Dovo that was honed by the pro was so sharp that my bad form made me think it was the razor. Second is that I have learned that the newer razors are quite possibly a little harder steel. This is all based on shaving, honing, making razors, and listening.

What stones are you using to set the bevel & hone that Dovo?