Thread: Adventures in 4/8 shaving...

Backstory: I've known of a tiny Henckels 279 4/8 razor at a local shop for about six months. Never picked it up since I tend toward medium sized razors and besides, the scales were humdrum cream-colored nothingness. Today, I figured, why not and bought it for next to nothing. The blade was nearly perfect with no hone marks...looks like the original owner used it until the original edge went out and then tossed it into a drawer.

Bought the razor and was showing to someone in the shop that was interested in it and dropped it on the floor... Luckily there was no damage and the guy was pretty apologetic about the whole scene so I let it go.

Got home and started up with some simichrome. The blade polished up nice, but I was dreading wasting the polish on the gawd aweful cream scales...you guys know the story on those cheapo scales. So I began. Now I LOVE the smell of celluloid and often stop several times through the polish to get my 'fix' by smelling the warmed scales....odd...the scales didn't smell like celluloid. Then I noticed the pattern. This was ivory!!! Polished a bit more and the shine began to take hold...wow! Not only were they ivory, but they are THICK ivory, not that super-slim ivory stuff you normally find. This is every bit as thick as celluloid scales from the same time period. Honing was a cinch since another thing I discovered is that this guy is not only 4/8 but it's also a singing razor...double woot.

The Shave: After going through the hones, pastes, and strop, it was time to shave. These tiny razor are particularly picky about angles. Not only that, but I've become very accustomed to using the lightest of pressure while shaving and letting the blade do the work for me. This guy forced me to backtrack a little and figure out the exact pressure that would have normally have been on a 6/8 or it would skip and bounce all over on each stroke sometimes during a skip, it would try to 'end up' off it's angle into a perpendicular angle....yikes. But I just took my time and it turned out to be a very nice shave.

So the point to the story? Razors are like a box of chocolates, you never know what you get until it's been polished and cleaned. It's the biggest diamonds that take the longest to cut, but the effort is well worth it.

And just to urk you razor-prono-freaks, I'm not posting a pic since the DSLR won't be back in the house for another week

Wow, sounds like a nice razor, good thing you went for it. Using a 4/8 blade would be interesting. "One man's trash is another man's treasure!"

Red,
Sounds like an awesome blade...talk about shooting 2 birds with one stone. Did the guy who sold it realize what he was letting go? His loss, your gain.

I know what you mean with these smaller blades...have a 4/8" Droescher, which is a tad small for me, but when I get around to handling it right, this baby delivers one of the smoothest shaves...right up there with its bigger cousins. In fact, I am going to be shaving with it tomorrow morning.

Congrats on this acquisition...enjoy it well and in good health.

Originally Posted by red96ta

Backstory: I've known of a tiny Henckels 279 4/8 razor at a local shop for about six months. Never picked it up since I tend toward medium sized razors and besides, the scales were humdrum cream-colored nothingness. Today, I figured, why not and bought it for next to nothing. The blade was nearly perfect with no hone marks...looks like the original owner used it until the original edge went out and then tossed it into a drawer.

Bought the razor and was showing to someone in the shop that was interested in it and dropped it on the floor... Luckily there was no damage and the guy was pretty apologetic about the whole scene so I let it go.

Got home and started up with some simichrome. The blade polished up nice, but I was dreading wasting the polish on the gawd aweful cream scales...you guys know the story on those cheapo scales. So I began. Now I LOVE the smell of celluloid and often stop several times through the polish to get my 'fix' by smelling the warmed scales....odd...the scales didn't smell like celluloid. Then I noticed the pattern. This was ivory!!! Polished a bit more and the shine began to take hold...wow! Not only were they ivory, but they are THICK ivory, not that super-slim ivory stuff you normally find. This is every bit as thick as celluloid scales from the same time period. Honing was a cinch since another thing I discovered is that this guy is not only 4/8 but it's also a singing razor...double woot.

The Shave: After going through the hones, pastes, and strop, it was time to shave. These tiny razor are particularly picky about angles. Not only that, but I've become very accustomed to using the lightest of pressure while shaving and letting the blade do the work for me. This guy forced me to backtrack a little and figure out the exact pressure that would have normally have been on a 6/8 or it would skip and bounce all over on each stroke sometimes during a skip, it would try to 'end up' off it's angle into a perpendicular angle....yikes. But I just took my time and it turned out to be a very nice shave.

So the point to the story? Razors are like a box of chocolates, you never know what you get until it's been polished and cleaned. It's the biggest diamonds that take the longest to cut, but the effort is well worth it.

And just to urk you razor-prono-freaks, I'm not posting a pic since the DSLR won't be back in the house for another week

I love 4/8s razors. I have a few and they are great pieces and because of the size they are really maneuverable on your face and give a great shave. Drop down to 3/8s and smaller, that's a different story. They become hard to hold and are really more trim pieces.

Awsome score, glad to hear you were so pleasantly suprised!!

I use to think shaving with smaller blades was a down grade, but a just under 4/8 Bengal has been a real treat for me. They are the Ferraris of straights. Nimble and capable of strokes that bigger blades feel more awkward doing, especially under the nose work.
They do require more concentration in both shaving and honing, but they are worth the effort and are a nice change of pace.

I just finished honing a NOS Fridour in 4/8 and shaved with it. It's really nice. I enjoy using smaller razors from time to time anyhow.

Do you have a picture of the razor? I would love to see it.

Originally Posted by altshaver

Do you have a picture of the razor? I would love to see it.

The DSLR comes back on Wednesday night and you better believe that pics will go up when it's here.

I agree with what whats'-his-name said. I have a 4/8 Keen Kutter that shaves as well as anything I have. Pretty little thing too.

I have a few 4/8s and my favorite is also my favorite in general, a Le Grelot with ivory scales that I picked up for a good price. Thing shaves like a dream and I love it.