Thread: BMW of straights and why?

Hi all,

Sorry if this is one of those questions which defy a single answer, here goes.

I see the names and the prices of the Gucci gear but what makes it Gucci ?

when I read a blade is made of tool grade steel to me that means its bloody strong ( read Hart) , Sheffield steel, I don't know what that even is but it sounds nice, stainless to me means easy care but shite edge.

so besides the exotic scale material which is easy to understand the price of what are the reasons one would choose one blade material over another ?

shayne,

You are somewhat correct. Tool grade steel suggests that a razor is made of a quality steel (carbon) that will take and hold an edge for an acceptable period of time. Sheffield steel denotes the location where a razor was made of quality tool grade steel (England). At one time Sheffield, England made some of the best quality steel implements in the world (ie. swords). Stainless steel is a harder type of steel that reputedly is more difficult to hone, but will hold an edge longer than carbon steel.

IME stainless steel razors are quite good if they come from a reputable maker, whether custom or factory. Some steels lend themselves to the making of fine cutlery and I suppose that is what leads makers to choose them. Maybe some of the custom makers will comment ?

For the most part, I think Carbon steel is more popular, and the common belief is, it will take an edge better. Stainless has a reputation of being hard to hone. I don't think there's that big a difference in the steel of the blades being made today, I could be wrong, but for our purposes... Dovo, Boker, TI, Now, TI has had some quality control issues. If your buying new, Dovo is great, It's the scale that really set the price. Boker's, the new ones, can be a bit more...I love my Vintage Bokers, I don't have any new...The vintage one's rock. They are great shavers, among my favorites...

When you start looking at Customs, Damascus steel,etc...That's where you start to see big differences, especially in the prices...
Damascus steel would be your Gucci...

Carbon is easier to hone whereas the stainless takes a little more work, the stainless will usually take a slightly better edge and keep it longer. Of course a lot of this depends, who made it with what and how.

Zib ,

right now all I have are a couple of different Chinese blades and they make my face a red as the damn flag over here so anything that is a step up is pretty Gucci to me , but absolutely I understand about the Damascus woo hoo !

I am a chef by trade and I love my french knives (sabatier ) really high carbon. My stainless just feel cheap to me even the henkels.

If you like Sabatier, you will be happy to know they also make straight razors. They go under the name Thiers Issard and are well reputed. They tend to be on the Gucci side of the street, price wise tho.

Wikipedia on Thiers Issard

PS! I love Sabatier knives as well, my oldest I bought some 25 years ago and it's still going strong.

Originally Posted by shayne

I see the names and the prices of the Gucci gear but what makes it Gucci ?

A number of factors will determine a razor's reputation, including: ease of honing, ability to take an edge, ability to hold an edge and the "feel" of the blade when shaving. Looks can also be important to some people. If a razor scores high on all these points it will be elevated to "great shaver status" from simply "good shaver status".

When it comes down to it, the only way to know if you will like a given straight is to try it. Everyone's face, shave technique, beard, preferences, etc are different. Maybe someone could tell you what THEIR favorite razor is and why, but if you ask a hundred different people you'll likely get at least 50 different answers. (To be honest, I'm not a BMW fan...)

And sometimes just trying the razor isn't enough. Because maybe the razor wasn't honed to it's maximum potential. Or maybe you prefer a different finish from the one that was put on it.

Maybe you see where I'm going here - there are SO many different variables. You can't learn what razor you'll like most without actually playing with it.

Originally Posted by shayne

Zib ,

right now all I have are a couple of different Chinese blades and they make my face a red as the damn flag over here so anything that is a step up is pretty Gucci to me , but absolutely I understand about the Damascus woo hoo !

I am a chef by trade and I love my french knives (sabatier ) really high carbon. My stainless just feel cheap to me even the henkels.

Shayne, I took note that your current blades are Chinese. You are currently driving the Ford Pinto (post-explosion) of razors. Honestly, almost anything would be a step up. I'm impressed that you are sticking with it after that.

You'll love most any quality razor. You can find one, sometimes for under forty bucks, in the classified section here. No more red face!