Thread: giesen & forsthoff

The new Timor's are essentially trash, there's a thread here:

http://straightrazorpalace.com/razor...mm-really.html

About the same type of razor, an Otto Fromm, again, a quality vintage name purchased by a new company and the product is essentially useless.

I posted in the thread about the Timor Blue Steel I acquired as part of a deal for some hones...it's garbage...a lot of honemeisters won't even bother trying to hone them...they are whats considered in the case of these blades...an expensive RSO (razor shaped object).

Don't waste you money...

[QUOTE=Phrank;1381804]The new Timor's are essentially trash, there's a thread here:

http://straightrazorpalace.com/razor...mm-really.html

About the same type of razor, an Otto Fromm, again, a quality vintage name purchased by a new company and the product is essentially useless.

I posted in the thread about the Timor Blue Steel I acquired as part of a deal for some hones...it's garbage...a lot of honemeisters won't even bother trying to hone them...they are whats considered in the case of these blades...an expensive RSO (razor shaped object).

Don't waste you money...[/QUO

Fair comment Phrank, I have put in ages on this razor, and got a few decent shaves. At best you can get a good shave, but the thing doesn't hold the edge long. It is good I suppose for a newbie to practice on....probably a waste of stone....lol

A friend of mine bought a very basic G&F (round tip 5/8ths with black plastic scales) from an online vendor and as is too often the case, tried to shave with it, couldn't, and then lost interest. I'm no honing expert but I tried for quite a while to reset the strange factory bevel before giving up and donating a very serviceable vintage blade to my friend. Not impressed with the quality...

Originally Posted by RMarsh

A friend of mine bought a very basic G&F (round tip 5/8ths with black plastic scales) from an online vendor and as is too often the case, tried to shave with it, couldn't, and then lost interest. I'm no honing expert but I tried for quite a while to reset the strange factory bevel before giving up and donating a very serviceable vintage blade to my friend. Not impressed with the quality...

Hi Gents, like you I am no expert. However, when you buy supposedly a brand new razor (G&F 6/8) you would be rather annoyed by rust at the tang. It was at that moment I recall being warned that the blades are made in Pakistan, and the scales attached in Germany....go figure. Now, I hate giving up and I put hours into this razor, walked away cursing half a dozen times, then as I mentioned all of a sudden, it felt right. I shaved with it and got a good shave. It lost the edge after three shaves, and despite giving it a conventional touch up, it was steel never meant for our purposes. Finally, the horn scales are in good condition, so the G & F will be in the shed. Why does it cost less than a 'c' note? Your choice friends, I won't make the same mistake again. At 1st I was excited at getting an edge on it, but soon the penny dropped and the advice...don't buy a 'modern' G&F, go look for vintage. At least the steel is quenched and tempered to make the blade less likely to break off in the carbide sense. I'm buying a veho usb microscope to really see how ordinary the edge looks. ($60) Thanks Bob

my first razor was a g&f bismarck. in no way is it as good as my vintage blades are, but its the type of razor that holds a certain sentimental value to me because it was my first razor. i'll probably always keep it around because of that reason and because the guy who hones my razors can actually get a decent edge on it, so i am able to shave adequately with it.
i wouldnt recommend buying one because the value is just not there. it looks very nice, but thats not the point of a razor. but then again, i wouldnt buy a new razor anyhow after discovering the value of restoring vintage razors.

Originally Posted by recklessabandon

my first razor was a g&f bismarck. in no way is it as good as my vintage blades are, but its the type of razor that holds a certain sentimental value to me because it was my first razor. i'll probably always keep it around because of that reason and because the guy who hones my razors can actually get a decent edge on it, so i am able to shave adequately with it.
i wouldnt recommend buying one because the value is just not there. it looks very nice, but thats not the point of a razor. but then again, i wouldnt buy a new razor anyhow after discovering the value of restoring vintage razors.

Mate, I haven't heard that G & F made a bismarck. I have two Dovo Bismarcks, both new (Year old) bought new, that I have no worries with. One of my favourite razors. I may be wrong, but I'm certain my two dovo's are 'Bismarck's (6/8 gold spine)

Cheers Bob

i guess they were either unpopular, or a short run, because i dont see them for sale anymore. there were 2 versions, both 6/8, one with a lion on the blade and one with a coat of arms on the blade in gold.

Sad to hear all this bad stuff about the G&F's. The one I bought is a superb shaver! I gifted it to a mate who I'm trying to get interested in cut-throat shaving, thinking I would pick up another if I really needed to have more razors than there are days of the week. I'm thinking that may not be such a good idea move now.


Mick

I really thought that they were getting better. For a while....

The old blue-tanged run were mostly rubbish, but I did manage to sort out a few good ones - about a 1 in 5 hit rate, which is spectacularly poor. Even the ones that just passed were - iffy.

Then there was a second run some years later. These showed a bit more promise. The steel was a bit harder and they promised to hold an edge fairly well, but the in-house honing was rubbish. I don't think I ever saw one that was shave-ready from the factory, or which did not have two or three partial bevels.

Then there was another run - which hit rock bottom again. Total, utter rubbish in my opinion. I would never, ever, take a gamble and buy one hoping that it was OK.

One razor, a dinky little G&F, modern, in nice wooden scales that look third-party - altogether a dainty little razor - gets sent to me 3 or 4 times a year. You would not believe the sort of damage exhibited by the bevel, caused by just shaving and stropping. The guy has other razors, so I know he knows how to look after them, but this G&F is so soft I reckon he has to turn the lights down when he gets it out shaves with it for fear of frightening it and breaking a bit off. It is losing metal at an alarming rate - soon won't be much of it left.

I don't really believe the metal formulation is the same as vintage Sheffield - quite honestly I have never had a metal this soft before, or which deforms so easily. I am not even sure that it meets Solingen minimum standards (which is quite soft, believe me) in some cases. Since the company was revived I am sure the blades have come from a number of suppliers, none of which were that conversant with what makes a good straight razor. But that seems to be the story with most straight razors of this ilk, which strive to be mass produced and fail miserably. The list of modern makers with passable goods remains painfully low, and I believe it will only get lower as time goes by. Sad.

Regards,
Neil

I felt as though my G & F 6/8 wasn't a bad shave once you got it right, that it had been an affective shaver. Now this took a while. In any event, I bought a second identically branded razor from Star Shaving, for $88 bucks. Four weeks ago. Once again hard to hone, but do-able., and I persisted and got it sharp by the 3rd session at the hones.

Men, it can be done. It is a nice shave. For a newbie, probably cost you half as much to have it honed by anyone desperate for work! But the one I bought a year ago is as good a shave as any of my dovo's , dorkos; etc. We all agree that this brand of razor has a poor recent history. Both my G & F's 6/8 shave well. I knocked a 3 day growth down with the 1 year old 6/8. Can't say they are bad shavers, friends, Their only issue is that when they say 'not shave ready' as they now do, they bloody mean it, takes a while on the 1k to correct any bevel issues,, put aside a spare hour over two days, and go through your process. It'l come good. It's on the 'avoid' list, but if you can hone and have the stones to do it, have a go at it, if you have a strop only, then it's no good for you...pretty easy.
We mostly agree that our shaving method is great, we enjoy it, we collect some and hone as well. If it takes 2 days to get a razor right, I enjoy most minutes it takes to hone. Sure this one is hard, not too hard though.