WACKER Razors, how 'bout that!

I was just wondering if there was any posting here about shavingshop.com's 'Wacker Razors'?

I own 2 myself (see attached photo's). I have to say, I'm tickled. They are great razors! The first one I bought way back was 'fancy' and R.Williams slapped a set of orynx scales on it (I wanted something that would match the scalloped spine design). As an 8/8 blade, well, it deliver's! Great shaver. But I tend to find that these 8/8-big cutters are too bulky for me over time, and I like something a little more maneuverable.... Something around the 6/8 range

But then I saw the 6/8 spanish tip one's that came out (Damn him! I love that design). Unfortunately, I was poor at the time and too slow to be able to grab one of the 1/4-hollow grind puppies. Luckily a buddy here told me about one that Joel(?). was selling at the Badger&Blade forum.... I grabbed it! I am VERY happy with this one! Just a little touch up on the 4/8K norton and that edge was dangerous! What I like about these spanish points is that you have the fine touch option of nipping that one missed hair with the point (plus, I like the look too ;)). I've been shaving exclusively with this razor for a good number of weeks now..........

My main reason for posting though, is that I noticed that the spanish point has stamped on the back of the tang "Finest Sheffield Steel", and recalled that most high end razors use the same trust 'sheffiled steel'. Great razors, great steel! So, what are other's impressions with these razors?

Personally, I am always happy to find another maker of quality razors! Especially today when the market seems to only have the comercial makers presently making razors by Thiers-Issard and Dovo ....to see NOS of Henckels is great,Timor and Hen&Rooster was good to see too, but to have another actively producing german name is fantastic! (Don't even get me started on how happy I am seeing some of these custom jobs!! - B.Ellis, R.Williams, D.Ralph, etc.....)

If these forums did not exhist, and the interest in straight razors was not propogated, the companies/makers might have died out long ago :cry:. In the past few years, there seems to be an increase in what's availible? Do you guys sense that too?

C utz

Why did Joel get rid of it Chris?

Lynn

I'm not sure...
It might not have been Joel ("F") but another Joel that sold it to me from the B&B forum. Joel (F) had just bought a Japanese razor from me, so I might have been mistaking him as one in the same....WHO ever it was, I don't quite know why!

I'm rather happy about the razor, and while that question of 'why' had come up when I decided to buy it, I dismissed any concern when I felt the edge I was able to put on it.

Oh well!

C utz

I've honed a few of these. No complaints on the shave. On the horn handled ones, the tang space seems to make them a little more difficult for me to handle.

Have fun.

Lynn

Huh.
I just checked out the B&B forum. Seems to be quite the 'mixed review' on this razor (and a bit of a tiff to say the least!). And the horn on my razor looks different, so it might be someone else that I bought it from. Either way, I'm happy with mine.

Ah well, each to their own I guess.

There are a good number of people that have serious issues with Thiers-Issard razors too! AND, well, I'm one of the one's that find them to be delightful shaver's.......

Historically, it seems that all makers have variance in the batch of razors they produce....seems to hold the same today? Now that I think about it, I've owned 2 of the same style of TI one was great, the other was a lemon as far as quality control was concerned....and yet, I still think the TI's hold a great edge.

C utz

I better post here, as I posted on B&B about my Wacker. I bought one (6/8 quarter hollow spike with light horn scales) from John and initially when it arrived it wasn't as sharp as I'd hoped. I did some careful pyramids and managed to improve it quite a lot, though the metal seems extremely hard and I found it tricky to hone with my lack of experience on the hone. I also felt it had a slight twist or unevenness in the edge, as no matter how much I honed it the heel always seemed to stay blunt when the point was scary sharp.

I had a shave or two with it, then feeling that it promised a lot more I sent it to Lynn having seen/felt what he'd done with my Dubl Duck Satinedge.

The Wacker arrived back here yesterday and as always Lynn had worked his magic, it was super sharp and shaved super smooth. It is now definitely up there among my favourite razors.

I had none of the quality issues that joel reported, my only minor gripe was the sharpness. The razor is very solidly built, it opens and closes smoothly, and the blade is perfectly centred between the symmetrical horn scales. John has been in touch regarding the sharpness question, and I'm quite happy with his response. I would certainly buy another razor from him again.

:)

I'll post a pic of mine later....

I have a few of those too and one older Revisor that Wacker rehandled. I find Wacker's razors to be every bit as good as the older revisor. I love the original Revisors.

I never noticed that he uses Sheffield steel. TI uses Sheffield almost exclusively, except for certain razors for the Germans, who insist on their own steel.

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Originally Posted by Iwan

John has been in touch regarding the sharpness question, and I'm quite happy with his response. I would certainly buy another razor from him again.

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Obviously, it wasn't "honed to perfection." I've bought quite a few razors from him and every one met that promise.

I have one 7/8s wacker I got from John and it also wasn't shave ready when I got it and the scales were a tad on the loose side. I was able to remedy both situations myself and it is now a wonderful shaver. I didn't find it unusually difficult to hone.

I purchased the 1/4 hollow 6/8 recently and I'm very happy with it. Mine does not have the quality issues mentioned on B&B. I didn't get the sharpening service and being a newb at honing, its taken me some time and effort to bring it up to snuff.

Based on my limited experience, it seems like a very robust razor and I'll probably reserve use for days when I have a heavy growth (weekends, etc). I shaved with it yesterday and had a great one. :D


Jordan

No, it wasn't my Wacker... but if anyone would like to purchase one, I would love - LOVE to get rid of it or trade for another razor.

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Originally Posted by Joel

No, it wasn't my Wacker... but if anyone would like to purchase one, I would love - LOVE to get rid of it or trade for another razor.

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What are you looking for, Joel?

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Originally Posted by Joe Chandler

What are you looking for, Joel?

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Well, I am quite a TI and Dovo fan, and I also like the oldies (but goodies). Craftsman, sta-sharps, ducks, pumas, american steel, odd balls, and so on and so forth.

Definatly a TI guy though... if you've got some TI's - we've got a deal :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Joel

Well, I am quite a TI and Dovo fan, and I also like the oldies (but goodies). Craftsman, sta-sharps, ducks, pumas, american steel, odd balls, and so on and so forth.

Definatly a TI guy though... if you've got some TI's - we've got a deal :D

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Gimme a PM. We might be able to work something out (but I don't have any TIs) Lotsa other stuff, though. :D

Yeah, what about Wackers?

Seems like there are not that many happy owners of a Wacker around here?
Is it because people are afraid to buy one because some guys on B&B have reported bad experiences with them or do they generally not earn a good reputaion here?

In my case, I have three Wackers, only one did not arrive shave-ready.
The third was honed and stropped ready in no time but still is a little "robust" due to a somewhat thick/stiff blade (it´s the 1001 Feinster Hohlschliff).

I always thought american users are lucky since the Wacker-razors sold by sshop.com almost cost the same (sometimes even less) than they do when directly buying them from Wacker in Germany?
Only that sshop.com has more models/variations to choose from than Mr. Wacker has left in his shop.

Joel's very public, very negative review probably has something to do with it, but they've also got a reputation as a bear to hone because of their extreme hardness and their tendency towards microchipping on the hone. This may not show up if you're using a coticule or similar natural stone, but definitely trips you up if you're using an artificial hone like the Norton or Shaptons. Since those of us on this side of the pond tend to use the artificial hones for the bulk of our work, the microchipping issue may be something that really only affects us.

wow mparker762,

in fact that is an interesting point of view.
I will ask the honemeisters on the german board about that possibility.

Usually Wackers are mentioned as a dream to sharpen by the honemeisters.
Many new owners of a Wacker ask them for their help because at some times the razors appear far from being shave-ready when received by the customers.

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Originally Posted by mparker762

Joel's very public, very negative review probably has something to do with it, but they've also got a reputation as a bear to hone because of their extreme hardness and their tendency towards microchipping on the hone. This may not show up if you're using a coticule or similar natural stone, but definitely trips you up if you're using an artificial hone like the Norton or Shaptons. Since those of us on this side of the pond tend to use the artificial hones for the bulk of our work, the microchipping issue may be something that really only affects us.

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I've not had to hone one from scratch (the previous owner of mine had it done by John Crowley, who did a good job), so can't comment on the Norton vs. coticule issue.

I will say that mine holds an edge well and refresing the edge on a Swaty-type hone and/or pasted paddle seems to work fine for me.

I really like the way my 7/8 Bartman shaves and find that the feel on the face is somewhere between my other carbon razors and my Friodur - which I think results from the hardness of the steel.

Mine will microchip if it gets anywhere near my norton or shaptons or a barber hone. I can hone it on my translucent arkansas, the tam o shanter, and on the paddles. I've heard from others about the microchipping problem as well, though some guys don't seem to have a problem. This could be natural variation in his heat treatment regimen if he's running close to the limit, or it could just be that some razors are more prone to this problem since he's using old solingen blanks with unknown metallurgy (I've got a stippleback, FWIW).

I've also heard that from others as well - I think there is quite a bit of variation in these for all of the reasons you mention - I suspect you're right that every blank Wacker uses gets similar heat treatment, despite the fact that they likely have different metalurgical compositions.

The only hone I've ever used on my Bartman is my Austrian "Apart" hone, which is a finishing hone and I've not experienced any microchipping - but can't comment on how even my razor would react to a Norton or coarser barber's hone.

I have two: A 6/8 Redhead spanish point and a 6/8 Carl Schmidt spike. Both are excellent shavers. John is a pleasure to work with and takes care of his customers! I will be buying more from him once funds allow.

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Originally Posted by mparker762

I've heard from others about the microchipping problem as well, though some guys don't seem to have a problem. This could be natural variation in his heat treatment regimen if he's running close to the limit, or it could just be that some razors are more prone to this problem since he's using old solingen blanks with unknown metallurgy (I've got a stippleback, FWIW).

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The "solingen blanks" thing is something that's always confused me, since my Wacker says "finest Sheffield silver steel" on it.

I have 2 bartmans and found that they didn't take well to the Norton but did come well on the man made Japanese water hones followed by the finishing hone I got from TM. They could not be called shave ready when they arrived so I started on the Norton 4k to 8k shave tested and "ouch" totally sour edge even passed the tests too but still felt rough. Close inspection showed microchips so I tried the Japanese hones then did a close inspection, all was ok so I finished on TMs hone and test shaved........PERFECT. Repeated the same system on the other Bartman with the same end result.

tbh this possibly only proves my lack of honing skill but I found the same problem with my Fily and this method got that up to speed.

PuFF

I recently got a 6/8 frameback. I've only shaved with it once so far but was quite impressed. The hardness of the steel, I believe, was offset by the frameback design. I'll be shaving with it again today, possibly. We'll see if it can repeat it's excellent performance.

Interesting to see this posting back!

(Frameback razors are a personal favorite of mine!! :tu)

Incidentally, I have been shaving exclusively with my 6/8 Wacker-Spanish point 1/4 hollow ground razor now for 2weeks (and still going strong!). I had no trouble honing mine with my Norton 4/8K set up.

I guess the micro-chipping issue might be for certain designs :shrug:

Mine is made of Best Sheffield Steel too, which I believe some TI's are also made with as well as some Puma's. From what I understand, it is just the grade/quality of steel and where the metal is from, and not where the razor is ground/made.

My only 'quality control' issues I have is that the end spacer is a brown wood material, and it does not go well with the blond/brown horn. I was going to repin the razor anyway (I like my pin design/work better than the nail-pin/Dovo style job that the razors come with). So, I'll most likely replace the end spacer with either brass or ebony.

Also, I wish they were less expensive! I'd have a LOT more in my collection otherwise!! :D

C utz

Hahahahahahaha......

I have honed a bunch of these and they are nice shavers regardless of whatever commission Crowley is paying Utz...........hahahahhahahahaha. I just wish the Bartmans and Gens razors matched the razors handles.......

PS.....Crowley hasn't ordered his table for the convention yet.

Have fun.

Lynn

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Originally Posted by adjustme69

Hahahahahahaha......

I have honed a bunch of these and they are nice shavers regardless of whatever commission Crowley is paying Utz...........hahahahhahahahaha. I just wish the Bartmans and Gens razors matched the razors handles.......

PS.....Crowley hasn't ordered his table for the convention yet.

Have fun.

Lynn

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:roflmao

I'd take payment in razors if I was getting any!

I've always hated seeing mismatched blades and scales too! I mean, if the scales say 'bartmann' or 'feinstein' or what ever, don't slap them on a Henckels! I see that also happen with some of the razors coming out of the german sellers....

I have a bunch of razors that could use their brandname scales. It would be great if they sold just those scales, and put something else on the originals (if they don't match).

Are there going to be any vendor tables at the Chi-town event? Perhaps a Tony Miller table, Livi blades, Robert Williams 'make your own blade' class?

C utz

Are there going to be any vendor tables at the Chi-town event? Perhaps a Tony Miller table, Livi blades, Robert Williams 'make your own blade' class?

C utz[/quote]

So far it looks like Classic, Vintage, Colleen, Sue, Perfect Edge and a few others. We still have some vendor tables open. We are also going to have a few tables for demonstrations like beard prep, honing and stropping. I think we may also have a barber there doing shaves.

I'm really looking forward to the convention and getting to meet a bunch of people from here. Hope you can make it as well.

Lynn

WOW!

That sounds great!!
I'm sure a bunch of people would sign up to get hone lessons from you!!

There is a good chance that I will not be able to make it.... I will 'hopefully' be starting a new job soon and I do not think I'll be able to get that sort of time off for a little while yet.

I am looking forward to hearing and seeing how it goes though!! I hope it all goes very well so that I might be able to catch the next one.... HEY, what do you guys say about holding it in Boston next year? ;)

C utz