Thread: 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 . 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.

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.

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.