Questions regarding F.W. Engels Leader

Howdy gents and ladies,

Been poking around local antique mall looking for another project at a minimal cost and I came across Leader in phenomenal condition which caught my eye (about a 9/10 on condition). After a bit of looking through the forum I found a few threads regarding rust removal but nothing specific to quality. Being that it is not a project razor I think I can justify spending over my typical $20 budget but I just wanted to get a feel for what y'all have experienced with em. (Not looking for a buy or dont buy, just looking for notes of previous use and quality)

Thanks!

Dennis

No money talk, but those Leader's are good razors. Highly desirable. Make sure it is in good shape with no scale issues, cracks, deep pitting, etc. They are thinly ground, so excess pitting is not good.

Perfect, that's exactly the info I was looking for. Really liked the look with all the extra accoutrements and just wanted to get an idea of quality. Thanks!

I have one that was my great grandfather's razor. I don't use it very often; special occasions mainly, but it is a great razor.

I've seen people suggest picking one up cheap to use as a honing tutor but I think that's sinful. ;) I would rescue any I ran across but I've never run across any in my scavenger hunts.

If you don't like it you can always send it to me for rehabilitation. :D

Peace,
Jim

Leader quality is good enough, that if you dont want it, You can pick it up for me! ( I deserve a present)

I love the FW Engels Razors. I believe they are as good if not better that those Dubl Ducks.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by TrilliumLT

I love the FW Engels Razors. I believe they are as good if not better that those Dubl Ducks.

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Crap. Whatdya say that for!? Now people are going to be buying up all the leaders and I'll never stand a chance! ;)

Peace,
Jim

Sorry Jim but i have a few that i am going to put up for sale, so i need to get the hype going :)

And Wagners shave as good as Puma... and so on and so on....

The finest extra hollow shave I've ever had was an Engels 'Leader' a member sent me to hone. I've yet to have a Satinedge perform that well (5 SE's honed). 'Amazing razors.

Damn fine Solingen razors. As good as they get.
An important point was mentioned above. Make sure the scales are in good shape and have not started to decompose. These scales can ruin a blade in a jiffy once the "scale-pest" has started.

Old barbers in Newark, NJ, back in the 1980s, recommended dubl duck and FWE to me. Particularly the FWE Special and Leader. One of them, in the north ward if you're familiar with the area, told me that most any vintage Solingen razor was 'good' and Sheffields were good too but he liked Solingens better.

I think the qualities that made these razors, ducks and FWE among others, favored amongst those old guys, was the ease of honing to a comfortable shaving edge and the high quality of the product. Nothing magical in them. Just a 'good' razor.

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Terrible, terrible razors, don't recommend them. They shave like a dream and take to honing like duck to water! One is finish in a y/g turingian (Honhorsollern) and the other one on the Zulu Grey, and I can't decided which is a better finisher on this two razors. These two are in the top shelf for performers. Double O