Thread: Dillemma: what to buy?

I have got two razors: a Friodur and a my grandfather's Roemer, both between 5/8 and 6/8 and full hollow ground.

I would like to add a third one but do not know which to buy. I am only interested in quality of shave, I do not care for fancy blades nor fancy scales. I do not want one that needs restoring, I do like to hone it myself but do not want to experiment with ebay stuff, f***ed up blades etc.

I have been looking at a Bergischer Loewe (DOVO) which I can buy for euro 130 in Germany. It is said that it gives great shaves.

I have also been looking at an 8/8 Friodur NOS from John Crowly (the ones w/ the plane scales). Its attraction to me lies in the experiment with a larger size.

3rd option: a TI le Gnome 6/8 because TI's get good reviews here and le Gnome is half hollow ground. I have never used anything but full hollows.

Any other suggestions are welcome as well of course.

Any thoughts are greatly appreciated.

Since you already have SS razor, the Friodur, get either the Gnome, some TI silver steel, or ATS34 razor. Your choice would be new steel, or half hollow.

I have 7/8 Friodur, and the shave is right there, among my best shavers, together with the DOVO Micarta SS, and the size is nothing special, as much fun to use as my smaller razors.


cheers,
Nenad

The 8/8 will shave similarly to your current SS razor - it will just be bigger and stiffer (I find the difference between my 7/8 Friodur and 6/8 Dovo to be quite similar - a matter of degree) - but you would likely notice a bigger difference if you jump up to an 8/8.

You will notice the size difference - I found that moving from a 5/8 to a 6/8 was easy, the move to a 7/8 was much more pronounced (don't have any 8/8 blades and really have no desire to go bigger than a 7/8 - but that's just me).

The other thing to be aware of is that SS razors have a slightly different feel than carbon ones - so make sure you like the feel of your Friodur before you buy another one.

I really like wedgier razors - they have a different feel (at least to me) and am considering a 6/8 Gnome myself.

Unfortunately, you're comparing apples and oranges here full-hollow spike 8/8 in stainless vs. 1/2 hollow roundpoint 6/8 in carbon - very different razors.

Fortunately, these are both good razors and are reasonably priced.

If you want more information, a review of the Friodur 8/8 was just posted on Badger & Blade and Chris Moss at SMF really likes the Gnomes, so you can check out what they have to say about these two razors.

The other factor to consider is that John has some of the Friodurs on sale and you won't likely see an 8/8 Friodur selling for $100 bucks again anytime soon.

The Gnomes on the other hand are regular production and you can try one down the road if you want.

The best thing is that, whatever you do, if you get the razor honed professionally and keep it in good shape, you can sell it for almost what you paid for it if it turns out you don't like it, so there's little downside.

Don't know how much this helps - if you want more guidance, it would be helpful for you to provide some insight as to what you're looking for and/or what you do/don't like about your current razors.

I'll vote TI too.

X

Originally Posted by suzuki

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Don't know how much this helps - if you want more guidance, it would be helpful for you to provide some insight as to what you're looking for and/or what you do/don't like about your current razors.

Thanks Suzuki for your thoughts. Well, the thing is: there's so much to try and I find it hard to make my mind up that's why I started the thread: to pick SRP members' brains. I am just looking for good arguments in favour of the razor I shall eventually decide to buy.

Dovo's Bergischer Loewe is getting very good reviews on Nassrasur so that's why I included it. It is made of Swedish steel which was my mother's uncle's favourite steel. Unfortunately I broke his Heljestrand long ago. Many guys here like large razors and wedges that's why I included le Gnome and the Friodur 8/8.

The 2 razors I got I like about the same. My grandfather's carbon steel razor is easiest to hone and the sharpest of my 2. It ploughs through the whiskers but leaves a bit more razor burn. I haven't managed to get my Friodur as sharp, it takes a bit more time to get BBS but the skin feels nicer afterwards.

At the end of the day (or rather the start of the day) I want to have a very comfortable shave. I have got a medium thick, not very densely packed blond/gingery beard.

I'm off now to look at Badger & Blades review of Friodur's 8/8's

Have you considered a mint Heljestrand or Hellberg? Either would make a nice addition to the ones you have now. They're harder to find in top shape than the others on your list but well worth considering in my opinion.

I have thought of Heljestrands, but haven't seen a nice one lately. Hellberg I have never heard of.

One of the problems for me as a European is that many sellers on ebay only want to ship to addresses within the U.S.

Originally Posted by Kees

I have thought of Heljestrands, but haven't seen a nice one lately. Hellberg I have never heard of.

One of the problems for me as a European is that many sellers on ebay only want to ship to addresses within the U.S.

I have a near mint version of this Hellberg model that I bought from Joe Chandler, it's a small razor but may be the best one I own:
http://cgi.ebay.com/J-A-Hellberg-Str...QQcmdZViewItem

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