Thread: Told to 'not even bother' with my Zwilling Friodur?

It sounds like you never really shaved with this razor. I'd say the jury is still out on it. Could be good, could be problematic, could be slightly warped, could be it was too challenging for that particular sharpening guy.
I'd say, like everybody else suggested, your best option is to find somebody else with a lot of experience restoring and honing razors (those have much more severe problems than new ones) and try again.
As far as the stamp on the razor, my understanding is that these days the requirements are not what they used to be. I have somewhere a modern made razor shaped object with a stamp solingen, germany and you can find plenty of them on ebay all the time.

But frankly, the point of these big companies is that they should get out consistent quality regardless of where the production happens. I am absolutely certain that if they wish, Henckels can produce the exact same quality of cutlery in pakistan as they can in solingen. But that doesn't mean it would be profitable to do so.

There's another big razor company in Solingen with the abbreviation GF - you don't read much about their current production razors for a reason. But their vintage stuff is simply great solingen steel. So, things definitely can change.

I just honed one of these this week. Yes there was a slight warp which was obvious in uneven bevels & yes it took some work to get a good edge on it. Note I didn't say a great edge, like the vintage ones but unless you've shaved with both the sensation is hard to quantify. What I'm saying is it didn't simply hone up easily without some lateral thinking & a change to normal routine.
I don't know your razor is beyond hope but a second opinion is always worth a try. Sending it to one of the gentlemen already mentioned would be a good next step.
In defence of your Antwerp honer I might also have given up if I was doing it for free.

Well the Antwerp honer said it was made in China. Is the razor stamped 'Solingen' on the tang, etched as such on the blade ? At one time it was a seal of good craftsmanship. I'm not sure what the status is nowadays.

All I can say is that I really feel bad about your predicament. I have two Friodurs and they are both exceptional razors. One was honed by a pro (thank you Stefan) the other by me. They both took great edges and shave really well. But I'm sure that this does you no good to hear how well I'm getting along with MY razors. Give it another go with someone who is known to be good at honing razors. You don't want to give up too soon and find out later that it could have been saved.

Hey everyone! A massive thanks for the help I'm getting!

Gugi: true, I only shaved with it a couple of times. But since it didn't get any stropping, it lost its edge and I didn't use it much anymore. That was about 4 years ago. I didn't know where to go with it to get it honed and stropped. Went to various hairdressers and barbers, but they uniformly used the Dovo Shavette. So I kind of gave up and kept on using crappy cartridges. Yeah, I know, shame on me.

I got the razor from my 94-year-old great-aunt who's like a grandmother to me. She gave it to me for my eighteenth birthday as part of 'becoming a man'. I didn't use it much, but it does have a large sentimental value to me. Hence why I was so very disappointed when the shopowner told me the razor was basically useless. As far as I know, she bought it directly from Demeyere, a factory that produces and sells high-quality cooking wares and works together with Zwilling. They are the distributors for Zwilling in Belgium. She specifically bought Zwilling because that's what the men in our family used in past generations, knowing the excellent quality of the razors.

I took some pictures and hope this helps you guys out.









If more pictures are needed of other details, just let me know.

Oh, and I did make a slight translational error: the logo and the word aren't inlaid, it's just painted on.

My guess is that the stainless used in the razor is pretty hard and the honer didn't understand how much work is sometimes required to hone a stainless steel razor.

Hi,

I happen to know the store & owner you're talking about. With all due respect, but he's not the greatest specialist out there as far as honing is concerned. I'm certain he'd have trouble honing some of the Dovo's he's selling as well.

Personally I don't think that razor was made in China. There could be issues with the edge, but it should be possible to get it shave-ready. So you have to get it to someone who can help you out. Now, I'm out of that game because I just don't have the time anymore. 1Barber in Jodoigne has a honing service (and Gregory, the owner, does know how to hone). Alternatively, maybe Bart from coticule.be still does free honings. This would require you to make yourself a member of coticule.be and apply for the one-time free honing. Browse the benelux section, maybe you'll find other adresses there.

Now, it is true that the current production is not of the same quality as vintage. Therefore it would have been better to buy a vintage Henckels Friodur.

And 160 EUR is way too expensive for that razor !

Where are you exactly from, by the way ?

Cheers,
Wim

It is etched Solingen, which used to be a sure sign of quality. As gugi said, maybe not as much now as it was. Anyway, I would bet a really good honer could bring it up to speed. Hard to tell from photos because reflections can distort the apparent image, but looking at that spine and bevel I'd say the honing was sub par. See if there is a knowledgeable SRP honer in your neck of the woods, or close enough to send it out.

Thankyou for the pictures, they are very helpful. The razor shown is different from any of my Friodurs. On my vintage factory stock razors, the scales are a textured ivory colored plastic with the Friodur and twin logo made of a thin metal inlayed into the plastic. The blades have the shank trade mark information deeply impressed into the metal.

Your photos show a razor with the twin logo and Friodur painted onto wooden scales and the blade trade mark information lightly etched onto the shank surface. I have no information about Friodurs made like your razor, perhaps other members will know this razor.

I have attached an image obtained from the web of a typical vintage Friodur showing the common scales with inlays and the shank trade mark impression. Please note that Friodurs are made in different blade widths, point styles, and shoulder styles. Many Friodurs have no red paint in the shank trade mark impressions, and the exact words and style (single twins verses double twins) chosen by Henckels for their trade mark impressions do vary somewhat.

If you would like to shave with your razor, I still recommend a second opinion consult with a person experienced honing Friodurs, especially given the sentimental value associated with this blade.

HTH

Decraew: I looked up some information about the razor, and €150-160 does seem to be the price they ask in most places. Right now I'm thinking about asking the people at 1Barber in Jodoigne to try and touch it up.

I'm from Grobbendonk, a village near Herentals.