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

A while ago I got myself a Zwilling Friodur straight razor. Stainless steel and a beautiful, dark wooden handle with the word 'Friodur' and the Zwilling logo inlaid in it. I love it. Today, I wanted to get it sharpened, seeing as I don't really posses the know-how or equipment. I went to a store in Antwerp that sells all kinds of knives, razors and shaving equipment. He'll also hone and strop your razor for free. 'Marvelous', I thought. I gave him my razor, he looked at it and though he was very friendly and eager and willing to help, I immediately noticed some light disdain or contempt for the razor on his part. When I inquired as to why he gave such a reaction, he prompted that Zwilling now produces its wares in China and just isn't quality material anymore. He got to work and started honing and stropping the blade, but failed at getting it sharp. Tried again several times, but it was no good. He inspected it under the microscope and informed me that the shaving edge was in a very peculiar angle. He tried getting the angle right again, and he did, but the blade still wouldn't sharpen much. After about an hour of trying, he told me to 'not even bother, even if it does get sharp, it's going to be a crappy razor anyway'. I took his advice and not having enough money at the moment for a new straight and getting over the disappointment, I opted for a nice Merkur safety razor and some Feather razorblades.

Still, it does seem odd. I have seen almost nothing but good reviews of the Zwilling Friodur razors.. And at the cost of a €160, I think it's very pricey for a blade that 'isn't even halfway decent'. What are your opinions on this?

Honestly, I don't know anything about the new Friodurs. My "old" one is a great shaver and always take an excellent edge (in fact it has only taken 3 edges over the years since it is quite durable).

In the absence of any other data, I would suggest getting it honed by someone who specialises in honing straight razors. I'm not saying your guy is wrong, but a second opinion from a specialist is always a good idea.

There are quite a few people in Europe who specialise in honing straights - Birnando in Norway, Neil Miller in the UK, for example. Take a look at the member services honing section to see who's available in your neck of the woods. If you don't mind sending it way overseas, Lynn Abrams, Gssixgun, Maximillian, etc are all experts too (just to name a few). I'd be more than happy to look at it for you also, but I am in Australia and the postage and time may make it prohibitive.

Good luck and I hope it works out for you.

James.

Yes, Henckels do have knives manufactured in places other than Germany. The other countries that come to mind are China and Spain currently and at one time Brazil. I do not believe that Current Henckels straight razors are made anywhere else than in Germany. The country of origin must be marked on the blade. The kitchen knife I bought was clearly marked Spain. Does your razor say Germany, I'll bet it does?

I have an older Friodur that takes and holds a very good edge. I don't want to be too blunt but I agree with Jimbo that you should if possible get somebody who specializes in SR honing to do the job.

Bob

Friodurs are among my best shaving razors. I have 5 vintage Friodurs, two of them are from the vintage 7/8 blanks that were ground and scaled fairly recently. All mine take a long lasting edge, are not difficult to strop and hone, and they shave well for me.

Perhaps more information will surface if you can provide pictures and information about your razor's markings and source of your Friodur. Is it marked made in China? All mine are marked Zwillingwerk Solingen.

I also suggest a second opinion from an experienced honemeister who has honed Friodurs as they are popular mid priced razors on the resale market and hold their value well.

HTH

I have heard the new ones are not quite as good as the old, but they are still decent razors. We are talking good instead of really good. Get someone else to hone it.

I took another look at the blade, and it clearly says 'Germany' and 'Germany Solingen' on it, both sides. I also noticed that the shaving edge, the little strip you see lighting up when held under a lamp, of the blade goes from thin to wider on both sides, with the narrow side down on one side and up on the other side. Yet again something I find very weird.

I think I will look for a second opinion, yes. The uneven shaving edge is only there since I've gotten it honed this afternoon. The shopowner did seem to know what he was doing though. Even organizes workshops about taking care of your straight razor. Really, I don't want the judge the man too harshly, he did try his best for about an hour long and even gave me a discount on the DE razor and the Feather blades, just because he thought it was a shame about my razor. He didn't have to since I didn't buy the Zwilling from him.

I don't think there are any issues with the razor. The issue is with the alleged honer.

is your Friodur new production or vintage?
I have heard the new ones are not that great. The vintage Friodurs are top notch razors, however.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

I don't think there are any issues with the razor. The issue is with the alleged honer.

This was my feeling reading the thread, though, to be fair, we need some pictures. It just doesn't seem that I've read any real complaints about the new products, and the reputation of the vintage is top-notch.

I never heard of any problems with them new or old, he may have had a bad honing day and blamed the razor.
Guess we all have those days, tho I try to keep from blaming my hones and razors.

Any pics of it, maybe some close ups of the edge?
We all love pics!