Thread: Thoughts on the Pils

Well Obie now you've gone and done it. You've spread this contagion and now you will be responsible for kids going hungry and college funds being raided and guys being thrown out of their homes and cars repossessed. Now these guys have no choice but to go out and buy, buy, buy. You Devil.

Luckily I am immune from such things.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

Well Obie now you've gone and done it. You've spread this contagion and now you will be responsible for kids going hungry and college funds being raided and guys being thrown out of their homes and cars repossessed. Now these guys have no choice but to go out and buy, buy, buy. You Devil.

Luckily I am immune from such things.

let us know what you think of yours when it arrives.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

Well Obie now you've gone and done it. You've spread this contagion and now you will be responsible for kids going hungry and college funds being raided and guys being thrown out of their homes and cars repossessed. Now these guys have no choice but to go out and buy, buy, buy. You Devil.

Luckily I am immune from such things.

Hello, thebigspendur:

Yes, I know, I am spreading temptation. Sin. You might just have to sacrifice, my friend, and order the Pils. She's a beauty, indeed. The Pils is in its own class. I can say the same thing about the Feather. They are worlds apart, but both superb razors.

I shaved with Pils again today and the shave was perfect, with no nicks. Three passes with plenty of care.

One thing I have noticed about the Pils is proving somewhat negative for me, though. Somewhere through the years I must have banged up my hands, I don't know. As a result — or maybe it's just old age — I have terrible arthritis in my thumbs. Since the Pils is a heavy razor, the heaviest I have ever used, and since the handle is somewhat slim, I find excessive pressure falling on my thumbs when shaving.

The Edwin Jagger "Chatsworth" barley is heavy, too, though not as heavy as the Pils, but my thumbs do well with it. This is because of the barley design of the handle which prevents excessive pressure falling on my thumbs. The Feather, of course, is lighter than the two, and the textured handle helps me along. No problem there.

What's more, I am also back to studying the classical guitar (my playing is dreadful), which relies heavily on the left hand thumb bracing up the back of the finger board. Not folding over it. This extra pressure isn't helping me much.

Some years ago I gave up straight razors for a time, because they were hard on my thumbs. Occasionally now I have to lay off the straight completely for a week or so, sometimes more — I switch hands — to reduce the irritation to my thumbs. On such occasions I use the double edge, especially the Muhle 89R and the Edwin Jagger 89L, which are relatively light.

As I continue to learn the Pils, I must find a way to compensate for the pressure on my thumbs. I hope I can do it, because I would hate to give up my Pils because of the blasted thumbs. Ah well, at least I have a Hollywood face.

Regards,

Obie

* Note: This afternoon I have experimented moving my grip higher on the handle to just below the shave head. This might help. I'll try it tomorrow morning with an actual shave and pass on my thoughts.

Nice review. Thank you!

Gentlemen:

The Pils continues to give me perfect shaves. Glorious shaves. No nicks — well, I shave with care. I even get a perfect shave on my neck, where the stubble grows in a complicated network of crazy directions. I still find the razor about as aggressive as the Merkur 34C, 38C "barber pole" or the Progress. I think the comments about the Pils being overly aggressive are exaggerated.

I continue to admire the razor's overall quality and workmanship. It is superb in every way, including the shave, as I pointed out.

My only problem with the razor is its weight in relation to the relatively thin handle. Ordinarily this would not be a problem; however, as I also have noted, I have terrible arthritis in both thumbs. As a result, the thin handle fails to compensate in balancing the razor's weight in my banged up hands.

By the way, even though the handle's texture is smooth, I have experienced no slipping. I presume the matt finish is partly responsible, but I don't know.

I have moved my grip up closer to the shave head to compensate for the weight problem, and it helps to a degree, but not enough. I'll continue to experiment and see what happens and will keep you posted.

Ah, yes, the Pils is a gorgeous razor.

Regards,

Obie

Where would one find this "Pils" for sale? SRD? You've aroused my curiosity. I'm perfectly content with my Gillette "Fatboy," but I'd love to at least see one.

Hello, Wayne:

I purchased mine from Lee's Safety Razors:

Pils Stainless Steel Safety Razor

Also, you'll find comments on the razor at Shaving 101:

The PILS DE Razor

Regards,

Obie

Thanks, Obie!

Hello, Wayne:

You are very welcome. I'd like to hear you thoughts.

Regards,

Obie

Originally Posted by Obie

Hello, Wayne:

You are very welcome. I'd like to hear you thoughts.

Regards,

Obie

First and foremost, for what the Pils costs, I could buy a top shelf straight, a Boker or Puma. After that, it seems a good idea. I'll stick to my Fatboy for now.

Actually, I'm interested in their shave soap. Anyone tried it yet?