Thread: Bokers are my best shaver...

Hi.
I have many razors that I use regularly. I have seven days set, Solingen, Thier-Issard. Wade&Butcher, Puma, Boker, Worldmaster, W.R. Case, Shumate and many more brands but for me the best shaver are ALWAYS the Bokers.
In fact I have tree Bokers "King Cutter", quite old ones that I have restored and rescaled one, and I must admit they give BBS shave all the time with no irritation, no cuts, no bumps..just smooth shaving. Also, they are very forgiving, meaning if I make a false move or a wrong gesture no ill effect result.
My biggest disappointment is with a new Thier-Issard "Durandal". Sharpen by a pro it shaves hair of my arm, passes TP test and HH test with flying colors but when shaving I find the shave to be harsh, uncomfortable. The blade seems to bite to much into the skin and it irritates my neck. I do about 50 to 60 laps on leather strop before but it doesn't seem to help. To sharp?? I don't know.
I always use my razors in rotation (shave every 1½day) but when it come to the Boker it's always a delight.

bokers are great razors no doubt. i have a few vintage bokers in my rotation too and they are very smooth shavers . as to your TI try stroping it on newsprint, should smooth things up. no such thing as too sharp but sometimes micro chips in the edge will make a razor harsh to shave with.

I love my vintage Bokers too although I couldn't say any particular brand is my best or even my favorite above all others. Do you have any chrome-ox ? A bit of chrom-ox on a flatbed or balsa strop will smooth out a harsh edge IME.

Originally Posted by Jacques13

Hi.
My biggest disappointment is with a new Thier-Issard "Durandal". Sharpen by a pro it shaves hair of my arm, passes TP test and HH test with flying colors but when shaving I find the shave to be harsh, uncomfortable. The blade seems to bite to much into the skin and it irritates my neck. I do about 50 to 60 laps on leather strop before but it doesn't seem to help. To sharp?? I don't know.
I always use my razors in rotation (shave every 1½day) but when it come to the Boker it's always a delight.

Unfortunately we always try to Blame something or somebody else beside ourselves .
Tell you truth giving great shave is not just depends blade quality also it includes shaving technique, HONING etc too.
wrong honed wonderedge will scratch you, cut your face dig into skin so on.
My Best shavers are a lot razors, even i don't feel anything while i use them, including how they cut hairs TI ,wustoff,wonderedge etc. if they honed wrong any of them will give uncomfortable shave.
Preparation is same,
hope this helps

Sounds like you have good taste, and a bit of RAD. Your other blades can be just as good. I prefer some blades over others, but when you say one shaves better than another, a lot of factors are involved, as Hi Bud Gl stated, Honing for one, Technique another. The style of blade, how you hold it, Grind, etc, etc, etc..

Boker's are German made. Probably Solingen Steel, Puma is German too, , and highly regarded, also probably all the same German steel. I'm sure you get my point. A few months back, everyone was raving about Filarmonica's. NOS Spanish Razors, Great Shavers, Good steel, cheap ass plastic scales, What was remarkable about the Fily's was how shave ready they were out of the box. This is rare.
They requiered very little tweaking. One day, with continued use, your Boker's will require honing. You may feel differently. I have several Boker's myself, All Vintage. I have not purchased any new Boker's. The one's I have shave well.

Also, as Jimmy stated, try tweaking your other razors a bit. Some Crox, or Diamond Paste or spray on wool felt, or if you happen to have an Escher...somthing along those lines will help your other blades...if you want to ramp up your current blades and are unfamilar with honing, pasting techniques, any one of use can help you, just send a pm....

Just had my second shave with a Silber Steel Boker I restored this morning. I'm quite impressed. It is very similar to my Wacker (also Silber Stahl) though a little smaller. Not sure if it is a love for the Boker or for Silver Steel, but a great razor either way.

I also have a King Cutter that needs a little bit of a toe re-shaping due to a chunk missing. As soon as I get some finer belts for my grinder in I'll fix her up as well.

I only have one and it's a very smooth shave I can get with it, but it's not my very favourite German blade, let alone, favourite blade. +1 on Jimmy's idea to tweak individual blades according to their 'needs'. Having said all that, I'm certainly looking out for other Bökers, mainly on the grounds that I like the one I've got. There's a lot of subjectivity on my part too, if I'm honest, I don't own enough of them to say anything definitive (=RAD, oh well).

Another Boker fan here. Started with a Red Injun and 9te5. A real find was a 1/4 ground I picked on the Board here. Just fabulous, and Barber's notch to boot.

. Only wish is that the wider blades were easier to find. I'd be all over a 13/16 or 7/8 Boker. Still don't have an Edelweiss or King Cutter; just waiting for super cliean ones to show up on the Board.

I've got a bunch of Bokers and really enjoy them. Classic razors IMO.

Originally Posted by hi_bud_gl

Unfortunately we always try to Blame something or somebody else beside ourselves .
Tell you truth giving great shave is not just depends blade quality also it includes shaving technique, HONING etc too.
wrong honed wonderedge will scratch you, cut your face dig into skin so on.
My Best shavers are a lot razors, even i don't feel anything while i use them, including how they cut hairs TI ,wustoff,wonderedge etc. if they honed wrong any of them will give uncomfortable shave.
Preparation is same,
hope this helps

This is very true, great advise. Honing can be done to where the blade is very sharp and cutting hair and passing tests all over the place but if the shave is bad then something's wrong. By being bad I don't mean leaving stubble, uncomfortable can mean bad shave too. This is why many of us use a cheap microscope from Radio Shack when we hone, you can see if you're polishing the full bevel and not just spots, and not leaving chips that feel harsh, etc. This is excluding prep as an issue also.