Something a little Aust of the ordinary...

Right. We've had Dovo Bismarcks for years, some very nice Revisoren, and some Wackers. All using the same Herkenrath forged 6/8 blades. Here is another addition, the latest Aust razors:

Attachment 185160

You are looking at 6/8 full hollows with scalloped backs:

Attachment 185161

So, gentlemen, what do you think of the scalloped backs? I think they are very pleasing to the eye. These particular razors have no jimps or etching upon request. The thumbnotch is executed in a way that makes the razors very easy to strop, hone, or handle (unlike certain Wacker razors from the same type of blank I have previously tried, more like a Revisor, and definitely better than the otherwise nice Dovo Bismarcks).

Three friends of mine and I have had ours (prototypes) for some months, and I could not be happier with mine. I like their understated elegance (ie no jimps, goldwash, or, heaven forbid, laser etching of the blade, although all these features are available if you order direct, as well as several types of points). Speaking of ordering, if you reside outside the EU, I would suggest that you wait for Straight Razor Designs to start carrying these, as shipping will be a lot cheaper.

Oh, and here is the original announcement by Aust.

I'm in love !!
Attachment 185163

Robin,

Good show on the Ralf Aust razors; they are quite handsome. I have several standard Ralf Aust razors and all are superb shavers, especially a little old 5/8 that is a knockout. Good stuff.

What is not to like? They have made a razor in one of my favourite blade styles and sizes that has simple, clean classic lines with the scalloped spine adding a touch of understated class imho. Personal preference for me would be upper and lower jimping. That model just might tempt me into buying only my second brand new production razor to go with a similar Revisor model I have. For me it has the makings of a winner.

Bob

I'd love another Aust, but every time I try to order through the website, it tells me that there are no shipping options available to the US. I have also tried to contact Herr Aust with no success ... I wish I could find a solution, as I'd love another Aust razor!

[QUOTE=RobinK;1420172]Right. We've had Dovo Bismarcks for years, some very nice Revisoren, and, of course, some rather horrible Wackers. All using the same Herkenrath forged 6/8 blades. Here is another addition, the latest Aust razors:
You are looking at 6/8 full hollows with scalloped backs

QUOTE]

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Originally Posted by RobinK

Aust and Revisor are, in my very humble opinion, the only modern production razors worth having. I have bought, and subsequently sold, my fair share of Wacker razors, and I will not buy another. Their price/craftsmanship ratio is simply not what I expect for the price. Dovo? If you like mass produced razors (ie tens of thousands), and buy from a retailer who inspects each and every razor meticulously, they might be an option. But if you want something that is hand crafted, it is either Aust or Revisor.

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How do you reconcile these statements? Given that they come from the same factory made blanks then the difference is down to grind and finish - all done by hand. I cannot comment on the quality of Aust or Revisor - what I can say is that my Wacker Chevalier is beyond reproach - as is my Dovo Bergischer Lowe.

[QUOTE=UKRob;1420202]

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Originally Posted by RobinK

Right. We've had Dovo Bismarcks for years, some very nice Revisoren, and, of course, some rather horrible Wackers. All using the same Herkenrath forged 6/8 blades. Here is another addition, the latest Aust razors:
You are looking at 6/8 full hollows with scalloped backs

QUOTE]



How do you reconcile these statements? Given that they come from the same factory made blanks then the difference is down to grind and finish - all done by hand. I cannot comment on the quality of Aust or Revisor - what I can say is that my Wacker Chevalier is beyond reproach - as is my Dovo Bergischer Lowe.

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And herein lies a tremendous difference!

This is a skilled trade ... not something picked up in a week or two. Look over Revisor's site of the old Craftsmen that work for Herr Kronenberg. This gives me confidence in their product. As the old guard moves on through retirement or demise, the skills are often lost to the trade forever. The same has happened in other industries ... such as Fabrique Nationale in Belgium, fabricators of the famous Browning firearms.

One cannot discount the effect that gifted hands have on the final product!

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Originally Posted by UKRob

How do you reconcile these statements? Given that they come from the same factory made blanks then the difference is down to grind and finish - all done by hand.

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Dovos all done by hand? You wish...

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Originally Posted by UKRob

I cannot comment on the quality of Aust or Revisor - what I can say is that my Wacker Chevalier is beyond reproach - as is my Dovo Bergischer Lowe.

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I am sure that your Wacker and Dovo are quite similar in quality. Which is very much what I said above. A friend of mine used to sell Wacker and Dovo razors, and stopped a few years ago because he had to return up to 50% of each shipment.

And here is an image of two recent Dovos, straight from the factory. I think the gentleman who took them is a member here, too. And those are not even the CNC made 5/8ths, but the allegedly hand made 6/8ths if memory serves me right.

Attachment 185166

I have sadly encountered a few brand new dovos as well with frowns in them that had to be corrected in order to get a shave-ready edge.

If you want something new that is at par with the craftsmanship of vintage razors, then indeed, Aust and Revisor are very consistant in that regard.

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Originally Posted by Druid

For the most part, I agree with you completely, but, I've been blessed with my Wackers. I love them, and they're great shavers, but if you're talking about price/performance, the Revisoren and Aust win hands down. It warms my heart to see Craftsmen at their best.

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+1 I like Aust, and what Revisors I've had, but IME the two Wackers I've had were equal with any other razor, and better than many. Why the OP feels it necessary to bash a vendor in a post showing a pair of another vendor's razors is beyond my limited imagination ....... unless there is an agenda going on in the background.

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Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

+1 I like Aust, and what Revisors I've had, but IME the two Wackers I've had were equal with any other razor, and better than many. Why the OP feels it necessary to bash a vendor in a post showing a pair of another vendor's razors is beyond my limited imagination ....... unless there is an agenda going on in the background.

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Well, hello, Jimmy! Neither Wacker nor any of the others are vendors. They are manufacturers. And I did not bash Wacker, I relayed my personal experience with several of their razors. Which was not good, mildly put. Here is a concrete example, pertinent to the type of razor in question:

Attachment 185177

As you can see, all three were made from the same blank. However, if you take a close look at the tang, you will see that the Wacker's tang is thinner than the two others. It may not look like much of a difference (in reality, it really is not), but it made stropping, honing, and handling this razor very cumbersome. You know that I am not prone to overly negative comments on individual items, let alone product ranges, and even less an entire manufacture. But this razor was a massive disappointment, and the others were not much better. Add to that issues with quality control so bad that two vendors I know stopped carrying them, and a pattern emerges.

Please do not forget that what you guys in the US are getting has typically been screened by your local vendors. Over here, we are more likely to get these razors straight from the source, or from vendors who, since we are less litigious society, are less prone to screening.

So, no agenda, hidden or otherwise, just a bit of first hand experience.

This is all very interesting, for me at least, and seems also related to the "Filarmonica" thread in the Razor forum.

Provided all these blanks were forged by Herkenrath, and I believe they were, were any changes made at the behest of certain "customers?" It seems there certainly could have been.
I imagine that the forge owned the tooling, but this is not necessarily so, as customers could contract to have tooling made to their own specs, and retain ownership. Regardless of who held title to the dies, I wonder if customers could specify different alloys for a production run, if they so desired. This could account for differences in "personalities" of certain razors, and how would we ever know? This could remain hidden in production records forever!
Further, I doubt that Herkenrath had any legal protection for the numbers "13," 14" etc.. And if not, others could be free to use these numbers for their blanks. I see a number of variations in the application of the number on #14 blanks, but that could be integral to the manufacturer's stamp on the tang. Who really knows?

So, since Robin is close, interested and seems to have access, perhaps our questions could finally be answered...

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Originally Posted by Druid

Provided all these blanks were forged by Herkenrath, and I believe they were, were any changes made at the behest of certain "customers?" It seems there certainly could have been.

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Yes, they could be, but they were not. Most certainly not in the past two decades, when razors were collector's items. Almost the whole current production is processed by Dovo. The rest is sold piecemeal to the small manufactures.

As an aside, there were more than a hundred drop forges in the heyday of Solingen razor production. However, steels were far and few between. I asked an old craftsman, who had been in business for more than 60 years. He said that, basically, the same steel was used by all of them.

Interestingly, apparently no one has bothered to have old blades analysed. It would be easy enough to do. And yield some interesting results, I am sure.

As far as the #14 blades are concerned, I honestly cannot be bothered any more. You guys are entitled to your own opinions, and if they make you happy, that is great, is it not? In the meantime, I shall stick with what I have been told by people who were actually around.

Very nice Aust's! I believe they will be selling a lot of those & they are beautiful shoulderless.

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Originally Posted by BobH

Personal preference for me would be upper and lower jimping.

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I agree wholeheartedly ! Especially as Ralf Aust tends to continue the gimps on the back of his razors, I like this a lot.

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Originally Posted by UKRob

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How do you reconcile these statements? Given that they come from the same factory made blanks then the difference is down to grind and finish - all done by hand. I cannot comment on the quality of Aust or Revisor - what I can say is that my Wacker Chevalier is beyond reproach - as is my Dovo Bergischer Lowe.

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Slightly off topic I guess, but just my 2c worth of experience with the Dovo B-L - mine never gave me a decent shave, grind was weird - GD weird. I could have done some restoration honing on it I guess, but I found that an unacceptable option for a razor of that price. I ended up giving it away to someone with more patience than I had.

James.

Fancy spines, love the look...