Thread: Friodur from eBay

This is the Friodur I picked off eBay last week. It arrived in a much earlier Wade & Butcher box, well packed, and in great condition, with no apparent hone wear on the spine--now that I've honed it, it has a just a tiny bit. It is a 6/8, but it may look bigger, as the blade is rather short. Not having handled or even seen many of these, I wondered if it had been shortened, but it fits perfectly into the scales, actually the square toe just misses the wedge. It is just slightly off center in the scales, but so little that I doubt I will bother to correct it.

The edge was perfect and pretty darn sharp, so I did a very conservative pyramid on my Norton 4K/8K, moving up first to the Thuringian and then the Chinese 12K, finishing on my TM 0.5 diamond pasted paddle. I got a very close shave, but a somewhat harsh one. This is my first stainless steel razor and it has a very different feel, I think. Even though it's a full hollow (perhaps a double hollow, as it thickens again before thinning at the edge), it seems a lot more rigid, almost reminding me of a DE blade, although it's been a zillion years since I've used a DE, so who knows.

I took it back to the Chinese 12K for 60 laps and another 15 or so on the 0.5 diamond paste and today's shave was even closer, but still very different from the half dozen or so carbon razors I've used over the last 9 months or so, since I began this SR adventure. The closest it comes to in my very limited experience is the vintage Japanese SR I've been using--that sharp and, well, stiff at the edge.

Still, a great razor like everyone says, and a beauty to boot. I see why folks like the stainless steel razors, clean, bright, and shiny, but I continue to appreciate the duller look but silky feel of carbon steel. I'll keep this razor in close rotation, because I've learned I can only come to appreciate a different type of razor by using it often and really getting to know it.

By the way, what's the deal with some Henckels razors being marked "Twinworks" and others "Zwillingswerk"? Two different manufacturer plants?

Thanks, Dan

Nice..I bid on this one, but I was too broke to compete..I would love to find a source for scales like that. I have a 7/8 Friodur I bought new a month or so ago with generic scales. Mine shaves pretty smooth, I had it honed at shavingshop where I bought it.

I'm pretty sure it's the same, just one is in English and the other in German. I took German in high school for one semester and all I can remember are numbers zwei = 2, so I'm sure the zwillingswerk stamp is Twinwork in German.

Nice grab btw

I still haven't bought one of the Henckels yet, but it's next on the list!