Thread: NOS(?) Le Grelot 6/8

I don't have any info for you, but I wanted to share my complements. I've heard good things about the Le Grelots (though I've never shaved with one). That one is a smiling beauty; I bet she'll shave like a champ.

Congrats.

Originally Posted by holli4pirating

That one is a smiling beauty;.

You might even call her the Mona Lisa!

It's not NOS, as there is some wear to the blade etching, probably caused by stropping I'd imagine...

That said, the hone wear is indeed minimal, and the razor looks great!

I had one just like it (mine was $10, and rusted beyond recognition), after restoration it blew me away with what a great edge it could take.

As far as age goes--it does say 1931 on the blade etching, doesn't it


Hone it up and enjoy!!!

Enjoy, that's a beauty.

Originally Posted by Seraphim

As far as age goes--it does say 1931 on the blade etching, doesn't it

It says Gold Medal in Paris in 1931... all that means is that it's younger than 1931.

Originally Posted by Seraphim

I had one just like it (mine was $10, and rusted beyond recognition), after restoration it blew me away with what a great edge it could take.

Congratulations on your Le Grelot, I can tell that it will provide you with many wonderful shaves.

I restored the only Le Grelot I have and it's currently on my rotation, it took indeed a great edge.

Thanks guys!

Every rose has it's thorns, though. In trying to hone it up, I've discovered that the blade has a noticeable warp. Not a big problem, I have another warped razor that is actually a fantastic shaver.

Nicknaming it Mona Lisa is perfect - a crooked little smile, that I haven't yet figured out.

There's a difference between warped and smiling. In both cases the entire edge does not contact the hone at once.

A warped blade will make contact at only the heel and toe on one side, and the middle will not make contact. And on the other side only the middle will make contact, and not the two ends.

If your razor has a smile when laid flat on the hone it will make contact only in the middle, and will do so on both sides of the razor. That's a good thing! You hone it by rocking the razor up onto the toe or heel as you hone it to get an even bevel/edge.

Thanks Seraphim. To clarify, it has both a smile, and a warped blade. The smile is a big plus to me personally, I look for it in razors I buy. The warp, not so much. Looking down the spine, the razor curves to the left. The spine won't lay flat on a hone, it's bowed.

I had a surprisingly hard time honing it. I didn't think the warp would be a big deal, because I was already having to use a rolling X stroke due to the smile. After hours of trying, the rear half of the razor was very keen, but the front half was not. Not wanting to create more wear, I broke down and taped the spine, re-beveled it on a DMT 8K with some pressure. About 30 strokes on the DMT and it was golden, I moved on to the coticule with water and no slurry, and it was impressively sharp in no time, less than 50 strokes. I don't understand why one layer of tape helped so much, but I'm glad it did.

All that said, I shaved with it this morning, and got the best shave I've ever had with a straight, without irritation. The Le Grelot is the most hollow-ground razor I've ever used (...successfully). I've only been at this for 5 months, and started out gravitating toward wider, more wedge-grind razors because my initial experiences with really hollow 5/8ths razors gave me bad irritation due to my limited skills. I think the great results this morning are not so much that the Le Grelot is some magic razor itself, but that I have at this point finally gained the minimum level of skill to not rip myself up with a true hollow ground. That shave made my whole day, yep.

Are the Le Grelot 6/8ths offered today by Martin at RasurPur a similar full hollow grind? If so, I'd be inclined to pick up one of them in the future as a backup. Are there other wide (6/8ths - 7/8ths) full-hollow razors that I have been overlooking that are recommended? Now I get why full hollows are so popular.