Thread: Douglas cutlery

Just finished talking to him about a custom Colonial that he is whipping up for me. Very Excited. Cant wait!

I'm back with my review! An Almost 9/8 Colonial Model !

What a pleasure it's been working with Douglas Cutlery. I literally messaged him about the process of ordering a similar Colonial model that I had seen him post from his FB page. I wanted to change a few things, like add a more traditional tail and add jimps and what not. He was great about giving me tips on what I might like and what works best with this type Giant Beast.
After we finished the order online he started right away and had it out to me in a few days. I was blown away at the craftsmanship of the blade and scales when I received it. His boxes are also a nice touch to store in or display.
So the next morning I started with a hot shower, lathered up nicely and went to town. It was laying nice on my neck but something just didnt seem right. I continued my shave and did 3 passes. It was a good shave but wasnt wow-ing me. Something didnt feel right so I emailed him right away and within minutes he replied and said that it doesnt sound right either and to get it in the mail asap and that he will cover shipping both ways. I could tell he really took it personally. He determined that something must have happened to the edge in shipping. He finished it that day passing HHT and had it shipped out right way. The whole process was less than a week.

Same morning procedure, hot shower, hot lather, and this time..... an AMAZING shave!

For such a large razor it feels so consistent and balanced with it's scales. I was really worried about the weight of an almost 9/8 razor but after a few shaves I dont even think about it anymore. I feel that Doug really pays attention to details like that.

I really had a down right FUN shave with this razor. I had mentioned to him in passing before I received it that I really would like it to be my daily and he delivered. It's going to be very hard for me to switch to any of my other razors right now.

I know their hasn't been a lot of review of DC razors as they haven't been around for a while yet, but you really need to check them out. Do a custom order. Get what YOU want. I was very particular about the shape and options I wanted and he delivered perfectly.

I WILL be ordering another DC razor after my high comes down from this one, ha ha.

If you have any questions please feel free to ask about my experience.

Something about those blades,that tells me to stay away,thats just me tho

I have one of his blades as well. It was called a Sea Flame. Kinda looks like a dragon and a fish. Pretty cool! It does have a very large bevel similar to a knife. Not sure why. When I touched it up on my 12k Naniwa it hit the bevel perfect so maybe it's supposed to be that way. I haven't shaved with it yet, but it is a nice addition to my collection. I think if you can afford it, it's good to support the newcomers if the blade tickles your fancy!

It's prabably supposed to be that way. I think some people don't get his idea (Shape) but it makes for an ergonomic shave. I can take off some thick neck build first and then get right into detailing around my side burn and goatee shapes with my DC.

I hope I can finally lay an issue to rest. The bevel is a product of the edge angle and the thickness of the steel where the line between the spine and the edge intersect. It will naturally be wider on a near wedge, in fact a true wedge is all bevel. Depending on the blade design some of these razors have heavier blades, as much as .007 not the .002 to .004 of vintage high carbon steel blade. This allows for a much stiffer edge allowing for what has been described as “a blade that plows through the beard”. It also allows for 8/8 or 9/8 shoulder-less designs without an increased risk of blade cracks. When a carbon steel blade is described as “singing” what is happening is the edge is flexing toward the face as it comes in contact with a hair and then snapping back in shape as it cuts through. The thinner blade is an advantage to high carbon steel, it allows the shock to be absorbed by the blade reducing micro fractures. There’s no need for this with carbon-chromium alloys, these are spring steels that are designed to flex. Neither is honing an issue, honing a wide bevel is exactly the same as a narrow one. In the end it comes down to a type of steel that will support a thicker blade profile allowing for a smoother cut through thicker beard, oh, and esthetics. On blades of the same thickness (.007 as an example) the wider bevel will be on the near wedge and the bevels get progressively narrower as you move toward full hollow. By the same token, the bevel will be narrower on a blade which is .006 narrower still on .005 etc. That’s it, there is no boogie man hiding in a wide bevel.

Lay it baby!

Can you show us an end shot of the grind?

here's four 1st half hollow

2nd near wedge

3rd quarter hollow (forgive the smutz)

4th half hollow ( those are reflections of the camera )

Originally Posted by bishpick1

I hope I can finally lay an issue to rest. The bevel is a product of the edge angle and the thickness of the steel where the line between the spine and the edge intersect. It will naturally be wider on a near wedge, in fact a true wedge is all bevel.
Can anyone show me a pic of a NOS near wedge vintage with wide bevels ? I thought they were all hone worn 1/4 hollows.
I may be wrong on that, if not, I can't understand designing a razor based on a worn out geometry that would have worked perfectly on tough beards before it was worn out.

Neither is honing an issue, honing a wide bevel is exactly the same as a narrow one.
I find honing a narrow bevel much easier than a wide bevel. The stiction alone is a PITA with wide bevels.

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