So, finally got around to shave with my recently harpooned Eterna razor this morning and boy was that a shave! A little bit about Eterna razors: Made in Sweden in the 40's these are high quality razors that are on the aggressive side. The various Eterna models can be seen here (I am not 100% sure but I am guessing that mine is an R620 model). In addition to razors the company also produced and sold their own razor blades: That's really all I know about the company - any additional information would be greatly appreciated The razor It arrived really clean - all I had to do was some basic disinfection and it was good to go. The first thing that strikes you about it when you pick it up is that the handle is very heavy even though it's relatively skinny and short. I'm guessing brass under the chrome finish. The next thing is the shape of the head. There's a lot of gap there but interestingly enough not too much blade exposure. It's rumored to be aggressive so I felt 'warned' though. Some pics: As mentioned I did feel that the handle was a bit short and 'skinny' for me (even though I love the weight of it). Here's the Eterna next to a Gillette Slim for comparison: Luckily the handle is of the common three-piece design; ...that allowed me to consider which handle to try it out with. Some candidates; Here with an Edwin Jagger DE89 handle: ..and here with a common bar handle from a Gillette NEW: The Shave I decided to go 'all original' for the first shave and put the old handle back on the razor and went to work... Right away this is a razor that tells you it's here to shave. The audible feedback is great and my very first reaction is that it was almost like shaving with a SE razor for some reason. Two passes later I have a very, very clean and smooth face. I got one small weeper but mostly because of me and not the razor. It is rather aggressive. I dare say it's up there with Barbasol FT for me. It's been several hours now and my face is extremely close shaven. I think the closest other shave I've ever had was a good straight razor shave a few weeks ago - it's that smooth. It's the kind of razor I wish everyone could try once - but not mine, this baby is not going anywhere. So, I'm really thrilled to have this aggressive Swede on my rack and will be using it quite a bit going forward.
The slope of the head reminds me of the Neillite 400, whose aggressive reputation is well earned. The stock handle is a little meh; the bar handle is a great improvement.
Nice aquisitions. Enjoy them! P.S. don't forget about place this in the Gratuitous Safety Razor Photos thread!
