Some time ago I bought a Leresche #51 and this coming week will be the first time I use it - and I'll be using the entire week. Without further ado let's jump into some of the history of the Leresche razors. History - Razor production spanned over 70 years from 1894 to about 1970. - The Leresche line of razors (all were OC razors apart from the unicornesque #77) are often referred to as some of the best DE razors ever produced, - The 'superstars' of the Leresche lineup - and the ones commanding the biggest price tags - are; . #51 w/in OC, and . #77 w/in safety bar - The razors are described as everything from mild to aggressive by various users so it's hard to get a clear consistent picture, - My Leresche, the #51 Luxe, is a rather hefty razor, has a thicker handle and weighs in at 79 grammes (the same as a Gillette Fatboy). Its handle is 7mm thicker than the Fatboy's but a bit shorter in length. - In addition to these DE razors, Leresche also made at least one SE razor in a hoe-style branded LeFrancais - They even dabbled in straight razors as per below; A patent page from 1930 pertaining to their straight razor efforts; 1930's newspaper ad about their straights; Excerpt from an excellent write-up by mohsulu on another forum: "Of Swiss origins, the Leresche family installed itself in the beautiful Yonne river valley, some 120 kilometres south of Paris. In 1894, the patriarche Jules Leresche (1855-1919) established a factory in the town of Saint Julien du Sault. There, taking advantage of the available hydraulic power, straight razors were produced by some 30 workers. Success was not long in coming, and the company began elaborating various innovative designs, including single-edge razors and blades of various types. The success of K.C. Gillette’s invention gives a further boost to the company. In fact, it manufactured thin, disposable, Gillette-type blades even before the French patent expired in 1918. How this happened is not exactly clear, since Gillette was in the habit of vigorously defending its intellectual property rights all over the world. Perhaps is was simply because, during WWI, the authorities had other concerns. It is worth noting that Gillette later contracted the making of its own branded blades by Leresche, presumably before opening its own huge factory in Annecy." .../... "The Leresche company ceased making razors in the 1970s. These days, they are a manufacturer of industrial blades of all kinds, specialising in ones that are used for cutting cleanly through fiber optic cables. " Here is a chart showing some of the DE razors Lereshe came out with: Ok, sorry about the history-ramblings but I must admit I'm a sucker for this kind of stuff My razor Now over to MY Leresche - which is a Leresche #51 Luxe in it's original leather case w/ two metal blade holders. It is hard to accurately date it but a best guess at this point would be 1940's-50's. Most Leresche razors will have the logo, name and country stamped on the back of the head as per below (I apologize for the crummy picture quality but all of these photos came out of my iPhone so it is what it is ): The razor is of a three-piece design and comes apart like this: Since I mentioned earlier that the handle is a bit wider than the Fatboy's here is a picture to try to illustrate that: Anyway, that's it Really looking forward to trying out this razor this coming week.
Holy Moly, you should lock your doors and turn off the lights because I'm sure the cops are looking for whoever broke into the museum and stole that! That, truely is a work of art. You are actually going to use it! Lol! I'll be watching this thread to see how it shaves. Congrats on an awesome find.
I think all your reports should be in French and in video format. Tout le monde repondent <<oui>> si vous êtes en accord!
Really nice score! That is a good looking razor! Looking forward to hearing how it shaves I was wondering, your razor although it does break down into 3 pieces is known as a two piece because the bottom/comb plate is attached to the handle. Would you know if "Leresche" made any 3 piece razors(separate head and handle)?
I know that both the 51 and 77 breaks down in a similar way but not sure about the other models. According to the chart at the top of this post they did make a lot of DE models but it's hard to find good information for all the versions.
Had my very first shave with it today. I know going into it I had to 'manage' my expectations a bit due to the high praise this razor receives. Loaded it up with a Rapira and face lathered with Arko. As I started shaving it was rather evident to me that it's a razor that is on the aggressive side of things - I'd equate it to how my Gillette Big Boy feels. The handle felt great - nice weight and width but I felt that it was a bit short [for me]. Maybe that comes from using the long handled Gillette Black Beauty all of last week. I finished my two regular passes: WTG and ATG and ended up with a very, very close shave with no need for any clean up passes. So to sum it up: a rather aggressive razor [to me] very capable of producing a close shave from two passes. Great feeling handle albeit a tad short [to me]. Is it the best razor I've ever used? So far no. It's a great razor but as much as I want I can't quite hear the angelic trumpets as I shave. Looking forward to using it all of this week and see how my impressions may change.
The razor is a beauty, and the historical account is well done. I look forward to tracking your progress with it this week.
Had my second shave with the #51 today. It was an interesting experience as yesterday I shaved off 2-3 days worth of weekend growth and today was just some 20-hours worth of regrowth. The razor is a pleasure to hold and use - it does ooze of that certain, hard to describe 'high quality' when you pick it up. I did my regular two pass shave and the result was even closer and smoother than yesterday - this is truly a most excellent razor on the more aggressive side of things.
