Some weeks ago I received this Famex razor, granted, in a rather ratty looking condition: The baseplate looked rather good but the handle was..well...gray...and the top plate had quite some plate loss. In addition to that I felt that the handle was a tad short. Before we proceed - a bit about the Famex DE razor - Takes modern DE blades, - The baseplate can be reversed and to provide a more - or less - aggressive shave. - According to Waits' Compendium; "Mfr unidentified. Country of origin: France. Several Gillette types, cap with two studs and center screw, coiled (cage), comb or smooth bar guard, smooth or patterned hexagonal or finely ribbed cylindrical handle, nickel plated. .../... Also single edge version with flat sheet-metal handle." Some Famex models; That's really all I could find - so if anyone have any more info I'd love to learn more. Back to my razor... Using some scrubbing bubbles and Maas the razor cleaned up a bit. I was happy to see some return of the nickel shine on the handle. The two ways in which the baseplate can be mounted: and.... Since the handle still felt a bit small and still wasn't in the best of condition...I tried out the Famex handle on a number of handles. Anyone have a personal favorite? 1) With a Swedish Eterna handle: 2) With a Gillette common bar handle: 3) With a Nacet (tech) handle; 4) With EJ DE89BL handle 5) With a RazoRock SS handle...maybe a bit less successful pairing 6) With a Gillette gold, ball-end handle (also a somewhat questionable look...) Regardless of what handle ends up on it the final verdict will still be based on how well the thing actually shaves. I will hopefully find that out in 2-3 weeks when it's up to bat
Cleaned up nice. Looking forward to your review of how this razor shaves. As to handles, option 1 or 2 would be my choice.
Very nice write up This would make a great subject for the March 30 day focus. Not for the least reason that I would love to see the detailed reviews as the month progresses...
No can do. I'm committed to doing "1 razor per week" to get through - and use everything in my collection this year
Funny both of you would pick the Nacet handle - I also found the lines/pattern on it to go really well with the Famex head.
Today's the first day of the week I'm going to be using my Famex razor from France. The original handle is maybe not ideal for me and I have shown above that the head fits really well on a number of other handles - but this being the first shave with it I wanted to keep it as original as possible. I lathered up some most excellent Klar Kabinett and went to work. Now, I know that you can flip the baseplate around and get a more or less aggressive shave. It became rather apparent right away that I was using the less aggressive side. It was a very efficient and comfortable but not that drunk-on-wine-crazy-aggressiveness that I have come to expect from my beloved French [razors]. I completed one pass with the razor in that configuration, re-lathered, re-mounted the baseplate with the other side facing up and went for the second pass. Much more aggressive and efficient - Wow, a really pleasing shaving experience. Loved it. Finished up the second pass and had one small weeper but a very, very smooth result. It was also interesting to see that the 'caged' design did a really good job as a lather catcher during the shave. Looking forward to using this razor all week - with different handles. Vive La France!
I'm really starting to think that France produced some of the best DE razors back in the days - the ones I've had the pleasure to use have all been outstanding. I still have my Leresche 51 sitting on the shelf waiting for me to get to it....
