Project: "Shaving with Eight vintage SE Hoe razors in a row"

Shave Report # 7 - Louis
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Next up: the French Louis razor.



A little bit about it from Waits:



There's a lot to like about the Louis razor. It looks, I think, great with the Louis on the head and it also feels very comfortable picking it up.
There is a soft patterned, knurling on the handle which is a bit different as many of these older SE hoe razors sports handles that are either smooth or have grooves in them that extends along the length of the handle. It almost felt like a modern version of this type of razors but in reality it is still about a hundred years old.



I was really happy to see that the Kampfe Bros wedge was a perfect fit for it so it appears that this is again one of those heads that will take most of the common wedge blades (the Roger being the only one so far that proved to be a bit picky).





Lathered up some Soap Commander Endurance and picked up Monsieur Louis.

First pass (WTG) really impressed me. It's a rather audible razor and it felt very, very comfortable.
I then remembered that I wanted to see how much I am reviewing the wedge blade in question - and how much is from the actual razor. Off I went to strop the first wedge blade I tried - the REX - and used that for the other half of my face (after having applied some more soap to my face). The result: pretty much the same so I felt good about the fact that I was judging the razor more than the blade.

Second pass(ATG): Used the REX blade for one half of my face and then switched to the Kampfe Bros blade for the other. Similar feel - which, btw, was great.
Still the same audible feedback, razor slides well across my face, the teeth are really well angled so that they help in generating that feeling of comfort.
The one thing that surprised me was that I didn't actually like the handle as much as I thought I would. Sure, it didn't slip at all but I think I have now become conditioned to associated these razors with the more traditional designs so it felt a bit off to me. Yes, now I'm nitpicking.

Finished my second pass and was a good 90% shaved. Some minor stubble on the neck and under the jawline.

I really enjoyed the "Louis" - close shave, comfortable head but maybe, for me, with a handle that made it feel a bit off. Great razor.




With only one more razor to go - Le Touriste - the highly subjective and non-scientific rankings stands as per below;

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Shave Report #8 - Le Touriste
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This morning I had planned to shave with the last of the SE hoe razors - Le Touriste, but unfortunately I ran into a rather unexpected blade issue with this razor.

I loaded the Kampfe Bros blade into it and at first it seemed to fit....



...but I noticed that the blade wasn't fully secured even with the clasp clamping down on it.

Le Touriste also doesn't have any notches on the front of the head to stabilize the blade against so it's all relying upon a firm, secure grip on top of the blade.

I tried the other three honed wedge blades I have lying around and the same thing...there was a bit of a play even with the clasp down.
For a moment I assumed that maybe the clasp/head was broken/misaligned in some way. I remembered I had an original Le Touriste wedge blade in the box and when sliding THAT blade in it magically secured firmly.

Looking closed at the blade I can see that it's a few mm thicker than any of the other wedges I have - you might be able to tell in the photo below (the Le Touriste on the left):


So, until I in the future have the Le Touriste blade honed it will unfortunately remain the only untested razor in this little collection which means the results stays the same as they were after the last razor.

I had a great time going through these razors and learned a lot - hopefully some of you found it worthwhile to follow along.




And that's it.

 

That's too bad ! I also have a "Le Touriste", but it uses flat SE blades, with two holes to tighten them. I found it two days ago, really gorgeous.

But surely you will find a way to hone this Touriste blade, don't you ? And / or find another hoe razor to continue the good work...

 

Ah, neat didn't know there were different Le Touriste heads. Disassembled mine looks as per below:


I may have the wedge blade honed in the future and if so I'll update this thread but for now I'm moving on to other razors to play with.
Coming up next: Mongoose

 

Ok ! Here's my "Le Touriste", it's a model n°3... So there are at least three different models !







Marvellous bladebox, by the way :



Here it is in one of my showcases, in front of the Rolls we talked about :



And I also mentionned an old GEM (here next to a Rhodium Valet), can't wait to try this one :

 

Man, that looks great.
Btw, I looked on the inside of my box and it's written "Le Touriste No 2"

 

Excellent !

 

I just received a "Kindal" today :



Can't wait to try it !

 

Nice Swede.
Are you gonna use the original blade(s) or try a modern SE?

 

I'll try the original, I think I have one already honed somewhere. Or I won't wait and try a modern SE !

 

That's a Lovely Set You have there Sir......

Billy

 

You should join the fun and have a wedge blade honed for one of your hoe razors yourself sir

 

Aye, I that's my next endeavour.....

 

Excellent write-ups Darkbulb.

 

I 'Kindal' like it!
Congratz and enjoy!

 

Digging up an old thread. I have recently fallen down the wedge rabbit hole and this was an awesome read. I have been enabled!

 

I hate you all...I was content with my razor collection, now I'm yearning again. Excellent read, very informative. @Darkbulb, did you ever get the Rolls and where would that rank among the 8?

 

Thanks - I did get a Rolls (fully honed, restored and oiled up in absolutely stunning condition)...and then I forgot about it and never actually used it!
Thanks for the reminder - I will try to have a go with it already this week.

 

Excellent!

 

Nice to see this thread get a bump. It will probably come as no surprise to anyone that I already had it bookmarked.

The Rolls is a fascinating razor and a great shaver. It is also a way to get into wedge shaving without breaking the bank, as nice sets can still be found at reasonable prices.

--Bob