Since a Russian Razor thread is lacking, and it has been suggested that thjs thread about Russian Razors be started, well, here it is.
Please show off your Russian/USSR/CCCP/Commie Razors. If you wish to tell the history behind them, that would be most helpful.
My story is that there are several enablers around here. I was looking at what they had, how they acquired the razors, how much they cost, and the quality of them. I couldn't resist.
Here is whats on the way:
Russian Razor "Орбита"(Orbita) . $14.99 + $12.00 shipping

Vintage Russian Straight Razor "Орбита"(Orbit) with case. Made at "Стиз"(STIZ) factory in Moscow, after 1971 till end of 1980's when production of straight razors has stopped, their blades had no stamp with year of production, but according the price shown on handle - "2 rubles", this one was made in middle of 1970's.

I had one of those, a few years back, a bit of an uneven bevel, but that said it took a very keen edge,
I have only honed 3 Russian razors, each one seemed to be very hard steel, but very good shavers, enjoy yours,

Two Pass Shaving Routine..

Hot Water Prep & Massage with Argan Oil
USSR Broctok - 2 Space Orbit Celebration 1/2 Hollow 5/8th
French Fitchard Pure Badger
Valobra Tallow Soap
Logona Mann Balm


I had My Maiden Shave Yesterday with My Russian 5/8th 1/2 Hollow that arrived the Day before from the Ukraine..Its Mint Man..Like Brand New..These are the Hardest Most Stubborn Steel SRs I have Ever Honed..Makes Swedish Steel as Soft as a Pussycat..Maybe Twice as Hard..Like a T 34 Tank..I Set the Bevel on the 1 K Naniwa & its Cutting Hanging Hairs before I Even Put it on the Progression..

Its One Serious Commie Quality SR...Brass Pins & the Grind is Excellent..It Took a Killer Edge..The Edge Feels as Fine as a Needle..Serious Hard Steel Folks..I Kid You Not..I have Honed a Number of Vintage French SRs that are Harder than Swedish Steel...This Russian Steel is Something Else..This SR hadn't been Honed before..Factory Fresh..This SR will Hold a Killer Edge for a Very Long Time I reckon..

This Russian SR Shaves as Well as any Top Shelf Solingen, Sheffield, Swedish or Japanese SR..It has a Surgically Sharp Hair like Edge & Very Smooth & Forgiving all in One Package..My 2nd Pass was Just a Polish...I had One of My Finest SR Shaves Today with this Wee Commie 5/8th...Its a Superb Shaver & a Wee Bit of Cold War History..

I Am Dolphin Smooth & Refreshed..

Billy..

Hard to Say from Here for Sure but it Looks Like is Could be a 1/2 Hollow Grind..

Billy..

Here is a link to the sale and photos:
http://m.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Russi...e-1970-39-s-/252556023413?txnId=1925498998015

Photo #2 should be what your looking for. I'm not good at judging 1/4, 1/2, or full hollow.

According to what I can Gather they are Mostly All 1/2 & 1/4 Hollow Grinds..

Billy..

her is my purchase that is on it`s way. 15,99$ and 12$ shipping. exchanged a few mail`s with the seller,and he seems to be a really nice guy.
looking forward to hone and shave with this one

Calling @NCoxSTL. Do you want to talk about your Russian straight?

Here is a Thread from the Straight Razor Place...There are Threads within this Thread on the 2nd Posting as Well..The General Consensus is that Some Hard Russian Steel SRs are Challenging to Hone..I Would Concur with that..The Hardest Steel I had Came Across before was Some Vintage French SRs Like Theirs & Others..These are Harder than Swedish Steel..My Particular Russian SR is Far Harder then Vintage French Steel..I Mean Far Harder..

It Would Apear that Not All Russian SRs are Ground out of this Hard Steel..The General Consensus is that the Models around the 50s were Better Quality Control..It has also Been Suggested that the Ones in the 70s that were made for Export were Generally Good as Well...There has been Reports of Duds & Bad Grinds Going Around..

I will Say this Tho..While I Don't Doubt that there will be Duds going Around I am Also Under No Doubt that Some Folks Just Wont have had the Skills to Hone them in the 1st Place..I have Seen Threads with Folks Complaining they cant Get Some Vintage French SRs to take a Shaving Edge as Well & No Doubt for the Same Reason..They Just Cant Hone them..

These Hard Steel SRs are Not Harder to Hone So to Speak..They Just Take a Lot of Cutting Time..That's it in a Nutshell..Some One with Limited Experience of Honing Could be Forgiven for Coming to the Conclusion these are Crap Steel & Hone Resistant because I was there Myself for a Moment..These Russian SRs Just Need Honed like Any other SR but it takes a Lot Longer...I Mean a Lot Longer..An Error Would be to Use Extra Pressure to get them to Cut..That's a Mistake that I Reckon Some are Apt to Make..
http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rc...-K23MbrNXnEPHDMMA&sig2=vageNZx6rO3BPv7yCRBR8A

Billy..

I bought this one because I dared Neal (NCoxSTL) to buy his, and I felt bad for instigating. I had Kevin hone it for me. The steel is about as hard as aluminum, and I had to stop and touch up the edge to finish the shave the one and only time I used it.

This one was made in Poland for Soviet hospitals to use for surgery prep. Stainless handle so it can be autoclaved. Called a Wapiencia (Wapi) by most. Not shave ready, but most people say the steel is medium hard.

About that high quality, Soviet era piece of fine Russian steel that absolutely provided the finest shave of my life.....so fine that I just stopped shaving in honor of it? Oh wait, you mean this!



Nice to see someone got a great shave with a Russian. Now if it could be done with a vintage Soviet...well.....miracles can happen? Just not in my case for sure!

Please note that Neal's razor doesn't actually have a spine. Not sure if it was that way from the factory, or if it was ground down. Because there was no spine, it would also slip right through the scales and try and bite you when folded. I will be honest, with this razor and the one I have as my only examples, I had written off Russian razors. I might have to revisit them.

maybe 12-15 layers of tape would make up for the lack of a spine

I Just Noticed that about the Spine...The General Consensus Reading Forums..Well..The People that have Managed to Hone them is that they are Top Notch Shavers..Mine is a Top Notch Shaver..Its Taken a Laser Like Edge that will be Unique to this Kinda Steel..Closer to an Edge that I would Expect from a Top Notch Japanese Swedish Steel SR but Slightly Different..

It Took Me a Long Time to Set the Bevel & to Sharpen it..But Hey..I Could have Shaved with this SR Right off the Naniwa 1 K Stone..It was Cutting Hanging Hairs from that Stone Albeit with a Miss here an There..The Progression was Not an Issue as all the Magic Happens on the Bevel Hone anyway..I Just had to Do More Sets on the Progression than with Softer Steel SRs...Also..I Stropped it for Extra Sets Coming Off the Hone..

I Honed an NOS Wester Bros Solingen 5/8th the Next Day & I Tell Ya it Felt as if the Blade was Made of Beer Cans after Honing this Russian SR the Previous Day..I Honed it like the Wind..

Billy..

All eyes on the Motherland, Comrades.

I did a lot of searching and read a number of threads before pulling the trigger on mine. I'm sorry for the bad experiences reported by @Drygulch and @NCoxSTL but from what I read they are anomalies. All the other mentions I came across were a lot of praise. Given @Billyfergie 's experience I am hopeful mine will be just as good. Same factory and 1961 - the seller told me the same thing about quality - the earlier razors have been reported to be better according to his past buyers.

It would appear the factory of origin has something to do with it as well. The STIZ factory is where Billy's came from (and mine and @DaltonGang 's.) The other that had a high reputation and reported to have made arms and surgical equipment was the factory "Tруд"("Labor") in Vacha, Nizhny Novgorod region. So, perhaps it's a good idea to pay attention to where these Russian (actually Soviet) razors were made. We will see when all of these start arriving and get honed and put to the test.

Anyway, here's the one I am waiting on. Great piece of cold war history. Made in 1961 when the Russians put the first man in space - Yuri Gagarin. It was probably the peak of their dominance of space exploration and their early triumphs pushed America to respond. That era set off a surge of innovation and technology advances through the NASA space program. It was an exciting time to be growing up. I was thirteen when Neil Armstrong put his footprint on the moon and remember watching it on a grainy black and white TV screen at a friend's vacation cottage. It's ironic that a communist advance pushed a capitalist country to back a government run program. And, there was no arguing with the end result. It elevated America to a new level of technological sophistication and confidence.

Behold, Comrades, the Glorious Paketa (Rocket):

Have a Vodka Comrade @Karl G ..

Billy..

Couldn't hurt the quality of the shave that's for sure. LOL

Great info. Can't wait to see how yours works.

You and me both.