I just finished my review of the only Thiers-Issard razor I own. HERE I am quite pleased with the blade itself but the handle quality sorta let me down. I know several of you own this brand. What have your experiences been? Eagle Brand Straight Razor Description Extra-Wide 7/8" Blade - Very rare! J87 Eagle Brand completely hollowed (singing) blade, mirror polished with gold-leaf "Eagle" mark. The handle is Brownish - Red Stamina-wood. 7/8" blade width, with smooth, round back. Eagle brand is a Knife Center exclusive. Includes a brown or black leather sheath Most of you know of my growing fondness for bigger blades so when I saw this I had to have it. This is the second razor I've ordered without having the honing option. I got this one, stropped it up and shaved, what a wonderful suprise. A great shave! The balance is outstanding, I finally understand the term "singing blade". I'ts easy to touch up on the hone and the heft makes it easy for me to strop. This one's a keeper for me! The only con for me is the handle which I felt could have been a little fancier for the price. The only reason it didn't get a 10 on quality of shave is due to my skills.
I have the very same razor, but an older production, bought from another member on a different forum. I like the blade a lot. The steel is very hard, takes a wonderful edge, and keeps it. Like you said, the scales could be better. I have bought some new TI's over the past year, but ended up sending all but two of them back to the dealer, mainly due to significantly warped blades. There have also been issues with general fit and finish such as uneven scales. I think TI makes great shavers. But due to QC issues, I would only buy new from a vendor that will accept returns without hassles. Or buy used, so you don't get any surprises. However, the current prices on new TI's have become unreasonable, IMO at least.
Great review Steve, I have owned a few TI's luckily I have not experienced the problems others have seen with warped blades......but I have received a couple with warped scales. Glad yours is in good shape and a great shaver :happy005
I own quite a few TI's and I rate them amongst my very best shavers. When you pay for a TI you're not paying for the overall quality of fit and finish, but for the quality of the shave. If you go back through the archives of the various shaving fora, you'll see that people have been complaining about the fit and finish of TI razors since the beginning. With a TI you are guaranteed 4 things: 1. P*ss poor scale alignment 2. P*ss poor pinning 3. P*iss poorer gold wash 4. An exceptionally good razor One thing that surprises me most about the TI line is that the more expensive the razor, the more problems there appear to be. I have an Evide Sonnant and a Le Gnome and they are generally presentable, not the best fit and finish but acceptable at that price point. However, the more expensive razors that I own are plagued with problems including the three mentioned above as well as a host of others, including: warped scales, uneven filework, uneven factory bevels , a 5/8 Damascus with the pivot hole drilled at an angle so the blade hits the scales going in every time and to this day I still don't know which Pierre Thiers I own because the number wasn't stamped properly. Obviously, things like this shouldn't happen, but it's a fairly constant thing with TI's, I think most people just accept the aesthetic flaws of TI's and just get on with it because they shave so well. That being said, I have yet to receive one with a warped blade. It has often been said that a thousand monkeys, working at a thousand typewriters will eventually produce Shakespeare; the managment at TI should take note of this and replace their assembly line staff with a thousand chimps, they certainly couldn't be any worse than what they've got now. All that being said, I think that the Silverwing I own is a lot better than previous work, I'm not sure if they made the extra effort with that particular model to celebrate the launch of their new steel, or whether this is a more promising sign of things to come. Giving TI's history I won't hold my breath, but you never know. Great review BTW. Kind regards, Alex
