Best straight razors?

Discussion in 'Straight Razors' started by basil, May 10, 2010.

  1. basil

    basil Well-Known Member

    Howdy all,

    Hope you are all enjoying your shaves on this beautiful day. I have a random question for all you straight razor users.

    What do you guys consider the best brand/ specific razor. Also what do you consider you favorite size and grind?

    Which brands would be ones to stay away from? I read somewhere that pakistani and chinese steel blades are not good and you should steer clear of them? What kind of razors would those be?


    I know everyone is going to have their own opinion so please no arguing. As a new comer to straight shaving I'm just curious whats the best of the best, and the worst of the worst.

    Thank in advance
     
  2. 1OldGI

    1OldGI New Member

    I've had very good luck with Boker, Wade and Butcher, Frederick Reynolds, and Imperial. Straightrazorplace.com has an extensive wiki on brands to avoid. The Pakistan/China steer is probably a good one, these razors hold an edge for ****. My brother is a custom knife maker and routinely turns folks away that bring him Paki/Chinese knives to be sharpened. He says you absolutely work your arse off getting an edge on these things and when you get it the edge lasts almost to the end of the first use. Generally, I think the walk away here is stick with something from Solingen, Germany or Sheffield UK and you should be good. I wish I could speak intelligently on Dubl Ducks but unfortunately they're a bit above my budget at the moment. They're German and I don't think I've ever heard a bad word about them.
     
  3. goshawk

    goshawk Well-Known Member

    In my experience the best of the razors you're likely to run across in the antique shops is the Boker King Cutter - I've got five of them and they are all good shavers. In fact anything from Boker is likely to be a good bet as long as it's in reasonbly good shape. Two other makers I'd encourage you to keep an eye out for are Gotta and Bengall. They're both excellent and less sought after than the high end Pumas and Doubleducks and so tend to sell at better prices. Among the American makers of the 20th cen., Genco, Union Cutlery, and Case are the ones whose products I have direct experience of and they all made good razors.

    Most of the razors mentioned above will be full hollow ground and between 5/8ths and 6/8ths inches in width. That seems to have been the standard in the 20th cen. The early English cutlers made stouter blades and they too have their place. One of the first razors I sharpened for myself was a Wingfield and Rowbothom 1/4 hollow and it remains a favourite. Wedges and framebacks will offer different challenges in honing. Buy them when you find them in good condition and don't be discouraged if they don't respond to your efforts right away. With them,as with any razor you take to the hone, think about what you're going to do and do it carefully. A razor is a simple tool and as long as you go slowly you are not likely to harm it too much.

    The only new razors I own are a pair of Gold Dollars which, despite the poor press they have received, are good enough to have stayed in my rotation. I will say though,that given the choice between spending $20 on a GD or a vintage Genco there is really no question; the Genco will win every time.

    Best Regards

    goshawk
     
    Spyder likes this.
  4. basil

    basil Well-Known Member

    I'm new to this whole thing so I don't have very much experience with what works or not.

    So far I have 2 henckels razor. A friodur and a platinum 401. The only reason I went with henckels was I figured they make good knives they must make good razors.

    I doubt I'll expand much more. But I'm tempted to buy a good dovo and thiers issard to complete a mini collection
     
  5. sffone

    sffone Member

    I have a number of different brands, but the two I use most frequently are Dovo and Gold Dollar. The GDs may get a lot of bad press, but mine shave as well as any of my other razors -- however, they do require a bit more work initially to get them properly honed; but, once done, they require no more maintenance than the others.
     
  6. AnarchoPhil

    AnarchoPhil Member

    Well, first off there is no best. That is a matter of likes and dislikes. Check out http://www.straightrazorplace.com/ as 1OldGI stated. Don't buy anything off ebay until you have a grasp on what some of the reputable brands are and know what to look for as far as damage goes.

    I have had good luck at antique shops and then sending them in for restoration. Here still, you need to know what to look for.
     
  7. AxelH

    AxelH New Member

    Also good American razors are J.R. Torrey. I love my Kansas City Grinding Co. razor, once I honed it up properly.

    There were actually a lot of razors manufactured by what would, by the blade's engravings, be anonymous German razor makers, for various American hardware stores and barber companies that are of truly fine quality. I haven't had a razor from Germany I haven't liked. Sweden is also fantastic, as plenty of iron ore for the other countries actually came from there, to be used specifically for straight razors and other high quality metals.

    Basil, you're very new and have very little experience, it seems. You are asking a lot of question and quickly amassing quite a post count. I'm..... impressed.
     
  8. basil

    basil Well-Known Member

    Why thank you:)

    I have never had a shave with a straight razor so im new in that way, but i have been shaving with a shavette and a brush for a few years now. So i just want to make sure that when i make the switch i know what im doing so that I can properly take care of my equipment for years to come.

    As for all the questions i cant help it, im a naturally curious person. Hopefully i dont start annoying you guys with my constant questions.
     
  9. rrp1501

    rrp1501 New Member

    IMHO, the Dubl Duck "Goldedge" is probably the best all around blade, if you can find one.
     
  10. Any vintage solingen blade honed by a pro.
     
  11. gssixgun

    gssixgun At this point in time...

    Supporting Vendor
    Really the only thing that is seriously important is that the razor is Truly Shave Ready when you get it...

    This statement actually eliminates the bad brands,because they can't be honed anyway...
    Just make sure you buy the blade from a reputable Vendor/Member and you should be fine....

    I always have the same recommendation for a first razor and it is about the type of razor not the brand..

    Go middle of the road

    6/8 size, is dead center and a little easier when learning to strop than the smaller ones and easier to handle on the face then the bigger ones...

    1/2 Hollow, again dead center and has enough stiffness to help those tentative beginner stokes...

    Round point, only for the perceived notion that it is safer :) trust me, they will cut ya just as fast !!!...:happy102:happy102
     
    ObiDon likes this.
  12. Goodknightbri

    Goodknightbri New Member

    The Friodur is an amazing straight razor.. most of them are Inox now which won't stain. I think you can never go wrong with a Henckels. I second the Boker King Cutter option, I have a High Class Boker that's 5/8 and I love it. It's an older razor that I had rescaled and it's one of my favorites.

    I'd also recommend trying Sheffield steel, maybe a Wade & Butcher or a Fred Reynolds. My favorite, though, is a maker called B.J.Eyre. I have a hollow ground, 7/8, notched "Barber's Use" restored blade with custom scales. It cost me about $125-150 but I use it a lot and it really holds an edge. I especially like the Barber's Notch for working around the nose and mouth. That biend said, the thicker grinds can be tricky and many of these that I use are 7/8+ so it's definitely a learning process. I shave with DEs most days and use a straight a couple days a week, usually on the weekend when I have time. I've only been using striaghts for several months so I'm still getting the hang of what I like and what works best...
     
  13. basil

    basil Well-Known Member

    I agree the friodur is pretty awesome. I sent it out to get pre honed when I bought it and used it the first time today. The blade did shave but I think it's not as sharp as it should/could be. Tempted to send it out again to someone else but don't know where.
     
  14. 1OldGI

    1OldGI New Member

    There's a Goldedge on line that is absolutely pristine, with a pricetag somwhere just south of $300. This is the equivalent of the Farah Fawcett Majors poster when I was a teenager :D (i.e. something I'll likely never get that's really cool to think about having.) See what I mean:

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Fortunately, I'll probably not go blind as a result of looking at the Goldedge picture. As for the Farah picture, I fear that the damage is already done.
     
  15. basil

    basil Well-Known Member

    I was on eBay the other week and was bidding for a goldenedge. The auction ended at around 50 maybe I should have pursued that more then eh?
    Then again to be fair it was kinda rusted and the scale on one side was cracked. But would have been something nice to restore.
     

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