I have heard that the Darwin Standard and Darwin Deluxe are very prized vintage razors. I'm not experienced with vintage razors so it would be interesting to have some input what makes these such exceptional pieces. I'm considering whether I should try to replicate one of these razors. It is unlikely that I will be able to produce them in metal, but I would be able to reproduce the quality of the shave with a fairly hard and stiff plastic, if given enough information. For me, personally, it's the quality of the shave that interests me. If you own one of these razors and are willing to help me out, would you please message me? You will need some patience (and maybe a camera with a macro lens) to put up with a bunch of ultra-detailed questions and requests for measurements. I will try to be respectful of your time, and I have some experience at this, so hopefully you will not find me too much of a burden. If you own a vintage razor that is fairly easy to replicate (not a TTO) and if you believe that the shave quality is exceptional, then I'd consider replicating something other than a Darwin. The Darwin design was distinctive, so it seemed like a nice place to start. In the interests of full disclosure; if successful, I will likely put it up for sale at my "store" at shapeways.com. Thanks!
I own a Deluxe, and although I've seen one or two people praise it as their best razor, I'm certain that many (if not most) owners value the design even more than the shave. Of the 20-some razors I own, the Deluxe is the most aggressive (more than the R41), and so I only use it once in a while. I'm not sure how these razors were produced, but from having read threads and looked at the few pictures available online, the variation in details makes me think that they were very much hand made. Some of the details that stand out on mine, are that it has more blade exposure on one side and the threaded piece is very short. Since becoming an owner, I've seen several different versions of Deluxe baseplates, topcaps and handles. Personally I'm not too thrilled at the thought of it being copied. Looking past that, I'm not even sure two DD's give the same shave...
Thank you very much for your insight. It completely makes sense to me. I confess I don't have a lot of liquid cash to invest in vintage razors, which is one of the reasons why I began designing my own. I sense a lot of satisfaction from the community for designs from the past. Merkur and Razorock both replicated designs from the past and people seem to enjoy them, which is why I'm barking up this particular tree. From your vintage collection, is there any one outstanding performer that is worthy of replicating?
The majority of my old razors are TTO and I don't have any vintage three pieces I'd describe as outstanding performers. I'm actually leaning more and more towards modern razors when it comes to the quality of the shaves, so I'm afraid I can't help you there. If we are talking purely aesthetics, I think that vintage European three pieces has the upper hand
Okay, thanks. It makes sense to me that modern razors would perform best, but I hear such high praise from so many about vintage razors.... if there is one worth replicating, then I am happy to try.
