My B&B Le Grelot arrived yesterday and I shaved with it this morning. I'll try to keep this brief as I'm sure everyone else will want to post their reviews too. 
The pics are not very good as all I have at home right now is a crappy P&S.
The Razor
The razor arrived in the traditional T.I box with a very nice leather sheath.
This is one beautiful razor!
The scales are perfectly finished with a nice satin sheen. The Pink Ivory is warm with subtle but interesting grain. It is not nearly as pink as it looks in the pics. It has more of a warm brown tone with a hint of pink.
The mirror polish on my blade is flawless. It is a true mirror polish without any hint of swirls or scratches. The entire blade has the same polish! I took this pic to show a reflection so that you can see what I mean.
The B&B mark appears to be laser etched and the stamping on the shank is clear and sharp. The size and font of the B&B mark is just right.
There is oil on the blade in this pic.
The overall fit and finish is really very nice. The pins are tight, the scales smooth, the edge bevel on the scales is very evenly done and comes to a crisp point on both ends. The only minor gripe I have is that the scales on mine don't quite line up at the pivot. One is high by a few millimeters. You can sort of see it in these pics but it is more obvious in person.
Here is the blade edge as as it arrived.
The Shave
This is a large, heavy, stiff blade. Just the way I like it! The razor has a great heft and balances very well in the hand. It is easy to maneuver around your face and gets into all the tight areas easily. The thumb notch on the bottom and the well executed file jimps on the top give a secure grip. I really like to feel of the razor in my hand. It has a "secure", easy to hold felling.
I had the razor pre-honed by Joel. As always I will say that I have a very, very tough beard and really need a very sharp razor. As it is the blade is sharp and smooth but not quite as sharp as my very sharp wedges. On the flats of my face it gave a nice smooth shave with no pulling or scraping at all. Near the very sensitive areas of my chin and lips there was a bit of pulling but once again no scraping at all. On my neck where I tend to get irritation from all but the very best of blades I am pleased to report a slick, smooth shave! I think 95% of gents here will be very happy with the smooth sharp edge as-is.
All in all I am very happy with this razor. I think it will rapidly become one of my favorites. I will put a bit sharper edge on it sometime next week but will shave with it as-is for several days first just to get a true feel for it.
Joel & Nick are to be congratulated for this very, very fine razor and for the tremendous amount of time and work they put in to make this happen. Thank you very much gentlemen.
Joe
The pics are not very good as all I have at home right now is a crappy P&S.
The Razor
The razor arrived in the traditional T.I box with a very nice leather sheath.
This is one beautiful razor!
The scales are perfectly finished with a nice satin sheen. The Pink Ivory is warm with subtle but interesting grain. It is not nearly as pink as it looks in the pics. It has more of a warm brown tone with a hint of pink.
The mirror polish on my blade is flawless. It is a true mirror polish without any hint of swirls or scratches. The entire blade has the same polish! I took this pic to show a reflection so that you can see what I mean.
The B&B mark appears to be laser etched and the stamping on the shank is clear and sharp. The size and font of the B&B mark is just right.
There is oil on the blade in this pic.
The overall fit and finish is really very nice. The pins are tight, the scales smooth, the edge bevel on the scales is very evenly done and comes to a crisp point on both ends. The only minor gripe I have is that the scales on mine don't quite line up at the pivot. One is high by a few millimeters. You can sort of see it in these pics but it is more obvious in person.
Here is the blade edge as as it arrived.
The Shave
This is a large, heavy, stiff blade. Just the way I like it!
The razor has a great heft and balances very well in the hand. It is easy to maneuver around your face and gets into all the tight areas easily. The thumb notch on the bottom and the well executed file jimps on the top give a secure grip. I really like to feel of the razor in my hand. It has a "secure", easy to hold felling.I had the razor pre-honed by Joel. As always I will say that I have a very, very tough beard and really need a very sharp razor. As it is the blade is sharp and smooth but not quite as sharp as my very sharp wedges. On the flats of my face it gave a nice smooth shave with no pulling or scraping at all. Near the very sensitive areas of my chin and lips there was a bit of pulling but once again no scraping at all. On my neck where I tend to get irritation from all but the very best of blades I am pleased to report a slick, smooth shave! I think 95% of gents here will be very happy with the smooth sharp edge as-is.
All in all I am very happy with this razor. I think it will rapidly become one of my favorites. I will put a bit sharper edge on it sometime next week but will shave with it as-is for several days first just to get a true feel for it.
Joel & Nick are to be congratulated for this very, very fine razor and for the tremendous amount of time and work they put in to make this happen. Thank you very much gentlemen.
Joe
