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No Problem Doing My Own Work, But--

Agree that Fili's were made from hard steel. I have one that was NOS and it took a while to set the bevel. Saying that, you only have to do it once and then it's easy to refresh the edge if required.

I own 5, three 14's and two 13's. The 13's shave very nice, but to be honest I don't rate them as exceptional compared to a similar Solingen blade.

A Fili 14 is something else. Maybe my view is objective, but I think they are the perfect razors. Effortless shaves that always surprise me with how good they are. Soft on my skin. For me its the perfect combination of blade size, hardness and flexibility. Fili magic.

I also own a Koraat 14.2 and a Rigarazor (previously mentioned). The Koraat comes close. The Rigarazor is something different, with a much heavier grind and should be considered a masterpiece in it's own right.

User grade Filis can be bought for reasonable prices, and they shave as good as a NOS. Maybe better, if the previous owner did a good job on the bevel.

If you are new at buying Filis, don't buy anything that hasn't got the "Jose Monserrat Pou" stamped on the tang. There are some exceptions, but if it hasn't got the stamp, it usually means that it is the last generation and I have heard some bad reports from them.
 
A Fili 14 is something else. Maybe my view is objective, but I think they are the perfect razors. Effortless shaves that always surprise me with how good they are. Soft on my skin. For me its the perfect combination of blade size, hardness and flexibility. Fili magic.
That has been my experience as well. I also like the weight. I like a thin grind. Smaller extra hollow blades makes them a little too light on my opinion. I only have one Fili 14, and it is one of my best razors.
 
Had a few Fills, early production 14s..
Didn't do much for me... sold them. Literally nothing about them out of the ordinary when compared to similar blades. They were well made, sure. But not life changing. I had other 14s, Dovo, Boker, Dorko, Henckles, etc.. All pretty much the same, honestly. My Revisior 8/8 shaves as well as any of them.
Had no issue honing the Fills, I would say they were easy to hone in the sense that the grinds were good and didn't require gymnastics. I would not say they were hard to hone, or the steel was exceptionally hard, they were like good Solingens, like Dorkos etc. Felt exactly the same on the stones to me. They kept their edges well.
@Gamma, I know you like to vary your sharpening instrument. Did you sharpen you Fills with JNATs exclusively, or did you throw in a coticule or Ark in there sometimes? If so, what did you have the best luck with.
 
@Biltong & Boerewors I remember hearing you saying that months ago. If I'm not mistaken, you're the one who taught that to me.
There are a few exceptions, if you are knowledgeable enough to know. The EPB versions don't have the stamp, I think it's because they have a rubber grommet, in lack of a better word, that covers the tang. You will see some that the rubber has degraded and been removed, and hence it doesn't have the stamp.

I have seen other versions without, but again, for my level of knowledge, I think it's safe to stick to the simple rule.

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@Gamma, I know you like to vary your sharpening instrument. Did you sharpen you Fills with JNATs exclusively, or did you throw in a coticule or Ark in there sometimes? If so, what did you have the best luck with.
Yeah, I ran through different systems and mashups. I did some paste finishing on one also. Didn't notice those blades preferring one way or another.
 
I think I'll "hold my horses" for now and wait for the beautiful filli I know is out there at a terrestrial cost. I'll learn to be patient.
 
On that subject in particular, it really bothers me to see a vendor listing a Sello Oro for the same price as a JMP stamped 14. That's not to say the Sello Oros are bad, necessarily, some are just fine. But they don't have the same reputation for consistent quality that the earlier generations do.
 
i can't believe how some of those listings are incredibly priced for either junk or pieces that need quite a bit of work. Some of them I feel like I need a tetanus shot just looking at them
 
Filarmonicas are consistently good quality. I’ve never seen a warped or bent blade, a wavy bevel, or warped scales (except for obvious abuse).

I would not go as far as to say that.

The later Filarmonicas were not as good as the José Monserrat Pou signed ones.
I have four that are - including one stainless one - and they are easy enough to hone and provide excellent shaves.
But so do most of my other razors, and I have to say that IMO current prices for good Filarmonicas are pushed beyond what I consider reasonable.

There are other, more reasonably priced, vintage razors available that provide equally good shaves.


Hope this helps,


B.
 
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