Straight Razors

I got this in an antique shop for £7.50, it had never seen a hone, and had only minor pitting and watermarks in places. Hence 10 for price! It's beautifully made, as good as the new Dovo I took a gander at in a leather shop. I like the small piece of mother of pearl- only on one side of the scales, just at the tip, looks really nice. All the better for being so understated. It is the most hollowed razor I own, you can scarcely see the line of "wear" left by the hone. It says "12"...

I had high hopes for this stone, also from Axminster tools (www.axminster.co.uk) but is hasn't really fulfilled them. It's a broad stone, over 3", so I thought it would be great, no need to do those diagonal strokes. However, I find that the diagonal strokes are the way to achieve the best edge really easily, so this is no benefit at all. When I get a stone, I expect to lap it before use, that's normal, but this one was convex, rather tha concave. That made lapping it down to a flat...

I got this from axminster tools in the Uk (www.axminster.co.uk) as the Norton Combo everyone raves about was just going to be unreasonably expensive to get in the UK. It does the job excellently on an old razor that needs a bit of metal taken off- the 1K side takes it off fast, but does not seem too rough. The 6K side will put a bit of a polish on the edge, but this may take a while after the 1K, especially if honing up a chunky wedge- be prepared to lap the stone DURING use a few...

Story here~

Intro: The Feather AC (Artist's Club) was my first wetshaving razor. It still gets plenty of use in my rotation, even though I have a bunch of fine 'real' straights as well now. There are (at least) 6 different models available, three each in the 'RG' series made of solid brass, and the pricier 'DX' series made of stainless steel. I have the basic RG model, and that's the one I'm reviewing. (But I suspect most of the comments apply equally to all versions!) There are also three...

Ok I know this isn't a true straight razor but I feel it is well worth a mention. I bought 2 of these from ebay member 'sanguinebeauty' (no affiliation but a superb, reliable ebayer) to use on myself and in the barber shop. It takes 'snapped' double edge blades which are held in place by a very easy to use clamp system. The razor itself has a very nice weight to it compared to the pressed tin shavettes and is traditionally shaped which makes it comfortable to use and there is that...

This is a new-production razor available at numerous barber's supply stores. I got mine from Appleton Barber Supply for $52 (they also sell an Illinois #127 strop for $29, which is a relative bargain). The razor appears to be made by Dovo, since it comes in a Dovo-style ABS slipcase. It's a carbon steel blade, and my example has gold wash on the tail and shank but not on the spine, and an attractive gold wash diamond on the blade containing the C-Mon name, and the C-Mon name and a red...

I really love the "cool factor" of this razor... as nothin' beats saying to your buddies "I shave with a craftsman." They are good looking, GREAT shaving, and very interesting conversation pieces. Only 2 gripes.... I hate gold tangs/spines, as they are just rust magnets, and the worked shoulders making honing/stropping a little "different." Other than that, this is just a really superb, mirror polished razor, with perfect balance, and an incredibly delicate edge. These are wonderful...

Appearance... Some framebacks can actually look quite elegant.... this one in particular is 100% brute. These are "mans man" razors, and just seem to drip testosterone. They are mean, brutal, evil looking devices. Scale... This razor has really plane jane black celluloid scales. Not much excitement, but they look decent enough. Blade/Performance... True Frameback's claim to fame are their extremly ridgid blades. Since it is a seperate piece of metal fused to the spine, they can...

Looks... This is really a remarkably gorgeous razor, and an equally stellar shaver. Really an interesting look to it, with the "gold" colored scales, and the gold wash on the blade, and although it may look a bit "over the top" - it really works, and is a stunning razor to behold in person. Gold Wash on blade... Puma Logo on scales.... Quality... Like all pumas, simply TOP notch fit and finish, and scary quality control standards. Everything fits PERFECT on this razor. You...

I really like simple, elegant, refined razors. In fact... my favorite razors seem to be those with plain jane blades, and unmarked/one material scales. My japanese razors, my horn handled TI's and so on and so forth... quite "plain" looking, yet just rub me the right way. Now, while I do like plain razors... these desert ironwood razors have never done much for me in pictures, and I was always a bit curious as to why they were so costly.... now that I have had the opportunity to sharpen one...

Packaging... First and foremost, this razor comes in Dovo's "new" style razor boxes, which are actually metal containers, lined with a soft foam. Much, much nicer than the standard Dovo razor box.... a nice touch for sure.... Markings/Etchings.... Alright... this is my biggest (ok - only) complaint with this razor, to me (just my opinion) the razor has all sorts of conflicting fonts, text/marking colors, and it really imparts a cheap/cheezy look to the razor. It isn't...

I've been planning to review this razor for a while now, but I'm not all that good writing creatively so I've kept putting it off. I hope this is of use and not too boring! :redface: THis was the second Maestro Livi razor I bought, having been very impressed with the first - an 8/8 ATS34. After watching some of Maestro Livi's DVDs and seeing photo's of Lynn's collection, I wanted to order a second Maestro with at least a Damascus blade. However I knew that Maestro Livi has a small...

Ok this blade is a bit odd. It's a 6/8 (my favorite size and there's nothing odd about that). As you can see it has a box/holder in the same pattern/colours as the scales. It is a travel razor. Similar to the travel brushes or even travel toothbrushes. The thing that surprised me about the thing though is the worked back with a pattern. You can't really see it in this picture because I'm not a very good photographer but it's very nice. Kind of like a star pattern. All in all this is...

This razor is a NOS Friodur from John Crowley (www.shavingshop.com), with custom scales by Robert Williams. The scale material is oryx (or gemsbok) horn, and the wedge is another piece of oryx. Oryx horn has grooves spiralling up the length of it, and these spiralling grooves have been left in the outside surface of the scales, and provide a nice distinctive touch. The razor arrived with a nice shaving edge on it, and my first shave with it set my benchmark shave for months. I have...

I scored this beauty on ebay... and I have purchased a few Japanese Razors off of ebay, and thus far the rest of them arrived in miserable, unusable/unrestorable condition. I finally lucked out with this pearl and got a really, REALLY old one in just superlative condition (for it's age) and had it "re-twined." After a very difficult battle honing this thing (it was a MASSIVE bear to hone) I was able to get the SHARPEST edge of ANY razor I have experienced PERIOD with my Shapton 30K. Not sure...

Please note: This review pertains to the "New Old Stock" Filarmonica's like the one pictured above.... some retailers carry a very plain Filarmonica that I have tried, and feel is not nearly as good. YMMV Filarmonica's, or what are commonly referred to as "Filly's" are really a hidden gem among straight razors, that have more recently been exposed. About 5 years ago, a fella was selling these razors (see above) mint in box for a very reasonable price, I knew nothing about them, so I...

Sta-Sharp.... and oldie but goodie giant killer... and giant killer as in Dubl Duck Wonderedge. These suckers are EVERY bit as good as a Dubl Duck wonderedge, however (at least in my opinion) look much nicer, and are more uncommon/interesting razors. Superlatively executed pearlex scales, with a GORGEOUS incredible mirror-polished blade. This razor has filed jimps on the top and bottom of the tang so as to provide a sure, positive grip when shaving, has outstanding balance, easy to hone...

The presentation of this razor is truly first rate, and is packaged in a handsome custom, handmade wood box....... Better angle to see Japanese writing, also notice this side of the blade is hollow ground.... Interesting "wedge" side of the blade... Rubber Handle.... Notice something odd? See 2 different grains of steel? Notice the line 4/5 of the way up the blade? Odd eh? It's actually 2 different steels, the steel for the handle is fused to a super...

The lust object from the TI line... not only is the blade hammer forged from the man, the legend - Pierre Thiers, but these blades have a widespread reputation for being both beautiful AND amazing (and I mean AMAZING) shavers. These razors seem to be the most consistently sharp TI's outta the bx and need VERY little to no work in order to get them scary sharp. No two alike.... With both being hammer forged, AND natural blonde horn scales on these razors, no two razors are alike. It...