Thiers-Issard AOS

usually AOS is overpriced on every thing, I found this to be a great quality and amazing shaver for the price. this is the only product I would pay AOS prices for.

There has been a lot of hype with these blades. I picked up a used AOS TI with plain black plastic scales off the B/S/T mainly for curiousity and it is indeed a well made, if somewhat heavy blade.

The box has a sticker saying Carbonsong C135 steel and the price on the box is $135. It looks like the current photo below from AOS, except is has two lines on the tang between the logo and the blade. There is no initial on the back of the tang on the one I have.

The list price is not cheap for a beginning straight and is in the same ballpark as the Dovo Special, Boker Edelweiss, Dovo Ebony, and a number of other blades in the market. So, for price, to me at retail only about average.

The craftsmanship is very, very good on this razor. Very substantial feel, even, nice grind and a nice finish. High marks here.

The razor was easy enough to sharpen. I did a complete re-honing from resetting the bevel to finish in about an hour. Due to heavier weight of the blade than many full hollows it did take a few minutes longer. But, perfectly acceptable and in the range of very good. Blade was flat on the hones and the wear was even indicating a good even grind.

Edge has lasted well with a week of just stropping and has not shown any appreciable degradation. Again good marks here.

Shaves just fine. Not the best I have used, but surely not the worst. It does tend to want you to go for more, as noted above, and the heavier weight than some of my other blades did take a bit getting used to. But, it gives a nice DFS to BBS shave in the regular number of passes for me.

I have only used it a week, so no real long term maintainability comments.

Overall, not a bad razor. Some nice points are the fine workmanship, and nice feel and finish. If you have a heavier beard this may be a good choice, as it feels like it would mow down a lawn, if it had too. If you are into more delicate and singing blades, this is not one and should not be confused with the full hollow and singing TIs that are out there.

The AOS TI, my very first straight razor, is worth every penny, which is helped by the fact that it doesn't cost all that many pennies.

It provides a very satisfying shave without too much pomp. I have the simple black scales, giving the blade a very streamlined, classic feel and which helps keep cost down. There is sometimes a stiffness in the joints, but if you work it out a bit, there's no problem.

This is the razor I learned on, and has been very good to me, very forgiving for all of my mistakes. I highly recommend it, in this regard.