What's new

Anybody tried Windrose razors?

@efsk reviewed them on another board. Essentially he mentioned that the heads were not ready for prime time just yet. Finish was not great and one of the heads had blade alignment problems. These are essentially zamak heads that are coated and so they are not the milled stainless steel like their handles. Besides, they want a lot for just the heads. I am going to wait for a while.
 
By the way, just so others (and myself) know what you are talking about, you are talking about these, right?
(handle might be different but heads are the new thing)
il_fullxfull.1232152634_kxzj.jpg
il_fullxfull.1232164260_cbiq.jpg
 
Yes, that where I got the pics from. They have always been selling good quality razor handles, but the heads are something new, and those were the ones that were not ready for prime time. They are clones of vintage slant heads, The OC head is a zamak version of the more familiar PAA BOCS going for $20. The other head that has a more pointed top cap is a copy of a Merkur B3 or the one PAA just released (and sold out immediately) called the Alpha Ecliptic. The heads alone cost $45 plus shipping from the UK, and with problems in alignment and coating, I would wait.
 
FYI for all reading this discussion. eBay has someone(s) trying to sell the OC head with the Darwin handle for $25. It appeared a couple of nights ago and so I made a low offer and the listing disappeared shortly after. Today the same listing appeared with a different seller. Both sellers had very low feedback numbers (like 0 and 1). As Felix G pointed out the Etsy page, this version of the razor goes for $95. Beware as this seem to be similar to the eBay scam going on a couple of months ago where folks from China were selling Asylum, Wolfman, and other high quality razors for $30.
 
I have bought and tred the Windrose slants. The closed comb is a recreation of the Ile de France diagonal razor, the open comb seems to be very much inspired by the Fasan N°1.
Both razors are heavy, the CC one weighs 53 grams, the OC 39. Compare with the original Fasan N°1: 12 gram grip included. Those enjoying heavy razors are in for a treat. However, you need a heavy grip as well for proper balance.
Made from a zinc-alloy, both razors have plating-issues: it is not even, there are some pits, at places it seems as if it is painted on. More serious are the thin outer posts. They are so thin, the blade has a lot of room. On the OC, the posts have a 4.26mm diameter. For comparison, on the Fasan N°1 they measure 4.65mm, on the PAA bakelite slant (based on the Fasan as well) 4.83mm and the iKon 102 4.76mm. That is a lot of slack, and since the heads are so wide the blade doesn't protrude past the short sides aligning the blade is difficult. With todays shave, I had to move the blade to center holding the sharp edges.
Now once you have everything centered, you can have very good shaves with them, with the CC even better then with the OC, which actually surprised me since I like my diagonals to be as light as possible. At a pricepoint of $42.85 a head however, better QA is expected.
 
I got one of the Windrose Fasan Clone heads too!
Unlike the elegant Fasan and PAA Bakelite, the Windrose Head is very long and shockingly heavy.
And for sure there are blade alignment issues.
But then again I have used many vintage razors and also modern FaTips with alignment issues and it just takes a little bit of extra patience.

The shave was a good classic slant shave - it felt relatively mild, was extremely comfortable and proved to be very efficient.
And the razor head sure is good looking and pairs well with a nice heavy handle.

The Windrose OC Slant is an attractive and good looking shaver which certainly performs competently.
The only issue is the price which I think is way too high for something like this
I picked mine up second hand and I’d suggest that’s the way to go with these.
BD72ADB1-EB43-446D-890C-13CC5AA30975.jpeg
 
I took delivery of their humpback/Walbuch design head and gave it a go this morning.
It is a very good razor. No alignment issues and overall finish is great.
They switched to solid aluminum, looks like CNC and it is chrome plated. It is a heavy head, quite different from its bakelite origin, but good nonetheless. I only got the head, it balances well with a Razorock Titanium handle.
20181224_172539.jpg


Good stuff.
 
Proper thick wide strop. Has great quality metal handle and clip hook which is a great feature.
It's the full width of a straight razor which makes stropping easier.
For the money I can't fault this. Looks like it will last forever
 
I have the above Windrose polished (humpback style head) that I purchased in July of 2017 and it has no alignment problems at all. I have been very happy with it. It is the zinc alloy head but the chrome plating is good and is holding up well. It is a very very close shaver - nice and efficent. Heavy but really takes of the wiskers. I also have the Eros B3 and the two shave very similar. With the weight of the Windrose head I find myself taking it a little slower than with the Eros.

Has anyone purchased the Windrose (Fasan style head) lately? I am curious if they were able to improve the blade alignment on this head.
 
Hello,
I finally broke down after almost a year of procrastinating about this razor. Specifically the A2 humpback.
The fact that the head is now made from aluminum the multiple questions the seller answered I pulled the trigger. It arrived about a week after I ordered it.

The razor,
The quality on this razor head is excellent. The razors fit and blade alignment are dead on. No issues at all.

The plating on the exterior is equal to or better than a Muhle or Jagger or about 98% perfect. Minor, minor imperfections and I am being extremely picky.

The plating on the on the internal cap support could be slightly better. There are some surface defects on the center cap support. I would rate it at about 90% perfect. It is only on the center support, not on the safety bar lather “tubes”. It is barely visible when assembled. These defects are clearly shown in the sellers pictures. No surprise and I am not overly concerned at all.

I have seen similar quality defects on plating under the caps, cap supports non-visible areas on much higher priced razors from well respected manufacturers. The plating solutions today aren’t as good as in the past due to chemical, environmental restrictions. I see this every time I polish my 2010 Triumph Thunderbird.

The handle is well made and very hefty. It is grippy but not as much as a knurled surface. I chose this handle because it wasn’t much more and I didn’t already it’s clone.

Razor and handle paired together make for a very hefty razor. It could moonlight as a tacking hammer. Again no surprises and I like it. For some strange reason every time I look at the razor head it reminds me of the head of a Zenomorph (geek alert). If you shave in space no one will hear you scream if you’re careless.

The maiden voyage,
I am a head, face shaver with a goatee. I don’t have under nose maneuvering issues but do have similar around the ears challenges.

The tools consisted of Razorock Amici cream, Astra SP blade and a Omega 10098 boar brush. The shave was a 2 1/2 pass shave, WTG, XTG and ATG.

The results were exactly what I hoped for for the first shave. They will improve as I get fully acclimated to the razor.
This is a smooth but very efficient slant! It is in the same class as a PAA stainless DOC (aggressive one), R41 or Dart etc. It is a self correcting tool if you get sloppy with your technique. The result was a near BBS shave. Pretty darn impressive for the first shave.

I have to thank the seller for answering all my questions in detail (multiple times). He really was very helpful.

If your looking for a efficient slant without spending a lot of money I would recommend this razor. At about $62.00 delivered it’s hard to beat.

Eye candy below.

Cheers
John

78561C2C-D7E0-4152-8A22-836D4C1CCF34.jpeg
D049D4B2-C98A-4257-851A-7B4576320E92.jpeg
362BA1DC-1BD6-421E-9167-D01A540A2304.jpeg
801388B1-0623-466B-8485-CACDCE63905E.jpeg
F281ACA5-4E94-464B-BF2A-6A96226FEF86.jpeg


Zenomorph for comparison ☠️☠️☠️☠️

387B5738-F41D-4B38-ADD5-A18B5D2FFBE8.jpeg
 
Hello,
I was contemplating the OC. Love the humpback. What brand and size brush is that. It's pretty sharp looking.

Cheers
John
 
Hello,
I was contemplating the OC. Love the humpback. What brand and size brush is that. It's pretty sharp looking.

Cheers
John
Hi,
Thanks, that's a Dscosmetic 24mm Galaxy 2 band silvertip badger. Very nice and soft hair but with enough backbone so as to use with hard soaps.
Cheers
 
Last edited:
Top Bottom