Well they've been rolled out for a while now, and I've seen a handful of short opinions from some more experienced members of our boards. Recently I purchased a 5/8 Evide Sonnant Extra from Vintage Blades, and it wasn't specified what type of steel it was made with on the site, but I suspect it might be one of the new forgings. I've sent an e-mail to Jim for clarification, but in the meantime I'm interested in what the general opinion is on c135 forgings. What are your experiences with TI's new hard carbon steel?
Carbon Song c135 TI's
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I cant really give you any comparisons against other straights as I dove in the deep end and purchased new straight out.
I've been using it now since September last year - essentially daily. I have only just now given it a quick visit to the hone. It held the edge admirably well I think - Its quite a comfortable shaver with noticeably less irritation to the skin. (except when I get over-enthusiastic on chasing ultra smooth on the neck area)
I've been using it now since September last year - essentially daily. I have only just now given it a quick visit to the hone. It held the edge admirably well I think - Its quite a comfortable shaver with noticeably less irritation to the skin. (except when I get over-enthusiastic on chasing ultra smooth on the neck area)
My Evide Sonnant is a little more than two years old... I do like it quite a bit!
All TI C135's have two parallel lines on the tang and I have found them to be A1.
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My Evide Sonnant does not have the tell tale parallel lines like I've seen on the other c135's which is the only reason I don't think it is c135, but I thought maybe they didn't give it the plain parallel lines to differentiate the model from others. The blade is super shiny, the fit and finish are excellent, and the razor provides very little feedback for such a hollow razor. It's also very stiff with almost no flexibility which I thought were traits of the c135.
The edge itself takes to chromium oxide like a fish to water, and the edge is buttery smooth.
Here's a decent shot of what my razor looks like from the Vintage Blades website. The razor I have in my possession is much shinier. I hope Jim doesn't mind me linking this.
Yep, that's not C135.
I fall on my sword. That razor in fact could well be a C135 - I've been chatting to my guru at TI and he says it's possible and here's how to tell - if it has a letter on the other side of the tang it's C135. The letter is a batch letter for the heat treatment the blade has received and is also put there to relieve stress caused by the front side 'Thiers Issard' stamping.
Also, TI do mark C135 blades on the tang in the way yours is and then add the marks between the lines - it is done on their 'Text Francais' blades.
Also, TI do mark C135 blades on the tang in the way yours is and then add the marks between the lines - it is done on their 'Text Francais' blades.
TI used the same type of letter codes on the other side of the shank before they switched to C135 as well, so I suspect that it'll come down to the particular codes to tell if it's C135.
As to the OP's question, I've got one of the early Silverwings and am not terribly fond of it, it shaves fine but feels odd on the face. However, I've honed and tested some of the newer C135 razors, including one of the AOS razors and it was noticeably better. I still prefer shaving with their non-C135 razors, but the build quality on the C135 razors is so much better than the older razors.
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Well, that info is straight from TI so I guess they would know!
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It has a fairly large "L" on the opposite side of the shank.
mparker, do you prefer the historic brand over their older regular line as well? It seems to me most people do, but I was just interested in general. I barely have any experience with TI besides this current razor. My other TI is a Le Grelot 1/4 grind so I was wondering if all Thiers Issard razors were as wonderful as this subtle full hollow.
mparker, do you prefer the historic brand over their older regular line as well? It seems to me most people do, but I was just interested in general. I barely have any experience with TI besides this current razor. My other TI is a Le Grelot 1/4 grind so I was wondering if all Thiers Issard razors were as wonderful as this subtle full hollow.
Yes. My favorite TI's are generally (but not exclusively) from their historic line. But the quality of those razors is highly variable, while the quality of the new C135-era razors is consistently very good. You really have to be very very careful buying older TI's, and make sure to examine them *very* carefully on receipt, and make sure the vendor will let you return it if you find problems because TI can take months to deal with returns.
The Le Grelot's are very different from the normal TI historic line, and don't seem to be plagued with the problems of the TI historics. But then they're not really TI's after all, they're Le Grelot's...
I just got my first new steel TI. It marked the first TI with a decent pinning job and was actually very reasonably sharp from the factory. At 1 total shave with it I am not ready to judge it against the older steel, but the first shave went very well.
I just purchased a T.I. Special Coiffeur at Imperial Shaving a few days ago new. It definitely has C135 steel and is marked so on the box. Contrary to what some have posted, there is no letter proof mark on one side of the tang if it is C135. I already own a Dovo model 98 5810 with gold wash and Pearlex handles. I've been shaving with the Dovo for 3 months and it did require a little polishing and stropping to be shave ready (and a fine shave it is)! The T.I. was shave ready out of the box, however (I was impressed). Since then I polished the blade of the T.I. with chromium oxide and some re stropping to see how good it could get. The C135 steel shaves like a dream. The plastic handles are better than some other brands, but they do not compare to the Pearlex of the Dovo. Otherwise, the T.I. C135 steel shaves just as well if not better than the Dovo. A good polishing and stropping is all that is required.
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Mine is the 11/16 one here, where it says "'Carbonsong' C135 steel blade" - and it also has a "Carbonsong C135 steel" sticker on the box...
http://www.thiers-issard.co.uk/page74.html
But I see no parallel lines on it and it has nothing on the reverse of the tang - just like the one in the photos.
The steel? Easily the hardest I have.
http://www.thiers-issard.co.uk/page74.html
But I see no parallel lines on it and it has nothing on the reverse of the tang - just like the one in the photos.
The steel? Easily the hardest I have.
Mine is the same way..no lines, no letter but the box clearly indicates it's C135 Carbonsong; and yes, that is some really hard steel!!
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