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Did your 'grail' live up to your expectations?

EclipseRedRing

I smell like a Christmas pudding
I have read of so called grail razors and although I am satisfied with what I have, I have always desired a Darwin cobalt DE razor. I like the design, and also I suppose I am attracted to the exclusivity. I have had many enjoyable years searching for, and hoping to find a Darwin, and had a lot of pleasure at no cost, despite the fact I have never owned or used one. It occurred to me that in reality the Darwin, like many dreams, may not match my expectations and were I to acquire it then the pleasure of the chase would be lost. I have decided that I would prefer to keep looking and to keep the dream alive.

Those of you that have acquired your grail razor, did it live up to your expectation, or does a part of you prefer it when you had only the dream? Did you stop acquiring razors after you obtained your grail razor? Those of you that frequently acquire razors and have very large collections, do you have a grail razor or is the grail assembling the finest collection as a whole? Does any one razor acquisition give you any lasting satisfaction or at what point will the collection as a whole satisfy you? I am not so much interested in what your grail razor is or was, but more if it lived up to your expectation and if you regret acquiring it. Sorry for the long post 👍
 
Not at first. I will mention that my grail razor isn't a rare razor. It's just one I wanted for a long time. It's the Gillette red tip. When I first became a member of this website there was a lot of talk about the red tip razor. I was hooked by the description of it as an aggressive razor. Plus, the razor looks great. I would check the bay for it often but had a hard time finding one at a decent price. There were typically many bids for this razor. I finally got one at a good price. Once I shaved with it I was disappointed. It wasn't aggressive like I was led to believe. Skipping ahead in this story, it slowly became my favorite razor. I still use it as my daily driver and have no urge to buy more razors. I'm glad I not only bought the razor, but gave it a chance.
 
I had two grail razors so far and I ended up purchasing both. The first was a Gillette toggle, the most common kind. After paying to re-furbish it it came to $200. It did not provide me a $200 shave. The second was an Eclipse Red Ring. I actually lucked out and got a very decent price on it. It wasn't as impressive as I'd hoped it would be, but I tend to use it far more frequently than the toggle.
 

Chef455

Head Cheese Head Chef
My Grail came at the cost of "upping" my acquisitions, something like this-

VdH TTO from my grocery store
Merkur 34c
Muhle r89/ EJ 89
Fatboy
Slim
Tech
Red Tip
Rockwell 34c
Gamechanger .68
EJ 3one6

And then... a Timeless .68 SB. I could not as for anything more from a razor. Smooth, comfortable, efficient out of the box. Any blade.
So yes, it not only met but exceeded my expectations. Although I feel that I almost stumbled across my Frail.
 
No clue...I've never obtained my "grail." I have had no such object of desire when it comes to any software; I simply am not into software in terms of willingness to chase my tail to obtain, like many enthusiasts are.

A couple of months ago I would've said my only shaving-related grail piece would be a Ti Wolfman WR2. Now, after 2+ months of being almost exclusively SE (AC style & injector), I can't even get myself interested in any DE, much less one that would cost more than $700 to acquire. There is no grail SE for me.....my Vector is awesome, and I will never sell it, but I wouldn't call it a grail piece for me. I don't have that level of obsession about it.
 
I have read of so called grail razors and although I am satisfied with what I have, I have always desired a Darwin cobalt DE razor. I like the design, and also I suppose I am attracted to the exclusivity. I have had many enjoyable years searching for, and hoping to find a Darwin, and had a lot of pleasure at no cost, despite the fact I have never owned or used one. It occurred to me that in reality the Darwin, like many dreams, may not match my expectations and were I to acquire it then the pleasure of the chase would be lost. I have decided that I would prefer to keep looking and to keep the dream alive.

Those of you that have acquired your grail razor, did it live up to your expectation, or does a part of you prefer it when you had only the dream? Did you stop acquiring razors after you obtained your grail razor? Those of you that frequently acquire razors and have very large collections, do you have a grail razor or is the grail assembling the finest collection as a whole? Does any one razor acquisition give you any lasting satisfaction or at what point will the collection as a whole satisfy you? I am not so much interested in what your grail razor is or was, but more if it lived up to your expectation and if you regret acquiring it. Sorry for the long post 👍
Fatip Gold Grande Exceeded Expectations I only have a dozen or so razors. Now I only have the desire to get a back up Fatip Gold Grande.
 

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To answer your question yes. I have always wanted a G3 Slim. It is the first year and quarter of production and also happens to be my birth year and quarter. I have owned a G4 for a number of years, it is one of my favorite razors. Then I got a tip that a G3 was for sale on a certain popular auction site and I had to own it.

Little did I know it was a G3 Slim Aristocrat, in near mint condition, with the box...

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I haven't a clue as nobody seems to make my "Grail" DE razor. If I could find a solid copper slant I'd need new chonies after I woke up.

As far as my ultimate Straight Razor "Grail"...that would be a 13/16" or larger Wade & Butcher FBU Chopper...but seeing as how I lack the type of funding necessary for one in decent condition I likely will never obtain it.
 
I don't know because I have yet to find my Holy Grail razor. Or, more correctly, I have yet to spring for it: Gillette Bulldog. Since it's really an Old Type with the bulldog handle, I assume it shaves like an Old Type, of which I have many. So the sense of urgency to acquire one just isn't there. If I happen to find one in the wild where the person who is selling it has no idea what they have, I'd snap it up in a heart beat. Until then......
 
I had been looking for my grail but knew it would be a machined razor and looked at several and read endless reviews and opinions of all of them... and asked myself the same question... is spending $250 on a razor worth it? I decided on a Timeless .95 OC and the answer is yes. It took about 5 shaves to really dial it in but compared to the 37c I had been using for years the Timeless is most definitely in a different league altogether. Far closer and far more comfortable.
 

Old Hippie

Somewhere between 61 and dead
Those of you that have acquired your grail razor, did it live up to your expectation, or does a part of you prefer it when you had only the dream?

My first actual grail razor was just a trade from a razor I didn't want anymore for a razor I hadn't tried yet. Even at that the new-to-me razor wasn't the one I thought I wanted to try. But I went for it, and after getting the new razor (ATT S2) I loved it and have consistently had the best shaves with it.

I've learned to let grails identify themselves. Putting too many expectations on things only leads to suffering.

O.H.
 
Still haven't acquired my grail razor, which is a toggle. Been searching for one for about 9 years or so.
I suspect that if I found one it would fail to live up to my expectations. I do enjoy the hunt. And I get what you mean about how it is sometimes better to not find what you are looking for, sort of like how sometimes those Christmas presents or birthday gifts are actually much better before you open them.
 

AimlessWanderer

Remember to forget me!
I don't really have a grail, but did decide to get myself a birth quarter razor. I got myself a Super Slim Twist, my first vintage Gillette, and frankly it was just another blade holder as far as I'm concerned. It shaves differently to my other stuff, though not necessarily better or worse. I don't regret getting it, but rarely use it, and wouldn't replace it if it broke somehow. I'm just sticking to what I've got now, and seeking out grails doesn't interest me.
 
Nope. I really wanted a certain razor because of everything I hoped it would be, got it, and found that it's not a great fit for me. That's the problem - you can't know until you try.

I have a few "really darned good" razors, but none that make me want to give up the others. I'll probably continue to try to trade my way into razors that might meet the Grail standard, but if I never find it, I'll still be happy with what I have.
 
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