Discussion Thread for 8/8 Henckels Friodur
- Thread starter joel
- Start date
Beautiful razor. The scales aren't quite to my taste, but they do show off that massive blade to great effect. garythepenman does great work, I've got a set of his scales on my De Pews.
I also bought an 8/8 Friodur from Gary with curly maple scales and I love it. His work is fantastic. Definitely my favorite razor (although my collection is pathetic compared to Joel's).
- Thread starter
- #4
I have one of those in 7/8 actually, great razor. It's a little harder to hone than a carbon steel razor , not technically just takes a bit longer. Mine is currently away with Gary having a set of custom scales made for it. 
To summarise. For a while I thought mine had been lost in the mail, if it had I was all set to go and buy another one. They are very nice razors.
To summarise. For a while I thought mine had been lost in the mail, if it had I was all set to go and buy another one. They are very nice razors.
Oh don't say that my friend.... I'm just 5 years ahead of ya
Yeah, but five years from now you'll still be way ahead of me.
Plus I'll be in law school for the next three years, so while you'll be completing your seven day sets of TI LE handforged and Robert Williams razors, I'll be mounting up the debt. 
Oh well, I'll have to be satisfied with my collection independentally of other people's.
I have a Fridur7/8 roundpoint - its a great razor.
It may be me, but I think SS razors have a slightly different feel than carbon ones. I also think they react slightly differently to various sharpening media than carbon blades.
I liked my 7/8 so much that I bought a NOS Dovo SS from Joe Chandler so I could have a SS razor in a smaller size as well.
It may be me, but I think SS razors have a slightly different feel than carbon ones. I also think they react slightly differently to various sharpening media than carbon blades.
I liked my 7/8 so much that I bought a NOS Dovo SS from Joe Chandler so I could have a SS razor in a smaller size as well.
You're right they do feel differently. Generally speaking they're not as soft on the face as a carbon steel edge.
I've got a set of Shapton hones that really only get hauled out for sharpening my Friodurs, carbon razors generally don't like them much but stainless razors just love them. My carbon steel razors love the tam o'shanter hone though, especially the really hard razors.
I have one of the 8/8s Henkles Friodurs with a plain plastic handle.
It's a very good razor but after the novelty wore off I found myself gravitating back to my 6/8s. The 8/8s rarely gets used anymore. I guess I keep it around for if I ever want to demonstrate an impressive shave, with a great big scary razor.
One of the good points of the thicker razors is they hold a lot of lather. I make my lather thin these days and a 6/8s now has no trouble holding the lather from one side of my face. When I switch hands for the other side I rinse. I'd have to rinse then anyways, as I don't want to spread the old lather on my face when I reverse the razor.
Edit - I'll go ahead and post this on the review thread and add scores too.
It's a very good razor but after the novelty wore off I found myself gravitating back to my 6/8s. The 8/8s rarely gets used anymore. I guess I keep it around for if I ever want to demonstrate an impressive shave, with a great big scary razor.
One of the good points of the thicker razors is they hold a lot of lather. I make my lather thin these days and a 6/8s now has no trouble holding the lather from one side of my face. When I switch hands for the other side I rinse. I'd have to rinse then anyways, as I don't want to spread the old lather on my face when I reverse the razor.
Edit - I'll go ahead and post this on the review thread and add scores too.
- Thread starter
- #10
I too am not a big fan of large bladed razors. 9 out of 10 times people talk about the "good" attributes of a chopper - they mention the whole "holding more lather" bit - which I personally feel is just plain asinine. Seriously...... seriously..... taking the razor, and holding it under running water for 2 seconds to wash off lather..... seriously.... talk about a new level of laziness. I have razors from 2/8 all the way up to about 12/8, and I can tell you I don't think how much lather you can hold on the blade makes a lick of difference. Lets get wild and say on the side of your face with an 8/8 you only have to wash the blade 1X. Now, let's be totally unreasonable, and say with a 5/8 it would require 3 washings.... 2 additional washings.... taking the blade from your face - and putting it under running water for 2 seconds.... times that by 4 or 5, and what are you at.... 30 seconds? Keep in mind, this is an extreme exaggeration, the simple fact of the matter is, an 8/8 of the same length isn't shaving you all that much faster than a 5/8, such a small time difference it is negligible in my opinion - and just strikes me as something a terribly lazy person would say.
I mean come on.... we spend HOURS honing these things, minutes a day stropping them, hours a day TALKING about them... and some of these guys are concerned with tacking an extra 15-20 seconds onto their shaving time? If you ask me, that sounds like someone who needs to re-evaluate their life, as if that little amount of time is making a difference, they shouldn't be spending hours on the internet arguing the merits of different steels, shapes, sizes, etc - and they should instead be going to bed 15-20 seconds earlier to make that precious time to shave.... or hell - might as well go back to a DE, or hey - a Mach III is even faster! You could even shave with an electric in your car while sitting in traffic.
Sorry for the rant, and this is in no way directed at howard - but it has always chapped my *** to see guys go on and on about how much more convenient and superior a larger bladed straight razor is... because it holds more lather on the blade. Doesn't make a lick of sense to me... and just makes them lose their credibility (at least with me). If you like big razors.... plain and simple, you like big razors, no need to preach to the world how much better they are using bogus claims.
NOTE: I can get a superlative shave from large razors, and I own quite a few - further, I am not against them, or owning/using them - however the fellas in the "big razors rule" camp just seem to come off as unreasonable zealots. Hey governor, we aren't talking about missiles.... it's scraping hair off your face.
Whew... that was tiring.
Good rant, Joel. Sometimes we need to get those things off our chests.
I doubt anyone chooses big razors because they're too lazy to rinse. However, the repetitive rinsing may affect the pleasure of the shave for some. If they also like a thick lather, then who am I to begrudge them their preference. The fact of the matter is that one difference between the big razors and the small ones is that the big ones hold more lather.
For me it makes no difference, as I use a thin lather that even my 3/8 travel razors hold well. But I don't like rinsing frequently. It disturbes my meditative experience. The need to rinse frequently comes from using great gobs of thick lather. All the lather that's needed is enough to lubricate the skin and stubble. Lather on top of lather is not filling a function.
I secretly suspect that all the fans of merangue-type lather are basing their preferences on early childhood memories of aerosol shaving creams. I've come to prefer my thin lathers, but I won't begrudge them the pleasures of their shaves.
The choice of lather, and of blade size, is a personal one based on our own preferences. Live and let live.
(For all you "big" guys crying in the corner after reading Joel's post, don't worry. I don't like rinsing every stroke either.)
I doubt anyone chooses big razors because they're too lazy to rinse. However, the repetitive rinsing may affect the pleasure of the shave for some. If they also like a thick lather, then who am I to begrudge them their preference. The fact of the matter is that one difference between the big razors and the small ones is that the big ones hold more lather.
For me it makes no difference, as I use a thin lather that even my 3/8 travel razors hold well. But I don't like rinsing frequently. It disturbes my meditative experience. The need to rinse frequently comes from using great gobs of thick lather. All the lather that's needed is enough to lubricate the skin and stubble. Lather on top of lather is not filling a function.
I secretly suspect that all the fans of merangue-type lather are basing their preferences on early childhood memories of aerosol shaving creams. I've come to prefer my thin lathers, but I won't begrudge them the pleasures of their shaves.
The choice of lather, and of blade size, is a personal one based on our own preferences. Live and let live.
(For all you "big" guys crying in the corner after reading Joel's post, don't worry. I don't like rinsing every stroke either.)
Not sure if using a straight of any kind could be considered the height of slothfulness. That said, the big razors really rock!
I am relatively new to straight shaving (about four months now). I think I am just beginning to fully appreciate different size razors. I have some smaller razors that I enjoy but my 8/8 is definitely one of my favorites. However, I have never associated a preference for a particular blade size with how much soap you could hold on it... For me, it is more about weight and balance of the razor. But that's just me.
I too am not a big fan of large bladed razors. 9 out of 10 times people talk about the "good" attributes of a chopper - they mention the whole "holding more lather" bit - which I personally feel is just plain asinine. Seriously...... seriously..... taking the razor, and holding it under running water for 2 seconds to wash off lather..... seriously.... talk about a new level of laziness. I have razors from 2/8 all the way up to about 12/8, and I can tell you I don't think how much lather you can hold on the blade makes a lick of difference. Lets get wild and say on the side of your face with an 8/8 you only have to wash the blade 1X. Now, let's be totally unreasonable, and say with a 5/8 it would require 3 washings.... 2 additional washings.... taking the blade from your face - and putting it under running water for 2 seconds.... times that by 4 or 5, and what are you at.... 30 seconds? Keep in mind, this is an extreme exaggeration, the simple fact of the matter is, an 8/8 of the same length isn't shaving you all that much faster than a 5/8, such a small time difference it is negligible in my opinion - and just strikes me as something a terribly lazy person would say.
I mean come on.... we spend HOURS honing these things, minutes a day stropping them, hours a day TALKING about them... and some of these guys are concerned with tacking an extra 15-20 seconds onto their shaving time? If you ask me, that sounds like someone who needs to re-evaluate their life, as if that little amount of time is making a difference, they shouldn't be spending hours on the internet arguing the merits of different steels, shapes, sizes, etc - and they should instead be going to bed 15-20 seconds earlier to make that precious time to shave.... or hell - might as well go back to a DE, or hey - a Mach III is even faster! You could even shave with an electric in your car while sitting in traffic.
Sorry for the rant, and this is in no way directed at howard - but it has always chapped my *** to see guys go on and on about how much more convenient and superior a larger bladed straight razor is... because it holds more lather on the blade. Doesn't make a lick of sense to me... and just makes them lose their credibility (at least with me). If you like big razors.... plain and simple, you like big razors, no need to preach to the world how much better they are using bogus claims.
NOTE: I can get a superlative shave from large razors, and I own quite a few - further, I am not against them, or owning/using them - however the fellas in the "big razors rule" camp just seem to come off as unreasonable zealots. Hey governor, we aren't talking about missiles.... it's scraping hair off your face.
Whew... that was tiring.
Joel,
While I can't/won't argue the intended gist of your rant (viz. the time-saving argument), I can think of another reason less "trips to the sink" may be beneficial (viz. there are, inherently, less initial strokes). This is important, because the initial positioning of the blade, in my limited experience, is where most nicks happen (because, you are interrupting the rhythm that was started).
Of course, you could argue this is entirely due to improper technique - and you would be justified in doing so (after all, proper technique ought to eliminate nicks, regardless of the number of "starts" and "stops"), but, for some this may be an issue.
Once again, I realize this was not what you were arguing (the large blade "zealots," as you call them, are not citing this as a reason; Nor, once again, am I trying to invalidate your response. I simply wanted to bring a possible alternative perspective to the table...
I was going to post this actually. I do like that large blades hold more lather, but the main thing for me is less trips to the tap to be rinsed = less chance for accidents. The most dangerous time when using a straight IMO is when you're moving it from somewhere to somewhere else at speed, it's very easy to lose concentration and catch something with it. Could be a towel, your neck, an arm, the edge of the sink, the tap, or whatever. You could end up with a cut or a dinged razor. Also the point where I put the razor down on the skin to start a stroke is where I'll cut myself if I'm not concentrating, so the less of these the better as far as I'm concerned.
I have a really nice shaving 5/8 Dubl Duck, and had a couple of superb 5/8 TI's (which joel now owns) that were great shavers too. I think I do prefer 7/8 or 8/8 over these smaller razors though, I find they're easier to strop and hone (wide blade = more stability), plus the extra weight seems to give me more control during the shave..
- Thread starter
- #17
Bunch of complainin' sissy men scared of dingin' their razors....
...and $.50 later, I'm back in business.
Crikey, I've been talked about
Well Oscar Wilde did say "there's one thing worse than being talked about, and that's not being talked about."
Gary
Well Oscar Wilde did say "there's one thing worse than being talked about, and that's not being talked about."
Gary
Well if you will keep makng such great scales, people are bound to talk about you.
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