Modern wedges with some heft to them?

[ClydeBankston]

Hey there guys.

I've been shaving with a safety razor all my life, and for the past six months swapped to a shavette to use up the rest of my blades and try something new - and it's been great! Thus, I feel like treating myself and committing fully to a straight razor.

Now, I have very thick wiry facial hair, so much so that what's been bugging me about my shavette was that it didn't have the weight of my safety razor, and thus sometimes it almost feels like it gets 'caught' so to speak on my hair. What's particularly unfortunate about this is that when looking at the razors people recommend buying they all seem to be either hollow grinds with not much heft to them (it seems most things from TI, Dovo, etc) or a massive vintage wedge from the late 19th century. The latter is most appealing to me and would be great...but I would feel absolutely horrible destroying such old and beautiful razors.

And so in my time of need, I turn to you all now. What razors (wedges/near wedges) that have some heft to them are still manufactured today? Where can I even find them?

Cheers!

 

[silverlifter]

Rigarazor and Koraat would be my first stop if you are set on a heavy grind.

I'd also try a shave with a Fili 14; it will convince you that a beautifully made and expertly sharpened hollow ground will shave any beard type.

 

[Kyle89]

My Koraat Basic ii is modern made and indeed has some heft to it. Mine is 8/8 and is the thickest near wedge I own. I should weigh it one of these days lol.

Here's the grind compared to an old razor from the 1800s.

 

[Tanuki]

@silverlifter nailed it for two of the best options for very hefty razors.

Half hollows of 6/8, 7/8 or above might be plenty to do the job and offered the desired heft. Rasoir Sabre France, T-I, and some Solingen makers still produce half hollows.

My RSF 7/8 L'ours Russe "The Russian Bear" (a Solingen blank) is a half hollow hefty proposition I would recommend. Ertan Süer is a great guy to deal with and takes PayPal, which makes life simpler. rasoir-sabre dot com. I just checked. That razor is in stock but getting low.

 

[Darth Scandalous]

If you like heavier grinds, I think Rigarazors are the best value in currently produced razors. Fit and finish is top notch and they usually have a variety of blade profiles, without breaking the bank. They primarily sell via ebay, not sure if you can still contact them directly. Koraats are nice too, although I don't have a heavy grind one.

 

[DrStrange]

If price is no object,
then this is the best you can do:

Wootz Razors

Wootz razors are the most difficult to make look good. The visual pattern is the result of everything that happened during smelting, forging, heat treatment, polishing and etching. The resulting pa…

snailforge.be

 

[Mr Bedlington]

Best bang for your buck, in my opinion, the best custom razor you can buy is the RigaRazor, even with the most critical eye it's hard to find a single fault with those razors, I can't say the same about many other custom razors.

 

[ClydeBankston]

Awesome, thanks so much guys! I really appreciate your advice

 

[Frank Shaves]

Another vote for RigaRazor.

 

[Saloogie]

I'm a little late to this thread, but I recently discovered this gentleman, Max Sprecher

Max Sprecher - Online Store for Premium Razors

Find the finest shaving tools at Max Sprecher, the ultimate online store for razor enthusiasts. Upgrade your grooming game with precision and style.

www.maxsprecher.com

This guy makes some absolutely beautiful straights. They are like jewelry or a piece of art. They can get pricey with all of the customization he does, but man, if you want a showpiece, center of attraction conversation piece, these are the razors!

 

[fastback]

I'm a little late to this thread, but I recently discovered this gentleman, Max Sprecher

Max Sprecher - Online Store for Premium Razors

Find the finest shaving tools at Max Sprecher, the ultimate online store for razor enthusiasts. Upgrade your grooming game with precision and style.

www.maxsprecher.com

This guy makes some absolutely beautiful straights. They are like jewelry or a piece of art. They can get pricey with all of the customization he does, but man, if you want a showpiece, center of attraction conversation piece, these are the razors!

Max does fine work and has a lot of custom options. One of my favorites is one he made, the other is a Koraat that Ulrik worked his magic on. I could be happy with either but keep both just in case one gets damaged.

 

[Saloogie]

Max does fine work and has a lot of custom options. One of my favorites is one he made, the other is a Koraat that Ulrik worked his magic on. I could be happy with either but keep both just in case one gets damaged.

I haven't jumped into a razor by Max yet, because I won't make that kind of investment until my honing skills are 100% Right now, I'm in the hit or miss stage, sometimes I get a killer edge and sometimes not.

I did have him restore this one and it's really a beauty now.

 

[Wid]

Another vote for the Riga if one wants a modern wedge type razor.

 

[bmiller3230]

don't discount old Sheffields and others that people have refurbished and re-scaled. About the same price as a new Solingen Dovo half hollow Astrale (which is a fine razor), but with better steel

 

[ZeelandsRoem]

Another vote for the Riga if one wants a modern wedge type razor.

Another vote for Riga. Of the 7 I have, only one of them had issues. The other 6 were flawless. And while it may not sound nice that one of them had issues, Riga still delivered better quality than other makers.

 

[TheBeast]

8/8 near wedge from River Razors
1.2510 steel at 62.5 HRC
Buffalo horn
Fully custom, made by Boris from France

Perfect experience from designing through honing to shaving

 

[JPO]

8/8 near wedge from River Razors
1.2510 steel at 62.5 HRC
Buffalo horn
Fully custom, made by Boris from France

Perfect experience from designing through honing to shaving
View attachment 1990507

Beautiful razor. Boris does amazing work.
How long do you have to wait for a new razor from him?

 

[TheBeast]

Beautiful razor. Boris does amazing work.
How long do you have to wait for a new razor from him?

Agreed!

In 2023, when I contacted him first, the waiting line was 5 months.

But this one was 95% of what I wanted, canceled by someone else by the time it was all done. So I got it in two weeks with a discount. Was worth it, even if I don't particularly love the handle and wedge color combo. There is a high chance I will order from him again.