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Viking Razor

In what way is it damaged? It's hard to tell from your photos.

The whole frame of the head is bent like when a car gets smashed... everything is out of alignment and the mechanism fell apart. I sorta 'put it back together' to take the photos. I examined it to see if there was any way to repair it but it's toast. Too many small parts are bent and on a precision instrument that drags a super sharp blade across my face, I'm not willing to risk it. It's cheap enough to replace, but I have other razors and I like buying creams so I'm just gonna live without it I suppose :blush:
 
I actually own a God Father . It was the first safety razor I bought so when I purchased it I didn't have a lot of experience with what's good and what's not . So far I have been happy with it and the quality seems nice but it is clearly a copy / replica of the Tech II . I have never seen a Tech II in person so I'm not sure how the quality compares between the two and if the Viking blades razor warrants the additional cost .
 
On August 15, the seller on Amazon said this about the Viking Blade Godfather's manufacturing source: "For this particular model: The assembly workshop and QC is in Victoria, Australia; the steel mill that forges the parts is in PRC with Australian management and supervisors, and the razor blades are imported from Sweden."
 
On August 15, the seller on Amazon said this about the Viking Blade Godfather's manufacturing source: "For this particular model: The assembly workshop and QC is in Victoria, Australia; the steel mill that forges the parts is in PRC with Australian management and supervisors, and the razor blades are imported from Sweden."

He also said the Chieftain was an alloy of bronze & brass - in other words, copper, zinc, tin, and maybe some aluminum, manganese, nickel, arsenic, phosphorus and silicon. I wouldn't be surprised if he had some old lace to go along with the arsenic. :biggrin1:

I don't know if we should call the seller Uncle Julian (Vikings Blade) or Grandmother Julia (Marotaro, aka Bebe by me: "Marotaro, formerly known as Bebe by Me, was founded in 1985 in Australia by a young couple who wanted to create “designer” toys for their own children. In 2016, after a restructuring of ownership Bebe by Me was renamed to Marotaro. Don’t worry, sweet grandmother Julia is still personally responding to all customer enquiries on a daily basis!"
 
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Gillette TTO's amaze me. How many things out there with moving parts are 70+ years old and can still be used for their intended purpose & still do it well?[/QUOTE]

This is a very profound statement!
 
I have the MenEssential version of this razor and love it. I enjoy mild razors, the three in my arsenal are the Weishi 9306 gunmetal, Gillette Tech w/Maggard handle (forgot the model #, it's heavy and awesome) and this new razor. Always use Feather blades with these and i can tell you, this MenEssential razor is ever so slightly milder than the Weishi, at least on my face. I bought it solely for the beefier handle. The Weishi is fine but the handle is a bit thin for my fat hands.

Seems to be built just fine. It was $10, I wasn't expecting top quality but it fits the bill for me.

$Mild Razors.jpg
Left to Right..... Gillette Tech, MenEssential, Weishi
 
I have two of their razors, The Godfather (3 piece) and The Chieftan (TTO), which I purchased on Amazon. I am a newbie and have been using safety razors for the past month, so I may not be able to give you all a true review. I have purchased multiple safety razors ( this gets addictive fast!). I like both Viking razors but do not use them with the included blades. They just did not give me a good shave. I have tried the razors with Derby Extra, Astra SP, and Wilkinson sword blades. The razors feel good appear to be good quality. I am currently going thru a sample pack and have many more blades to try. For the price, I think it's worth trying.

My my other razors include: Parker 96R, Merkur Futur, Edwin Jagger DE86, Merkur HD 34C, and the just purchased but not used Parker 99R. I have ordered a Feather All Stainless Steel razor which should be here Monday. Just having tons of fun trying the different razor/ blade combinations and improving my technique.

I enjoy this forum and hope to be able to contribute.


Can you please compare this with Merkur 34C? Chieftain is my first DE razor and I'm curious if I should purchase 34C or not. I don't have a reference but I really like my Chieftain...
 
Can you please compare this with Merkur 34C? Chieftain is my first DE razor and I'm curious if I should purchase 34C or not. I don't have a reference but I really like my Chieftain...

I like the Merkur 34C better than the Viking razors. Not that the using the Vikings gave me a bad shave, especially with a good blade. To me the Merkur feels more solid and feels better in my hand. I believe that purchasing the Merkur would not be a bad purchase. I bought mine on Amazon for $31.99 so not a bad investment for another addition to my razor collection! :thumbup1:

Good luck and let us know what you think about the 34C if you purchase it.
 
I have a Viking's Blade Chieftan. It's nice. I don't use it much, preferring my Gillette Old Type Single Ring. Those two razors are pretty much on opposite sides of the spectrum in terms of exposure and agressiveness. I don't think I could give myself razor burn with the VB Chieftan if I tried. It's extremely mild and easy-going. You can press down all you want, it'll protect you. Works best with a super sharp blade like Feather. It would be perfect for more awkward shaving tasks, like if you shave your head; no need to be careful, just mow away.

It's quality material. I've dropped, thrown, bashed it around through some summer traveling, and it's still like new. The makers say it's an alloy somewhere between brass and bronze under the chrome. It's definitely a lot heavier than my OT or NEW fat handle, a really good weight and heft to it.
 
Yeah it's hard to tell with out cutting under the chrome. When I hear brass and bronze alloy I assume that it's copper with some tin (from bronze) and some zinc (from brass) but I would expect it to still have a higher copper content, but "pot metal" would imply that the zinc content would be much higher, such that it isn't very conductive any more. But, yeah, if you were making a pot metal razor, I guess you would want to come up with some way to avoid saying that.
 
There are no Pot Metal razors, but there are Zamak razors. There is quite a difference. Zamak conforms to certain standards, pot metal is, as it's name implies, any old metal thrown into a pot.
 
Pot metal—also known as monkey metal, white metal, or die-cast zinc—is a colloquial term that refers to alloys of low-melting point metals that manufacturers use to make fast, inexpensive castings.

Although zamak is held to higher industrial standards, it is still considered a pot metal. It's just an alloy of zinc, aluminum, magnesium and copper. Ergo, a zamack razor is a pot metal razor.

Bronze is an alloy of similar composition, although it's mostly copper. Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc.
 
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