What are the most disappointing razors you have purchased?

[South Dakota Guy]

Many of the Wolfman razors sold on the BST are replaced by other Wolfman razors that are more or less aggressive. Plus, some were sold early on before there was a legit waiting list and for a substantial profit.

As with all new razors that we buy untried, all we can do is try to guess how aggressive or mild to go. It would be nice if there was a way to try one before you buy it. As it is, if your choice is too mild or aggressive it is back on the wait list for another 6 months to try to find one that suits you or try buying different ones on the BST as they come up.

 

[santamariasteve]

When I first played with shims I noticed the increased pressure on the threaded post. This was part of the reason I decided not to use shims. With two shims I imagine one has to put quite a bit of torque on that handle.

No. I understand what you're saying, but one doesn't torque the handle any tighter with 2 shims than with zero shims to get the desired result. I've used shims occasionally on milder razors for over 10 years, and I've never had a razor fail (shimmed or un-shimmed).

The only problem I've noticed with shimming is it's a minor nuisance.

 

[wormspank]

I'm not sure if I'm disappointed in my ikon 102 slant or just expect too much out of it. I don't expect it to beat a RR Wunderbar or ATT S1, but I thought it might hold its own against a RR G37. It does not in my opinion. At only $20 for the G37, it makes the Ikon a bit disappointing.

 

[muzichead]

Judging by the number of Wolfman razors that I have seen sold on the BST forum, price doesn't guarantee happiness with a razor. That's what has held me back from buying one. Imagine waiting 6 months on a wait list then handing over a bucket of money only to find that the razor doesn't suit you. Everyone is different and many people don't care for the mild razors that I like.

There sometimes seems to be more than a few Wolman razors in the BST but like @ackvil pointed out they are usually sold to gather funds for an upgrade to another blade gap and quite a few others I've seen sold are because life just got in the way and were sold to gather funds to pay some sort of bill that came up unexpectedly. The nice thing about a Wolman is they usually fetch either the exact same price you paid for it or depending where you sell it they fetch more!! Are there people that the Wolfman hasn't worked out for, of course there are but they are far fewer than most other razors sold out there...

 

[Cannon Cocker]

For me it was the Henson AL13 medium razor. I found it to be way to light and the efficiency lacking in their most efficient plate (medium). It has taken me a time to adjust my pressure downward after carts to have to go back to applying that pressure to try gain some efficiency with this razor.

I have read that making a more efficient plate for the AL like their Ti isn't possible because the aluminum. I'll take them at their word, but I'm not willing to spend $250 for their Ti to find out.

 

[Whilliam]

A Hoffritz Slant. Damn handle split at the threaded end after about a year. And, no, I wasn't in the habit of over tightening it.) This was fifty or so years ago, so there were no readily available sources for handles as there are now.

Too bad; it was a pretty good razor, and quite expensive for the time.

 

[tknx]

Wolfman Guerilla - just not my thing. I find loading the blade to be a too fiddly and the hold angle not ideal for me. It is really well made though, can't deny that.

Now thinking about seeing if I can trade it for a Timeless SS or Ti .68 SB or Rex Ambassador but need to get around to it.

Right now I still use my Merkur HD and am okay with it.

 

[Badgerstate36]

Have you ever been disappointed by a razor you bought?

I don't mean mere buyer's regret, perhaps due to not doing your homework or making an impulse buy. Who hasn't?

I'm talking about a razor that's gotten a lot of buzz, by the manufacturer, the seller, online reviews, the shaving community, or all of the above. And especially one with a premium price tag.

You get the razor, try it, and say, "What's the big deal?" Or, "I really, really don't like this razor. I can't understand why there was all that hype." Or, "I can't believe I spent that much for this mediocre razor." Or, "A $100 razor really should not fall apart after one month." Or worse, "What kind of %*#&@! idiot designed this razor?"

Some of the razors in this category are perhaps flash in the pan fads that soon fade to oblivion. Some are weird throw-it-against-the-wall-and-see-what-sticks experiments from certain foreign manufacturers. Others are classic razors.

Of course, sometimes we might not like a razor, and change our opinion later. I've done that lots of times. For example, lots of people dislike a Fatip the first time they use one.

The flip side of this question is, have you ever recommended a razor, adding to the buzz, that you later came to dislike?

(BTW, there are certain razors I really like that, from what I've read here, some people dislike, or even detest. So keep that in mind when reading or making these comments -- YMMV!)

Remember that razor hidden in the back of a drawer or closet you prefer to forget you ever bought?* Now's your chance to spill the beans.

To paraphrase Alice Longworth Roosevelt and/or Dorothy Parker: If you don't have anything nice to say about a razor, come and post it here.

-=-

You might want to get it out and try it again. Who knows?

Rockwell 6S. I really wanted to like it but I found that it clogged up so bad that it was almost unusable.
Razrock Wunderbar. I really wanted to like it and it really is an extraoridinariablly well-crafted razor but I found it to be way too harsh and you had to really be careful not to nick yourself with it.

 

[BigSpender]

A Hoffritz Slant. Damn handle split at the threaded end after about a year. And, no, I wasn't in the habit of over tightening it.) This was fifty or so years ago, so there were no readily available sources for handles as there are now.

Too bad; it was a pretty good razor, and quite expensive for the time.

That's truly sad.

I wonder why your razor handle went on the fritz? Was it one of those modern versions of a Single Ring, with super long mating post? Your problem sounds oddly reminiscent of the OLD Gillette brass razor handles. As I recall, the Hoffritz slant cost $20 (or was that the compact travel version?) in the early 1970s, which would be about $200 today, given the inflation of the latter 70s and on.

Beyond the sad, premature demise of your Hoffritz, the (generally polite and restrained) gripes on this thread should serve as a warning to anyone thinking of bidding on that shiny, expensive, almost mint razor on eB. It is being sold for a reason. Some of the comments here sound like they were about razors I have seen up for auction -- and had the restraint to pass on.

Just because they are near mint does not mean they are lemons. A lot of lightly used Fatips and Schones show up, too, because the buyer didn't give them a chance.

But, the prices on these almost new razors can be bizarre, almost as much as you can buy them for new, and sometimes more.

So use caution and common sense when buying used razors.

 

[Marco]

My most disappointing razors were slants and open combs. They were just too aggressive for my skin, which agrees only with very mild heads (combined with extremely sharp blades).

 

[kingfisher]

I think you make some good, insightful points.

"The problem for me is at the more aggressive settings the blade isn't held in a curve, as was mentioned earlier by @southdakotaguy. No "bow". So it shaves a bit like a paint scraper. And the lower settings aren't aggressive enough to be useful to me.""

I took a close look and it. There is still internal curvature of the blade at the 9 setting. The problem, it seems to me, is the angle of the blade is relatively flat relative to the comb bar. The rise in the head pretty much prevents you from getting a good blade angle.

But what appalls me is there is only a tiny bit of blade exposure. This is not what you expect at the top, so-called "aggressive" settings. What in the world were the designers (and marketers) at Gillette thinking?

With razors like this, it's no wonder people who needed a really good shave were jumping ship for Hoffritz razors back then.

But what turns me off about adjustable razors in general is that they only change the blade gap. BTW, this is a very old trick, going back to the first Double Ring, in which Gillette touted loosening the handle a bit as a way to increase the closeness of the shave. It was in the instructions and even the patent.

So it's no wonder that when Gillette started making very mild TTOs in the 1940s and 1950s that users realized they needed to loosen the handle a bit to get a close shave in trouble spots -- although this could cause its own problems, of course. So why not design this feature into the razor? Voila! The TTO adjustable. Guys went gaga over the new shaving gadget.

But it doesn't change the blade exposure!

Do ANY adjustable razors change the blade exposure on different settings?

If they don't, what's the point?

That magnetic Futur-type adjustable (MFTA) is basically very mild, which some modern users like, but others don't, so you crank up the setting so you can get a shave. Most of the settings are unusable, like the Gillette TTOs. BUT, with the MFTA the blade angle remains in harmony with the guard and the cap, so that is easy to find a natural angle for shaving. And, judging from the thumb test, the effective blade exposure does seem to increase, though not in an absolute sense.

Frankly, I think the MFTA would make a fine and beautiful razor as a non-adjustable at the right setting, and with a bit more blade exposure. Looking at the head, I get a sense of déjà vu: hasn't someone already made that fixed head razor?

I only tried the MFTA briefly. I am not endorsing it. And I am still highly skeptical of adjustable razors, in general. But I think it is time to explore its potential.

The new Tatara adjustable razor adjusts both the gap and the exposure. Rather than having a blade tray go up or down, like most prior adjustables, the Tatara actually moves the safety bars laterally, so you can widen and narrow the razor. There are five settings: settings 1 and 2 are negative blade exposure, setting 3 is neutral, and settings 4 and 5 are progressively more blade positive. Interestingly, by moving the safety bars laterally, not only do they alter blade exposure but also blade gap.

Also, I'm not entirely sure that what you have said about the Gillette adjustables (Toggle, Fatboy, Slim, and SuperAdjustable) is actually completely true. I don't know, but off the top of my head I would guess that blade exposure likely does change somewhat with the largest changes in blade gap on those razors, since the angle changes when the gap increases by a large margin. Interestingly, while the Fatboy, Slim, and SuperAdjustable all work by moving the blade tray up and down, the Toggle adjusts by actually moving the safety bars while the blade tray stays in one place. The bottom-dial Fatboy also used the same mechanism for adjustment, if I recall correctly.

 

[CJB3]

As with all new razors that we buy untried, all we can do is try to guess how aggressive or mild to go. It would be nice if there was a way to try one before you buy it. As it is, if your choice is too mild or aggressive it is back on the wait list for another 6 months to try to find one that suits you or try buying different ones on the BST as they come up.

Too add what @ackvil said, you can customize gaps with a Wolfman to a degree unavailable with other razor manufacturers. A lot of the Wolfman activity you see on BST is because people are fine tuning the gap. You can’t do this with most other razor manufacturers—it simply isn’t possible.

 

[Bill_G]

I must be the only guy here who still loves using a DE89 razor. I use a Muhle R89 in my razor rotation which also includes a GC .68/.84. The only razor I own that fits this criteria is my RR aluminum Lupo. Initially I love it but now the shaves are rough. At least it only cost me $29. Since razors are YMMV I will not buy any more razors I can't return if I hate.

 

[Luecke2326]

Biggest disappointment? Dubl Duck Satin Edge & Gold Edge, I thought they would be grail razors for me, but they are just nice German manufactured straight razors. I have many, many more razors that shave better, though they don't have the sweet looks of a NOS Gold or Satin Edge(they are pretty classy looking).

 

[sliwolf]

Supply Version 1

 

[slim6596]

Vikings Blade Emporer. After three 3 pass shaves, it went back.

 

[South Dakota Guy]

Many of the Wolfman razors sold on the BST are replaced by other Wolfman razors that are more or less aggressive. Plus, some were sold early on before there was a legit waiting list and for a substantial profit.

You gave me great advice when I was looking at the Timeless .68 razor and it has served me extremely well for the last 6 months. I had the opportunity to purchase @Hannah's Dad Wolfman WR2 1.15 top cap and base plate for a reasonable price and I jumped on it. I am slightly concerned that this razor might be more aggressive than I like but it was a minimal investment that should be easy to recoup if it doesn’t suit me. At least I didn’t spend 6 months on a waiting list to find that it isn’t my cup of tea. I suspect that I would be happier with the 1.05 that you have but I think the 1.15 is a good point to figure out which way I should go.

 

[Myosin]

I have about 30 razors now. I can get a good shave with them all, but the EJ89 is the one I've used the most.

There are so many new razors and everyone is trying to cash in on how popular DE razors are. I've been disappointed by the majority of $100+ razors and ended up selling or trading the majority of them, not because they shaved bad, but I just expected more from something costing 2x-5x the price.

 

[bkatbamna]

i thought the Timeless SS 0.95 was an expensive disappointment and put it aside for a while. For some reason I put a German WS blade in it. Now, the German WS is one of my most disappointing blades that feels dull for shaving but sharp enough to cause cuts. For some reason, that synergy between the timeless and WS works some magic and I am getting great shaves out of a blade and a razor that were not giving me good shaves before.

 

[Contact_vs_Feedback]

Pearl SS - 09 razor: blade chatter, uncomfortable shaves aplenty.

Romer7 CS11: scrappy shave, blade alignment issues, no weight and hence no confidence in the material.

I quickly understood that I'll be more satisfied with the SS razors and hence moved on to Game Changer and BBS razor.
They are both honest and well made razor, I love using them.

They are a lot better than my initial purchases, now I'm looking for a more efficient razor.