Which do you Prefer, Old or New?

brothers · Post by **brothers** » Sun Jan 02, 2011 1:19 pm

I'm happily awaiting delivery of a brand new (Classic Shaving) Hart polished round tip with jimps and Bocote scales, fully expecting the shaves to be wonderful. As Hawkeye says: "smooth and silent". Qualities that were distinctly absent with the brand new "shave ready" French, custom, and German razors, both before and after I'd honed them myself.

Post by **drmoss_ca** » Sun Jan 02, 2011 2:08 pm

The Harts are worth having.....

Oops! I seem to have bought some more razors....

Chris

matt321 · Post by **matt321** » Sun Jan 02, 2011 4:05 pm

Wow. Love those!

drmoss_ca wrote: ...if you don't know that, you shouldn't post about it.

Uh, Chris....if we only post about what we know, some of us wouldn't be posting much!

Any way, here is a question I've pondered lately. Just how long does it take a beginner to be able to tell the difference between a "good razor" and a "great razor"?

I'm about three years into straights. I've honed my own from the beginning. I've also shaved with razors honed by pro's. I have some good quality new razors, a dozen vintage razors, and even a few Gold Dollar razors. I would be hard pressed to rank any of them based on shaving ability. Every time I think I have it figured out I discover some new honing stroke, strop paste, etc. that makes me reconsider.

Post by **drmoss_ca** » Sun Jan 02, 2011 4:14 pm

Don't ask me; I'm still learning! I hope to be able to say the same right up until the last shave of my life.

Chris
Just a beginner

brothers · Post by **brothers** » Fri Jan 07, 2011 12:27 pm

My position on the issue is this. It depends, of course, on the razor and the guy who's using it.

My oldest and my newest razors are 200 years apart in approximate date of manufacture. They each provide extremely satisfying shaves. Everything else, new or old, fall anywhere in between, depending on how well I maintain the edge and how well I use them.

matt321 · Post by **matt321** » Fri Jan 07, 2011 5:03 pm

Agree, that is what I'm starting to suspect. Most vintage and new (Dovo, TI, etc) are good enough that it takes an experienced user to really know the difference. Honing, polishing, stropping, maintaining, beard prep, and shaving technique make for many important variables that tend to obfuscate the quality of the razor. For example, I once thought my TI was sorry until I learned to hone it better than the supposed shave-ready condition it came with.