Hello All! After years enjoying DE shaving I took the plunge on this (1196 Decorated Juniper Wood 5/8). I'm on my third shave now with it and must say, outside of a few inconsistencies here and there, this last shave was as smooth (and some parts even smoother) as my DE. I'm quite happy with that so soon into it. I go WTG all around, then XTG face and ATG neck. 2 passes total. The the paperwork says the blade is good to go out of the box, I'm not 100% sure. It sometimes pulls a bit and I get randomly located irritation on a small part of my neck. It does pass the single hair cut test so I've attributed it mostly to my technique needing to improve, but not having any reference point I don't really know. Right off the bat though, I could tell that I might prefer a heavier blade - this one seems so light to me. I should add that as hard as I tried, to my newbie eyes I could not find a single flaw on the product.
New Thiers Issard, new to straight razors
- Thread starter Kats1
- Start date
Sweet razor and a great first pick! Usually razors from the factory are not what most call shave ready. They will be usable but definitely will want to send it out to be professionally honed. Also, do you have a strop? A good strop is just as important as the razor - will want to strop before and after shaving to maintain the edge.
- Thread starter
- #3
Steve56
Ask me about shaving naked!
Great razor, those modern TI’s shave very well. The steel is fantastic.
But no, it likely won’t have the best edge out of the box.
Glad to hone it for you for return postage
Your final strop should always be clean leather. If you want to use pasted strops before clean leather, that’s well and good, but clean the paste off and don’t contaminate the final clean leather strop.
But no, it likely won’t have the best edge out of the box.
Glad to hone it for you for return postage
Your final strop should always be clean leather. If you want to use pasted strops before clean leather, that’s well and good, but clean the paste off and don’t contaminate the final clean leather strop.
"Sometimes pulls a bit" is an unambiguous sign that the edge is not sharp enough.
Great offer.
I own several Thiers Issard and a vintage LeGrelot. French steel is wonderful for holding an edge in my experience. Out of the box, not so great sometimes. But, once honed they last a long time if handled and stropped properly.
@Kats1, Steve is the person to whom I have sent a couple of straights to when I struggled with honing them. He mentored me a decade ago when I started honing and shaving long ago. And yes, even we with that many years of experience struggle with edges now and again.
I would highly recommend that you take Steve up on his generous offer. He is a Master at honing and you will experience what a real true edge should feel like.
Where did you buy the razor (fantastic choice, BTW)? Some places will hone the razor for you before they send it out, but you didn't say.
I wish Steve56 was close enough to me so I could send him one of my prize TI razors, but alas, he's on the other side of the planet.
I wish Steve56 was close enough to me so I could send him one of my prize TI razors, but alas, he's on the other side of the planet.
- Thread starter
- #8
That’s a fine looking razor, nice detail on the scales. Glad things are working out for you, despite the tugging. As others have said, perhaps not quite shave ready. Hope you continue to enjoy the journey.
- Thread starter
- #10
Thanks, now I keep rubbing my face it's so smooth 
On second thought, I believe it's much smoother than the DE (I used to use feather blades and a heavy Mercur). On my neck where I did WTG and AGT, feeling it up or down - zero stubble just smooth skin. The face (WTG/XTG) perfectly smooth down and ever so slight stubble rubbing ATG.
On second thought, I believe it's much smoother than the DE (I used to use feather blades and a heavy Mercur). On my neck where I did WTG and AGT, feeling it up or down - zero stubble just smooth skin. The face (WTG/XTG) perfectly smooth down and ever so slight stubble rubbing ATG.Yup, will need honing for a smooth comfortable shave.
Do not paste your new strop. Experiment pasting a piece of cardboard, inside of cereal box with 3 inch X’s. Experiment with both pastes. I occasionally use Chrome Oxide.
Paste may improve the edge but likely will need honing.
If you are happy now, lots more great shaves in your future. Learning to maintain and hone your own razors opens a world of opportunities and ability to tailor an edge to your face and beard.
Pay the shipping to Steve, will likely be about what you will pay should you have a qualified razor honer near by and still not get near the same quality of honing.
Welcome.
Do not paste your new strop. Experiment pasting a piece of cardboard, inside of cereal box with 3 inch X’s. Experiment with both pastes. I occasionally use Chrome Oxide.
Paste may improve the edge but likely will need honing.
If you are happy now, lots more great shaves in your future. Learning to maintain and hone your own razors opens a world of opportunities and ability to tailor an edge to your face and beard.
Pay the shipping to Steve, will likely be about what you will pay should you have a qualified razor honer near by and still not get near the same quality of honing.
Welcome.
You can use lapping film to hone your razor. Don't tape the spine as it is preset to have the edge bevel at the proper angle. You can find lapping film instructions on this forum.
- Thread starter
- #14
Ok, this is embarrassing... So I figured I'd put some polishing paste on the other side of my strop and test it out (ya I know - idle hands and all that), what's the point of 2 sides right? Unless there's only one side, yep the "front" side on closer inspection was pebbled and kind of a hard surface. The gang at Fendrihan were understanding enough to accept a return. So at this point I can only strop on paste until a new one arrives. With that said, it could be worse. The shave doesn't hurt, but I believe it should/will be smoother. Post shave there is no irritation or discomfort. For sure my technique is sketchy, I can tell - sometimes it's so smooth like the blade isn't touching my face (it's cutting though) and sometimes the blade gets sticky on my face. My angle is not consistent, I'm a bit too slow and the lather dries up.
Yeah, the Evide is a bit flighty.
I would suggest not stropping on paste too much.
While you are waiting for a new leather strop, you can strop on your hand or your arm or a belt or a boot. Doesn't need to be an official strop. Someone will suggest stropping on newspaper - I'm not a fan of paper stropping, don't get much out of it. My arm or a pants leg always turns a better result.
Shaving without proper stropping can be tedious, esp since your shave technique is still developing.
Shaving through dry lather and/or too thick lather is a main cause of 'tugging' for new users.
I would suggest not stropping on paste too much.
While you are waiting for a new leather strop, you can strop on your hand or your arm or a belt or a boot. Doesn't need to be an official strop. Someone will suggest stropping on newspaper - I'm not a fan of paper stropping, don't get much out of it. My arm or a pants leg always turns a better result.
Shaving without proper stropping can be tedious, esp since your shave technique is still developing.
Shaving through dry lather and/or too thick lather is a main cause of 'tugging' for new users.
- Thread starter
- #16
That is one nice razor. Very cool looking scales. Over the years, I have grown to appreciate T-I razors as an exceptionally fine razor. My most recent acquisition (the Thiers Issard “Smart Razor”) seems to put something of a contemporary spin on the product; I have no idea what it has to do with being smart. Scales do have a nice ergonomic feel to them though….
Gotta go a long way to do better for a production razor than a T-I. For certain Koraat, Brian Brown (where is he these days?), Tim Zowada, and those guys have nothing to worry about. But T-I ranks up there with Wacker, Ralf Aust, and can be considered perhaps the best production razor out there.
Gotta go a long way to do better for a production razor than a T-I. For certain Koraat, Brian Brown (where is he these days?), Tim Zowada, and those guys have nothing to worry about. But T-I ranks up there with Wacker, Ralf Aust, and can be considered perhaps the best production razor out there.
How are the notches in the scales, @Acmemfg?
I have seen blades with thumb notches. Not sure I have ever seen scales with finger notches.
I have seen blades with thumb notches. Not sure I have ever seen scales with finger notches.
That was a key factor in the acquisition of this TI. They surely make the razor easier to hold and manipulate around. Someone had a good idea here.
- Thread starter
- #20
And down the rabbit hole I go! So I checked the bevel on a loupe and noticed it stopped early on one side of the toe. Right then, I reset the bevel on a Shapton 5k - wicked sharp, and finished it off on a Shapton 8k/Naniwa 12k. It's shaving pretty good now (I use it daily) smooth as butter WTG/XTG but when I go ATG on my neck I know I could get a better edge on it that I have - no rashes/cuts or anything, just a tad scratchy... a tad. So I ordered a Wacker BB from a company that hones the blades before shipping so I could compare edges - and on a side by side shave, my TI was smoother and closer. Unfortunately the Wacker scales were quite loose so I had to return it. So I feel I'm on a good path. Am I in Lala land here or is there such a thing as a butter smooth edge for ATG?
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