Discussion Thread for 7/8 Egyptian Palmwood...

[joel]

This is a discussion thread for THIS review. Note: Over the next few days I will be posting quite a few straight razor reviews. We only have a few as of now... lets work together and beef it up fellas!

[kozulich]

Is it stainless Joel?

[mparker762]

No, AFAIK TI uses sheffield carbon steel, and doesn't make any stainless razors (at least I've never seen one).

[Suzuki]

I don't have this razor, but I do have a 6/8 TI with the Sheffield steel.

They are great shavers - when they are well tuned.

I do think the TI wood scales are second-rate (regardless of material) as they are quite light and somewhat flimsy.

Unfortunately, if you want one, you'll likely need to buy it new as there are very few TI's being sold used - which is a reflection on the fact that there aren't that many in circulation and that owners seem to hang on to them.

[izlat]

Thanks, Joel!

Nice review on a nice razor!

I was intrigued to read that it was listed at 5/8. Looks like 6/8 to me and I am not about to argue how to measure (spine to edge or just grind start to edge) but anyway, I think the biggest difference between 6/8 and 7/8 on the same razors / grinds is in the ability to maneuvre and get the upper lit, etc. spots, not the feel of the shave (and I believe there is a "feel" difference between 5/8 and 6/8, YMMV, of course)

Cheers
Ivo

[mparker762]

There are two accepted ways to measure the "size" of a blade: By the edge-to-back distance, and by the thickness of the spine (which is directly proportional to the edge-to-spine-wear distance on a razor in good condition). My suspicion is that the manufacturers use the spine thickness (or edge-to-hone-wear distance) as the "size" of the razor, and the edge-to-back distance is simply a close enough approximation for most razors because their spine is very shallow.

This approximation falls apart on razors like the TI palmwood, the TI Pierre LE, and the swedish framebacks, all razors which have very deep spines. There you run into the wierd spectacle of razors measuring out like 7/8 or 8/8 but shaving like a 5/8 or 6/8.

My favorite Heljestrand is this way, measured by the edge-to-spine it's a 7/8, but measured across the spine its a 6/8. Heljestrand gave it the model# of a 6/8 razor, even though they could have charged more for a 7/8. There is a similar situation with my TI Pierre LE and my Robert Williams hand-forged razor, both of these have very deep spines that increase their "size" without affecting the grind or thickness or shaving characteristics.

This issue came up on SRP a few weeks ago in a dispute between two members over the size of a razor that one had sold the other. The seller thought it was a 6/8, but the buyer thought it was a 5/8. I now own the razor at the center of that dispute, and it's got the spine thickness and edge-to-hone-line distance of a 5/8, and more importantly it shaves like any other 5/8 (ok, it's a wonderedge so it doesn't shave *quite* like any other 5/8, but you get the point). It's a 5/8 for all practical purposes. Maybe an 11/16 if you want to go to half-sizes.

Same thing with the TI Egyptian (which I've also got). Without that triangular spine it's a 5/8. With the fantastic spine it's a 7/8 that happens to shave like a 5/8. But there's a reason the factory thinks it's a 5/8, and there's a reason that Classic changed it to 7/8.