Thread: Henckels Knock Offs & Rocket Science

Tonight I am trying to address two separate threads with one shave
Or kill the proverbial two birds with one stone...

First let's take a look here at the Henckels Knock Offs,
http://straightrazorpalace.com/aucti...nock-offs.html

Here is one of these razors in my hot little hands,






Which now brings up this thread
http://straightrazorpalace.com/honin...tml#post790918

So lets take a look into both of these at the same time, I got the razor up into the shave den with a few thoughts in mind and decided to make sure some people understand a few things..
I used the simplest of tools
1/3/8k Henckels hones
#827 Illinois strop
I did exactly 20 circles on each side of the razor on the 1k then 20 more laps moved to the 3k and did 25 laps, did 30 laps on the 8k 50 laps on linen and 100 laps on leather... thats it pretty simple not rocket science at all...
Oh you say "But Glen you have honed thousands of razors, of course it is easy for you"
Of course you would be right, and I could probably go into how I used slurry and how I used heel forward and X strokes and how I swooped the X strokes to keep the slight smile.. Or maybe even how I had to give the back side from the toe for about 1 inch a slight push because it was a bit rough... It would be nice if I could give you all the Ft/lbs of pressure that I used during each step... But hey that would be making it sound like "Rocket Science"
Needless to say, the Rocket Science analogy it about old, there is no science to this, they are no recipes, we all try our best to type it up, and even do videos on how to hone, but until you hone, it doesn't make any sense... This all goes back to Lynn starting this whole forum and being so generous with the information as he figured it all out that set the precedence for all of us to help each other as best we can...
So to be clear, you can use just about any stone that is comfortable for you to shave off of, to hone a razor, there are many ways to hone them, there isn't one right way, there are many...
Honing is one thing, restoring an edge is a whole other ball game...
Basically what we have all said a few thousand times in about 250,000 honing posts in all the shave forums.. Once the bevel is set, honing is pretty easy...

Now back to the "Henckels" it looks to be a Solingen razor the shoulders are cut correctly and even and accurately the scales are nearly the same as the late model Dovo, TI, Filarmonicas out there I would guess 1960 or newer production perhaps even 1970's.. I cannot say for sure if Henckels made them or had them made...I have always considered Henckels to have 3 generations of razors, the older razors are 1st gen then the big 7/8 and 8/8 that have a single grind are 2nd gen the 3rd gen are the brand new ones they just released... This razor in my hand feels like a cross over razor between 2 and 3 it is nowhere near as smooth a steel as the older 1st gen razor...
Could it be a Chinese copy???? I guess it could be, but the question I would have to ask is why???? plus the steel feels way different then a DA or GD...

The shave:

After the simplest of honing and stropping I stayed with the KISS principle and just finished a simple shave...

Soap: Boots English Shave soap stick (grated into my lather cup)
Brush: Semouge Excelsior Boars hair
Lather: on the face
Shave: One Multi-directional pass and touch up
A/S Pinaud Clubman

Results: Close, Smooth, Comfortable,
Conclusion, It shaves just fine, but it shaves no better than a Starter Dovo, or TI so don't spend $$$ like it is an old generation Henckels...
I hope this post answers more questions then it raises

Thanks Glen for taking the time and trouble to do the work to give a good balanced opinion. I think that your post should put any confusion to rest.

Thank you Glen for this great post. Very nicely written and clearly displays just how much tacit knowledge is made freely available on SRP.

Ryan

Glen:

An excellent analysis that points out certain realities. Well done, sir. Thanks.

Regards,

Obie

So, all these outfits we know and love for their quality vintage razors who have resurrected their production, are the new the equal of the old?

Not to high-jack the thread.

OOooooo Tough question ...

Nelson I can relate this with you, I think, many people won't understand what I mean here, but I believe you will...

Take an old Colt SAA the silky smooth action on them, the way the metal feels, the fact that it has been fired and worn in through use.. Or a fine Winchester pre 1970 bolt action, that buttery smoothness to the way everything works because it has been used and smoothed out...

Now compare those to a brand new production with all of their exact CNC machining, and even though they tell you how much better, and and how much tighter the tolerances are... They just don't have that same "Feel"

That is that same way I feel about the edges of a new Henckels compared to a 1st gen one

Thanks for going above and beyond as always. I've said it before and I'll say it again...this is the nicest, most helpful community I've ever experienced. Can you add the Henckels knockoff to the wiki? Sticky or something? I'm sure this will come up.

The rocket science stuff is bs. How many times have you answered the same questions? I know I'm guilty of posting repeat stuff.

Helpful and informative.

Thanks for your work!.

Hey guys,

Which generation would the Graef Schmidt razors be included?

Wait.
Are those REAL Henckels hones or knockoff Henckels hones?

Originally Posted by Utopian

Wait.
Are those REAL Henckels hones or knockoff Henckels hones?

I'm pretty sure they're knockoffs. I've never seen kerning like that and I've seen a lot of kerning...