European or Turkish Straight Razor Brands - Recommendations

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I was wondering which European straight razor manufacturers people would recommend*, probably that are in a similar price bracket to Dovo/Thiers Issard?

Also - are there any good Turkish/Kurdish manufacturers? I've always gone to traditional Turkish or Kurdish barbers for shaves (also for haircuts but (that's) less relevant) and I wondered maybe with a barbering tradition whether they'd have good manufacturers.

The list of brands to avoid seemed really long and a lot of them crop up on most of the online retailers which has made us a bit wary.

*apologies if the ‘recommendation' topic has been done to death, I went through a good few pages of forum topics but there's 96, I tried searching but it brings up every reference to ‘straight razor', ‘brand', and ‘manufacturer' and searching titles didn't bring anything up.
 
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Cant Think of Any European SR Makers that are Currently Factory Produced Other than You Mentioned..Dovo have Closed Down as I Understand it as Well..Most Turkish Barbers Use a Shavette..I Would Recommend a Vintage European Made SR...Most Vintage Solingen or Sheffield SRs are a Good Option..(y)

You Can Buy a Vintage Solingen or Sheffield SR in Great Condition or New Old Stock for a Reasonable Price..There are Plenty of New Unused Old Stock Solingen Razors on Ebay in Particular for a Good Price.. :cool:

Billy
 
Cant Think of Any European SR Makers that are Currently Factory Produced Other than You Mentioned..Dovo have Closed Down as I Understand it as Well..Most Turkish Barbers Use a Shavette..I Would Recommend a Vintage European Made SR...Most Vintage Solingen or Sheffield SRs are a Good Option..(y)

You Can Buy a Vintage Solingen or Sheffield SR in Great Condition or New Old Stock for a Reasonable Price..There are Plenty of New Unused Old Stock Solingen Razors on Ebay in Particular for a Good Price.. :cool:

Billy

That's great - Thankyou, I will have a look - do you know are there any recommendations on vintage manufacturers in the forums here?
 
Agreed on Turkey every barber shave I've ever had there even in the back of beyond has been with a shavette.

Same here - I assumed that was to comply with H & S rules and wondered if there were any manufacturers historically but I suppose the arse would have fallen out of the market when barbers had to switch to shavettes - sad time
 
Cant Think of Any European SR Makers that are Currently Factory Produced Other than You Mentioned..Dovo have Closed Down as I Understand it as Well..Most Turkish Barbers Use a Shavette..I Would Recommend a Vintage European Made SR...Most Vintage Solingen or Sheffield SRs are a Good Option..(y)

You Can Buy a Vintage Solingen or Sheffield SR in Great Condition or New Old Stock for a Reasonable Price..There are Plenty of New Unused Old Stock Solingen Razors on Ebay in Particular for a Good Price.. :cool:

Billy

Dovo still seem to be up and running, official website's there and everything, unless they're just selling off remaining stock but it's not referenced just “established 1906 etc”
 
That's great - Thankyou, I will have a look - do you know are there any recommendations on vintage manufacturers in the forums here?
Hell Man there are So Many..Here is a List..Its Huge.. (y)

And You Can See Some of the Razors I Bought on this Thread..:cool:

Billy
 
Hell Man there are So Many..Here is a List..Its Huge.. (y)

And You Can See Some of the Razors I Bought on this Thread..:cool:

Billy

Brilliant - Thankyou ☺️
 
If you want a modern barber style shave then get a Parker shavette, cheap and effective. Naysayers claim shavettes don't shave as well as their elder straight razor brethren but I say nonsense, if you're technique is down to pat they are just as effective and a lot more convenient.

Not gonna lie - I have shaved with both - on the basis I wanted to have a practice first and not lay out a hundred odd bar if I couldn't do it - I used a shavette for the first time in about four months last night cos I was a bit short of time and the results weren't as good as the straight razor - saying that they were passable so I'm umming and aahing between sticking with that or getting a safety razor for emergency shaves when I don't have time for prepping and stropping and so on
 
For a vintage razor, Kropp seem to have a good reputation. Every comment I've read says they shave really well (so long as they've been sharpened properly, of course). I picked one up on ebay just yesterday for £19. Blade looked like it had been sitting in a drawer for a decade or two but seemed OK (as far as I could tell). A shiny, shave-ready Kropp could easily be double that.

Now I'll have to learn how to hone it...

Kropp.png
 
For a vintage razor, Kropp seem to have a good reputation. Every comment I've read says they shave really well (so long as they've been sharpened properly, of course). I picked one up on ebay just yesterday for £19. Blade looked like it had been sitting in a drawer for a decade or two but seemed OK (as far as I could tell). A shiny, shave-ready Kropp could easily be double that.

Now I'll have to learn how to hone it...

View attachment 59468

That looks well good.

I'm terrified of honing now, I'd a load of videos - had all my list of things to get then I saw a video that started “It's so easy to do wrong, I've lost count of the number of razors I've seen completely ruined by people who've tried to hone them and can't do it properly” - (that's) me done with ever attempting it
 
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