Joel's reviews

[Fredvs79]

Hey guys,
do you ever read Joel's reviews of his razors? See here (http://www.badgerandblade.com/vb/archive/index.php/t-13963.html)

He seems to have ranked his razors in order of most difficult to find being the best, and moving down the line with what is easier to obtain being less good

1.) Chronik (hands down)

2.) Tie between my very, very old Japanese Tamahagane Steel Straight Razor and another very rare Japanese Straight razor made by a very famous swordsmith Ikkansai Kasama Shigetsugu.

3.) Puma Gold, Tosuke (ZDP 189 steel), Coller a Nogent (REAL wootz damascus)

4.) TI LE Hammer Forged, TI LE Horn Tang, RW's, Maestro's, Standard Tosuke Steel Japanese Straights, Dubl Duck Wonderedge, Sta-Sharp, Craftsman

5.) TI LE Frameback AKA Square Back, Dovo #41 Stainless Blades, Dovo Specials, Genco/Geneva, Waterville, high end TI's

6.) Henckels Friodurs, Henckels, Wackers, and so on and so forth.

7.) Thiers Issard Damascus, run of the mill TI's/Dovo's, misc off brands, etc

I know some people laughed at his 'chronik' story as he toted it to be a mysterious metal of near unobtainium character, which I do find amusing when I hear what some people say...


Now I've got another question (not about the Chronik)...In this review he's proclaiming his puma gold as a phenomenal shaver, ranking it #3 behind probably what are custom made razors from Japan. Basically, he's stating that of Western razors, it's the best 'production' razor he's ever tried. He justifies the $400 he spent on it because i) it's a puma, 2) it's a hard to find puma, and 3) you can't get anything better for less than $400. Then he goes on to say that he's had a couple of puma golds and they were mediocre shavers, but this one is amazing.

How does quality between a single maker's single model razor vary? wouldn't all puma golds be the same? And does anyone else have any experience with puma gold's quality of shave?

[sparky5693]

When something is made from unobtanium, it can sometimes cloud your judgement. How often do you hear someone say "This super rare elite razor (which is much more expensive than YOU can afford) is made form the rarest metal on the planet, and hand crafted by the residents of mars on every second tuesday in march if it rains sucks."

It's just human nature, we have to justify such a purchase to keep ourselves from feeling guilty. This might be a fine razor (I can't speak from experience), but there are certainly some mighty fine razors out there for a fraction of the cost.

[Mottern Man]

I have never used the razors but I will say this.

Col Conk shaves me just as good as D.R. Harris.

D.R. Harris being 10x more then Col Conk.

[jnich67]

I tend to take such reviews with a grain of salt or "YMMV". All the rest aside, I would imagine that a number of Puma Gold models were made over the years. Some may have been better than others. On top of that, one would think there were, from time to time, differences in batches of steel and differences in the skills of the people who made the razors. Being largely hand made, there will be some variation. Not to mention honing etc. However, Pumas do have a rep for being consistently good.


Jordan

[Scorpio]

I could make several statements but I chose...no comment.

Raf

[PalmettoB]

I could make several statements but I chose...no comment.

Raf

:shocked002 Ditto.

[Joe C]

Ditto, umm...squared?

[sparky5693]

Ditto, umm...squared?

Did I scare you guys off? :cool:

[IsaacRN]

I cant even decipher any of that :P

[Baloosh]

Yeah really... we've gone from cryptic to basically nonsense.

Do you all have a personal issue with Joel, or is it something else?

[qhsdoitall]

Yeah really... we've gone from cryptic to basically nonsense.

Do you all have a personal issue with Joel, or is it something else?

More like rolling eyes at the ranking by Joel. BS Logic Alarms went off in a few heads. :D

[Mottern Man]

Yeah really... we've gone from cryptic to basically nonsense.

Do you all have a personal issue with Joel, or is it something else?

I gots no beef.http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/ee/Wheres_the_beef_commercial.jpg/180px-Wheres_the_beef_commercial.jpg

[shavingidiot savant]

Hi All,
I realize this is TOTALLY off topic, and sorry to hijack the thread.
I just wanted to recommend two of my favorite stories.
One is called "The Emperor's New Clothes", and the other is "The Pied Piper Of Hamlin". Both are excellent reading. Fiction, of course.
Once again, sorry for the completely different subject being mentioned, but there was no 'story review' section that I saw to post in.
Martin

[Mottern Man]

Hi All,
I realize this is TOTALLY off topic, and sorry to hijack the thread.
I just wanted to recommend two of my favorite stories.
One is called "The Emperor's New Clothes", and the other is "The Pied Piper Of Hamlin". Both are excellent reading. Fiction, of course.
Once again, sorry for the completely different subject being mentioned, but there was no 'story review' section that I saw to post in.
Martin

Try this thread. http://www.theshaveden.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2265

[Queen of Blades]

Hi All,
I realize this is TOTALLY off topic, and sorry to hijack the thread.
I just wanted to recommend two of my favorite stories.
One is called "The Emperor's New Clothes", and the other is "The Pied Piper Of Hamlin". Both are excellent reading. Fiction, of course.
Once again, sorry for the completely different subject being mentioned, but there was no 'story review' section that I saw to post in.
Martin

:rofl:rofl

[Mottern Man]

"The Emperor's New Clothes"

Ahhh, I think I get the joke now.:rofl

[qhsdoitall]

Yeah really... we've gone from cryptic to basically nonsense.

Do you all have a personal issue with Joel, or is it something else?

We're not in the habit of making personal comments about people on this forum. Highly discouraged. This is a family friendly place. Otherwise, people would be calling me all kinds of names. :D

[shavingidiot savant]

Try this thread. http://www.theshaveden.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2265

Dang!!!!! How the heck did I miss that? JoAnna? Please feel free to move this to another area if you like.
Thanks for pointing that thread out to me.
Martin

[PalmettoB]

Yeah really... we've gone from cryptic to basically nonsense.

Do you all have a personal issue with Joel, or is it something else?

No personal issue here. It's just that the referenced "rankings" are just one person's opinion, and a highly opinionated person at that (not saying right or wrong here, just that Joel is definitely not afraid to tell someone what he thinks. :D ) So like someone else said earlier in the thread, I just take most all "absolute" likes and dislikes of one person with a nugget of salt.

[Michael]

No personal issue here. It's just that the referenced "rankings" are just one person's opinion, and a highly opinionated person at that (not saying right or wrong here, just that Joel is definitely not afraid to tell someone what he thinks. :D ) So like someone else said earlier in the thread, I just take most all "absolute" likes and dislikes of one person with a nugget of salt.

Sort of like "B&B Finest brushes aren't floppy"? I like mine, but a Simpson, it ain't!

[rick]

We're not in the habit of making personal comments about people on this forum. Highly discouraged. This is a family friendly place. Otherwise, people would be calling me all kinds of names. :D

People already do !! :rofl ......sm
Oh.....and, of course.
YMMV

[bg42]

Did I scare you guys off? :cool:

You are a crule man:rofl
kind regards Peter

[bg42]

"The Emperor's New Clothes"

Ahhh, I think I get the joke now.:rofl

Talk about quick:rofl
kind regards Peter

[qhsdoitall]

People already do !! :rofl ......sm
Oh.....and, of course.
YMMV

shhhh....you weren't supposed to point that out. :D