J A Henckels 17 carbon Vs J A Henckels 17½ Stainless Straight Razor Face Off Wet Shaving BIFL

Hello Guys,
Two of my best razor pitted against one another, same model, brand and grind profile other than the toe. One thing is very different though and that's the metal it's self. The 17 is the very best carbon steel and the 17½ is the very best that stainless steel has to other. Both shaved great with no real noticeable different other than maybe the springiness in the 17 but that might just because I was trying to find a difference as I often say a good edge is a good edge and when parred with great steel its normally a super edge.. J A Henckels still make the Friodur steel to this day so it's a testament of time and quality.
-Stirling Soaps British Leather
-Simpson Chubby 2 synthetic.
Thanks for stopping by.

[@borbelyhaz321]

Hi. Interesting comparison. I've never shaved with stainless. Happy Saturday

[@Sustainashave]

I've only shaved with the Friodurs so I can't judge any other brands version. I like them some don't, I think Henckels got it nailed down well and the two I've got shave great on my set up. Have a nice rest of the weekend fella, sunny here in the UK today. 👍

[@jaguar-Films]

Fantastic shave as always, boy you have been having some really great looking razors, enjoy your Sunday

[@Sustainashave]

Thank you kindly Jaguar films

[@Martins-Shaves123]

Fascinating test James 🤔 I'm having troubles with stainless, just shaved with 2 this morning, deeply unimpressed, my j.a Henckels 50.5 and a rare Puma inox , both honed on synthetics to 20k identical progression, sadly poor compared to a same size carbon . Give me carbon every day , the stainless is noisy but feels dead .😮. I'll try a natural edge next time 😊. Great video, keep them coming 👏

[@Sustainashave]

Thanks Martin I see you were running some stainless through the stones, not had a chance to watch them yet. I'm interested to though. Yeah it's a funny one, I've had 3 friodurs got 2 now that are keep forever dam near, all shave great and the one I sold to a gent sent me a message saying how he liked the one he purchased & was very please with how it performed. Maybe try some different nat finishers on them as you say. I do agree carbon is likely better but my face can't really tell the difference and today near 24 hours later the stubble feels the same on both sides. Always a very subjective thing though isn't it, different stones different laps different soap different hair & skin types.. Part of the fun. 👍

[@Martins-Shaves123]

@Sustainashave spot on James! Your right on all 👉

[@Gooner_Mo]

Never used a stainless straight , still a relative noob. Learning the art using Gold Dollars which I believe are carbon steel. Been using these for approx 6 months but feel ready to try a vintage for a comparison. Question is which brand to purchase ? There seems to be so much choice for a noob but like most things in life some are better than others. Any recommendations?

[@Sustainashave]

There's hundreds of vintage brands that are great so it's hard to say in a way as it's more to do with getting any of them shave ready and making sure the tempering is still ok which is on the whole great. Some Sheffield brands that are great are George Wostenholm T.R Cadman Frederick Reynolds Joseph Elliots Solingen brands J.A Henckels All the Ern brands Swedish brands C.V Heljestrand Eric Anton Berg Klas Tornbolm To name a few, I sell my razors through eBay mainly all shave ready. Just make sure your checking the reputation of who's selling you a razor if you want it shave ready as there's plenty of people selling not true shave ready razors. Do you hone your own razors? If so just try and buy one that has minimal hone wear and the bevel looks even, it's always a bit of a gamble buying razors but in my experience nearly anything can get back to shave ready if the steels still good. Any further questions just ask away fella..👍 Most vintage razors are far superior to the GD's..