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Tuesday SOTD Thread, June 17th, 2025 (#735)
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this post was submitted on 17 Jun 2025
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Don't have a Cow, Man!: Day 17 of Lather Games
Theme justification: This is the vegan base. My gratitude to the Lather Games Planning Committee Theme Planning Subcommittee (LGPCThPS) for allowing for an on-theme Tabac Tuesday this year ♥.
Challenge: So, a while back, when I was new to the straight razor rabbit hole, I got very interested in the pros and cons of stainless steel in straight razors when compared to the classic carbon steel. The advantages are obvious, but surely there must be a downside since almost all modern makers still prefer carbon steel? Well, if and when you find one, let me know. I dove deep into the Friodur rabbit hole and they are fantastic razors, from the earliest one that predates the patent on stainless steel to the ones made in the late 1980s they are just great. I also have a great stainless Dovo (that seems to be luck of the draw, as there are a few comments floating around the interwebs suggesting serious QA and QC issues). So I started to wonder, how do I really know whether I'm liking the steel or just the geometry? Cue, Ralf Aust to the rescue: He is a rare maker of modern straight razors who makes both carbon steel and stainless steel razors, so I ordered the same razor in two variants: once in carbon steel, once stainless.
The funny part is that I can't tell them apart, even after 13 shaves on the original edge so far. They look, feel and shave the same and I have no idea which is which. Ralf Aust's stainless steel is magnetic, so that doesn't work to distinguish them. I weighed them, and one is about a gram heavier than the other, which might indicate it's stainless steel which has a higher density and should result in a heavier razor for a given geometry, but these are handmade so I can't really know for sure that the weight difference is from a variation in the thickness for instance, or from the heavier material.
As long as the two feel the same, it doesn't really matter, I guess, but once I feel a difference (which I hope I will at some point. They can't also have the same edge retention, can they?) I guess I'll have to smear some vinegar on the tails to see which one rusts. Silly, but at least I'll finally have certainty :D
So you actually have no idea which is which?
That’s hilarious. I hope one day you find out. 😄
Yup, I haven't figured out a way to make sure, other than forcing rust on them, which I'll do at some point. For now, I kinda enjoy not knowing :)