Atelier Durdan Crinière Ardente (France)
Production stopped at twenty pieces only and with so many combinations available, this could be the most exclusive razor I’ve ever purchased. I’d been thinking about a le Maurice for a while and with one of the options being the Le Maurice head; tick. Just about every Atelier Durdan model option was available for selection and when combined with the various efficiency levels, this could well be the only Crinière Ardente made to this specification. Under the listing for the Cap were a multitude of options to choose from, so ordered the 1.6 / 1.1 (pour Le Maurice / N° 7). Sounds aggressive, but I’ve always found Atelier Durdan products to deliver a great shave and to be a little on the mild side. This razor is machined from bronze as a tribute to the Chinese Lunar New Year, the Fire Horse; the mainly sandblasted head has a polished pattern on the top of the cap to represent the horse’s mane flowing in the breeze. Setting the whole razor off, the Crinière Ardente comes with a padauk wood handle and bronze fittings. With no knowledge of Chinese, I have to accept that the scrawl on the end cap of the handle is ‘horse’ written in Chinese. I did try to unscrew the end cap by hand, but it was secure so I’m assuming that thread locker has been applied. When it comes to handles, wood is the number one choice for me at present. This handle is quite large, being over 17mm in diameter and 100mm long, yet the whole razor with all its bronze pieces weighs in at an impressive 75g. Wood provides a secure grip for shaving with no knurling, no grooves, just the undeniable beauty of natural wood displayed for everyone to see.
It’s been a while since I last sampled the Le Maurice and I had forgotten just how accomplished it is as a razor. I’ve been known to rave on how good the Numéro 7 is, but having now resampled the Le Maurice, I don’t know that there is a winner. Efficiency sat just under the Karve CB Level #D and with its ever so sweet positive blade, my time using the Le Maurice came to an all to soon conclusion. While I absolutely loved the wooden handled padauk with its natural red accent, I do have one minor complaint, it is too long. For me I would have liked to have seen it about 15mm shorter. Its large diameter helped hide its length, but on occasions the extra length got caught up. This is a fabulous razor that is available in its standard form without the added attention of the fiery horse detail, but I do recommend the wooden handle. Really enjoyed my time again with the Le Maurice.
Blades Used – Gillette Minora and Glatz Super Platinum
Material – Bronze – Handle padauk
Weight – 74.6g
Blade Tab – Covered
Head Width – 43.02mm
Handle Length – 100.13mm
Handle Diameter – 17.38mm
Availability – Limited Edition
Final Word – Superb
