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Hey I just found this on ebay and was wondering what you thought about it as a first razor? I'm pretty sure i can pick up honing pretty quick if not ill send it in to someone around this form.
http://cgi.ebay.com/straight-razor-S...QQcmdZViewItem
-Jason
Buy it!
I bought one of these from open_razor and I'm happy I did. This was not my first, but my second razor and it's in my rotation club ever since.
It holds an edge nicely. It caught up an edge right away. Some say they come almost shave-ready...
Buy it while they last.
I would not buy it on ebay. If your interested, get one from Mike,,,,http://www.thewellhonedrazor.com/str...zors.html,,,he is a member on the forums and has helped many people with those. He knows his way around those razors and will save you tome and money in the long run...just my 0.02
Yeah, but you can't go wrong with open_razor. He's the user wojtec76 here in the forum. Many users bought him his razors and, as far as I know, never got any problem.Quote:
Originally Posted by coachmike
In other hand, you can't go wrong with Mike either :shrug:
Well, do as you like...
+1, Since Stamps222 isn't handling them now I've been buying mine from Merck. Great service and a nicely run business. They do need to be honed before use as with the majority of razors.Quote:
Originally Posted by Leon
wotjec provides a great source of wapi's and I've bought a dozen and will buy more
BUT
they are not shave ready
they are not close to shave ready
there is absolutely no chance that you are going to successfully shave with one out of the box.
My first razor was an unhoned wapi and it took 5 or 6 weeks and several hundred in hones and strops and pastes to have it be a comfortable shave of the caliber that people on SRP call "shave ready"
So if you are looking to take the path that I did buy your first straight with no bevel and unhoned
or
Buy a shave ready razor from B/S/T for $30-$40. Mike is a decent alternative but so are many of the newb razors on B/S/T and though I personally have a stack of wapis and they are fine shavers once honed there are vintage starter razors that will come up on B/S/T that will outperform them.
I think the compelling part of the wapi for me is NOS of decent but not necessarily excellent steel that is cheap and I can beat the poop out of, overhone, mess up the spine, cut off the scales and generally feel no guilt whenever I make a mistake and can order another hand full easily.
These traits make it a fantastic first razor for an SRP OCD newb who wants to learn to hone as well as make and pin scales.
A badly beaten W&B wedge makes a great second razor for an SRP OCD newb for similar reasons. After many weeks of straightening smiles, honing smiles, regrinding the grinds, polishing, sanding, regrinding and then starting all over again because its not quite right it is entirely possible to turn a old ratty 6/8" razor into a gleaming 1/8" toothpick.
Did I mention the part where you occassionally take these upstairs to the bathroom and try to shave with them?
Happily this is pretty much my idea of fun so it works for me.
If you would like to learn how to shave with a razor for cheap get a prehoned razor, a starter strop from the likes of tony miller, and a small chinese 12k. outside of chipping your razor this should keep you going for a long time.
If on the other hand you wish to wander in the desert I recommend
a complete set of shaptons a belgian blue, a coticule, a norton 4/8K, a few nice japanese natural stones, 4 or 5 barber hones, miscellaneous diamond grit pastes, green chromium paste, 3M polishing paper in .5 and .3 microns, a dremel, a drillpress, a band saw, a sabre saw, lots of sandpaper from 80 grit to 2000, a usb microscope, a 1" belt sander, a variable speed buffer, a leather apron and face protecction, brass stock, brass rods, nickel silver rods, a stack of miscellaneous materials to make scales from and 30 or 40 razors to play with.
I'm sure I forgot some essential items but the SRP members will be happy to help you spend your money :)
- Bob
:w
Quote:
Originally Posted by RobertFontaine
Bob! Don't scare the newb! :D
haha I'm not scared I'm actually pretty excited. This seems like a pretty worthwhile investment. I figure a pack of mach3 blades are only going to go up in price and 4 already cost like 15 bucks or so. So even if I bought the highest quality stones, strop, and blade it will last me all my life which will be waaaay cheaper than actually buying blades.
Plus shaving is an art. I tried electric once and hated it more than anything. It will be nice to have a hobby that is actually pretty useful.
-Jason