Beginners: Beware of online straight razor seller lingo

I learned about straight razors in the age of internet. And what I learned sometimes surprised me, although it shouldn't. Keep in mind that these things do not mean that you definitely should not buy the razor, it only means that it will usually need some more work and MIGHT not be worth it for you. Maybe others can add to it:

Seller says:

"Shave ready for me, maybe not for you" = razor is sharp as a knife, but not razor sharp. Don't shave with it until someone has honed it properly

"Not an expert, but I believe the razor is shave ready" = not even close to shave ready

"Razor is new, and so should be shave ready" = razor looks good but is actually so blunt that you can rub your finger along the edge without cutting yourself

"Near mint" = razor definitely looks used, but pretty decent

"blade centers easily in scales" = blade centers in scales if you pay attention, otherwise the edge will touch the scales

You are partially correct. Not all of us that sell on eBay give half truths, or misleading descriptions. I do a full face shave with each razor. If it does not shave well it goes back to the hones until I am satisfied.

Relax. I did not take it personal.

Yes,,Your Feedback reflects that! You have a tendacie too kick my but on a weekly basis, Ha, Ty

I despise sellers who put up a generic rock and title their auction description "Escher ?"

I see the same thing in pipes occasionally, Ashton ? ........ Dunhill ?

Now that ebay has banned ivory I'm grateful that I don't see celluloid scales listed in the title as ivory.

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Originally Posted by bouschie

You are partially correct. Not all of us that sell on eBay give half truths, or misleading descriptions. I do a full face shave with each razor. If it does not shave well it goes back to the hones until I am satisfied.

Relax. I did not take it personal.

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OK but how do you phrase it in your ad? I feel a lot safer with "guaranteed shave ready" than some more wishy-washy descriptions that aim to both convince the buyer and also to dodge any complaints later.

I,ll let him answer that ?, B/S/T If bays not workin for ya, Ty

This is what I put:



Honing: One layer of electrical tape on spine. Bevel set on 600 grit diamond hone. Then 6000 water stone and finished on 12,000 oil stone, then glass plate. Then stropped on canvas with diamond paste and then leather and disinfected. A $18.00 VALUE FREE

I personally test shave each razor before final disinfecting. Shave ready is different to each person. Factors like light or coarse beard or beard length come into play. I have a heavy beard and test shave every razor on a two day growth before disinfecting. If razor gives a close comfortable shave I call it shave ready. If it does not shave right I rehone the razor. I hone razors as a sideline and have only had praise on the sharpness of the razors. Check my feedback and you will see how many customers were satisfied with shave ready.

Shave ready is a classification, to me, that means it should be able to give a close shave out of the box. I have received razors that weren't sharp enough for my tastes and some that were too sharp. Some might say you can't get too sharp, but I like what I like and if a razor is uncomfortable for me then I will re-hone to my tastes. Unfortunately I have received "shave ready" razors that were nicely polished but didn't even have the bevel fully set so it is best to stick to trusted sellers if you don't want to do any work yourself.

i list my razors as 'shave ready (for me)' and state the 1-3-5-8-12 progression used. they all easily pass the tomato test and hanging hair test up and down the entire length of the blade. they truly are exactly what i myself shave with every day.

but i feel i need to add the 'for me' caviot because 'shave ready' is too subjective a term. and can be used/abused by unscrupulous buyers.

"Shave Ready" is very relative, shave ready to a 14 year old boy or someone with whiskers like steel cables are very different things. I'll say that "they shave very well" or something similar but I'll never say shave ready on Ebay due to all the scammers. I'll will say that here though.

Question...
A little off topic but, if i was serching on ebay and wanted to find you all that sell razors and are part of this forum, how would i know its one of you guys? Same names?

I just sold a razor on ebay from my todo list. I need money for a new firearm.

I try to be as honest as possible. This one was in good condition except a chip on the blade. I described it as such.

The buyer emailed me last night and indentified a crack in the blade I had missed.

I was most definitely honest about the razor as I saw it, and to be honest a wee bit embarrassed I missed a crack in the blade.

We came to an amicable arrangement as he wanted to keep the scales.

Point being we aint all out to hussle. Sometimes mistakes are made.

Geek


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Shave ready can be a very subjective thing. I purchased Dovo Bismark and a Ralf Aust directly from the brick and mortar Imperial Shaving store run by Don in partnership with Lynn at SRD. I know that razors purchased online from SRD come professionally honed; but I am not so sure about razors purchased at the store. Anyway, the Ralf Aust was definitely shave ready. The Dovo Bismark was sharp, but not shave ready for my tough beard. Dovo claims their razors are honed shave ready on a Coticule at the factory. Lynn offered to rehone the razor, but that was not necessary. About ten minutes of work on my finishing hone and the Dovo was ready to go.

I shaved off Dovo's factory edge for a while before I inevitably ruined it (my first razor, and we all know how tough newbies are on blades). It felt pretty sharp at the time, but I often wonder if a Dovo factory edge would still feel 'shave ready' to me now with a lot more experience under my belt.

I really don't pay heed to descriptions. I look at photos and if satisfactory, pull the trigger. Shave ready is subjective.

My personal favorite: 'This thing is sharp!'

And then when I get it in hand I find the blade is more dull than my pocket knife.

shave ready? hum its a very controversial term. whats shave ready for me may not be ready for someone else. but the thing that gets me is the new guy buying it and it really is shave ready, but his skill set sucks and calls it a bad hone job. I personally found out I can shave with an edge that's not what I have now, because of skill level. but the whole "SHAVE READY" thing probably needs to be followed up with , hey dummy if you don't know how to shave yet, it, it will not shave you to your satisfaction. so I think you will always have a debate on what it means , and with all the new Eboy sellers trying to get as much as they can, the shave ready term will be used to death Tc

ive honed up razors for sale on ebay thinking it would help entice some potential buyers to get a straight thats 'ready to go'. you know, people who may want to try an inexpensive but clean straight razor but dont want to have to get it honed, or have hones of there own (as strange as that sounds).

but i really dont think the time and care i put into the honing increases the sale value at all. its not like i get +$20 more for shave ready razors over non.

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Originally Posted by sloanwinters

ive honed up razors for sale on ebay thinking it would help entice some potential buyers to get a straight thats 'ready to go'. you know, people who may want to try an inexpensive but clean straight razor but dont want to have to get it honed, or have hones of there own (as strange as that sounds).

but i really dont think the time and care i put into the honing increases the sale value at all. its not like i get +$20 more for shave ready razors over non.

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guess I'm strange, I couldn't care less to own any hones,, just sold a great hone cause I just don't want them Tc

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Originally Posted by RayClem

Shave ready can be a very subjective thing. I purchased Dovo Bismark and a Ralf Aust directly from the brick and mortar Imperial Shaving store run by Don in partnership with Lynn at SRD. I know that razors purchased online from SRD come professionally honed; but I am not so sure about razors purchased at the store. Anyway, the Ralf Aust was definitely shave ready. The Dovo Bismark was sharp, but not shave ready for my tough beard. Dovo claims their razors are honed shave ready on a Coticule at the factory. Lynn offered to rehone the razor, but that was not necessary. About ten minutes of work on my finishing hone and the Dovo was ready to go.

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I was under the impression that Lynn only hones the new Dovos on request because honing them ends the warranty?
I might be miss remembering. That said, I sell on the bay, and I simply state " Shave Ready" and offer money back returns. I shave with every blade that I sell as a shave ready, and I KNOW it will give a satisfactory shave to anyone who uses it. You may have personal preferences for sharper, or what have you, but you will NOT find a blade I advertise as S.R to be tugging of skipping. If you are confident in your honing skills, never be afraid to take a return. and best luck is had by making sure the blade is also stropped first, and be certain to instruct the buyer NOT TO STROP the first time! Really cuts back on returns with rolled edges. =P

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Originally Posted by TheGeek

I just sold a razor on ebay from my todo list. I need money for a new firearm.

I try to be as honest as possible. This one was in good condition except a chip on the blade. I described it as such.

The buyer emailed me last night and indentified a crack in the blade I had missed.

I was most definitely honest about the razor as I saw it, and to be honest a wee bit embarrassed I missed a crack in the blade.

We came to an amicable arrangement as he wanted to keep the scales.

Point being we aint all out to hussle. Sometimes mistakes are made.

Geek


Sent from my LG-H850 using Tapatalk

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Did you go back to your original photos and look hard for that crack? I have a buyer who is now banned from my auctions, who bought a "no returns, for restoration" razor, and received a complaint that it wouldn't take an edge, and he wanted a partial refund, and he would keep the scales. I told him to return it for refund, even though it was made perfectly clear 2x in the auction that this was a no return sale. When I got it back, close inspection showed he had buffed it out so much the steel was thin in sections and he had shortened the tip to hide where he had ground it SO much it went all the way through. this included some tell tale yellowing of overheated steel.
Some buyers are as unscrupulous as some sellers! (and some are both!)

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Originally Posted by Magpie

Did you go back to your original photos and look hard for that crack? I have a buyer who is now banned from my auctions, who bought a "no returns, for restoration" razor, and received a complaint that it wouldn't take an edge, and he wanted a partial refund, and he would keep the scales. I told him to return it for refund, even though it was made perfectly clear 2x in the auction that this was a no return sale. When I got it back, close inspection showed he had buffed it out so much the steel was thin in sections and he had shortened the tip to hide where he had ground it SO much it went all the way through. this included some tell tale yellowing of overheated steel.
Some buyers are as unscrupulous as some sellers! (and some are both!)

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No I didn't his picture sufficed for me. He showed me a good close up of the chip it had and there isba definite disjoin in the edge where one side has shifted up slightly and the crack is visible so personally I was happy with that.

It would in my opinion have taken some work to get a crack in that exact position on purpose to get a small partial refund.

Also I have had continue chat with the buyer re the hobby akd he seems pleasant enough.

Geek

Geek

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Originally Posted by TheGeek

No I didn't his picture sufficed for me. He showed me a good close up of the chip it had and there isba definite disjoin in the edge where one side has shifted up slightly and the crack is visible so personally I was happy with that.

It would in my opinion have taken some work to get a crack in that exact position on purpose to get a small partial refund.

Also I have had continue chat with the buyer re the hobby akd he seems pleasant enough.

Geek

Geek

Sent from my LG-H850 using Tapatalk

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You misunderstand, my thought was he caused the crack while attempting to hone out the chip and decided to blame it on you. chips are weak points. one needs be careful. My guy was plenty pleasant too, which was why I agreed to take back a "no returns" razor to begin with. He now writes me and says "I thought we were on great terms, why cant I bid on your razor?" Not saying that you were taken advantage of, just saying that there are shady people on both sides of the transaction pond and we should all pay attention

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Originally Posted by tcrideshd

guess I'm strange, I couldn't care less to own any hones,, just sold a great hone cause I just don't want them Tc

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Eh, I can see where it could become a tedious thing and some might rather send their blades off for a touch up as needed than fuss with honing it themselves. And that isn't necessarily a bad thing.

just fyi, i was joking about not owning hones. i would assume that most people dont own any. and rightfully so. i was really only pointing a finger at myself re: my own ridiculous razor disorders.

im the guy who bought a complete synthetic honing set before i even got my first razor. because 'what if' the new razor needs a touch-up. gotta have a 12k for that. but wait, what if it needs more than that. better get an 8k just in case. and what if i buy a non-shave-ready razor. gawd forbid id need to wait for it to get shipped, honed and shipped back (secret - im not good at waiting). better get a 1k and 5k so im 'prepared'. you know, just in case. =P

I know I wasn't saying anything to start something,, I just have been at this a long time now and I shave every day with my tough beard, and I really just don't see any use in having them. I have razors that haven't seen a hone in over a hundred shaves, so maybe a few swipes on a finisher every few months, not like these guys who are honing every week,( I cant see how cause unless your honing or stropping sucks) I have one razor that hasn't even seen a touch up in 100 shaves only stropped on sailcloth with CBN,, my other daily shaver sees a 12k maybe 4-6 light laps every couple of weeks , not because it needs it just to make sure it don't. in a couple of months ill send 3 razors out for honing, only because they are about 18 months into use with out it and to be honest hones cost more than what ill pay to have the best edge I can shave with. for those who just like to hone its great, I like to shave, and therefore don't need to hone very often, and if your honing all the time its either for other people or your just wasting steel. ok that's my rant , but its an old one, and in my case I just found out I spent a lot of money on hones that really didn't need to be spent,, enjoy your hones guys I applaud you Tc