Thread: FAQ: Information for all straight razor shavers: Shave ready razors

Thank you Jim for your response. If you are seconding this then I shall edit the post. But I need a suggestion of what to replace Roberts entry with. So Jim and Alan get your thinking caps on.

Also to others if you disagree with this feeling in any way dont be afraid to say something. Its all up for grabs at the moment and nobodys point of view is more important than anyone elses (IMHO).

Out of interest Jim do you speak from personal experience or is this something you have heard through the forum or what? Just wondering....

I don't want to throw a wrench in the works here and in general I like the thread but I have a problem with listing honers period. I think that just by listing these guys it can be implied the forum is endorsing them and when someone sends a razor to one of them and is dissatisfied with the results then what? I think the names are best left on the vendors forum. Afterall it is a business and they are charging for their services. If there were people who were willing to hone for free that might change my mind but I don't think anyone would do that on a regular basis or they would be swamped with work once it was commonly known and it wouldn't be fair to them either.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

I don't want to throw a wrench in the works here and in general I like the thread but I have a problem with listing honers period. I think that just by listing these guys it can be implied the forum is endorsing them and when someone sends a razor to one of them and is dissatisfied with the results then what? I think the names are best left on the vendors forum. Afterall it is a business and they are charging for their services. If there were people who were willing to hone for free that might change my mind but I don't think anyone would do that on a regular basis or they would be swamped with work once it was commonly known and it wouldn't be fair to them either.

I'll second that, while it's good to have some honers listed it kind of relegates everyone else to second tier, if there is to be a honers directory I think it should be kept separate and in the vendors' forum. Unless of course the vendor has the explicit support of the forum. You could end up with people being leery of buying a shave ready razor in B/S/T.

Otherwise a separate list in the vendors' forum would be appropriate.

OK if thats the case would it be worthwhile opening up a new thread and splitting the information. We could call the new thread 'FAQ: Who do I send my razor to to make it shave ready?' or some such. The thread could contain the honemeister info listed here and a link could be made from this thread to the resulting thread. Similarly we could create a thread entitled 'FAQ: Where can I buy shaving goods?' or something similar. On each of these threads it could be stressed that these are recommendations but for a more detailed list of vendors/honers see the B/S/T forum.

Is that a reasonable idea? Anyone second this?

I'll second that. Neat thread though.


I think at some point it would be neat to give out the advice that a new person might be open to allowing another forum member the opportunity to sharpen the razor for them. We can say something like:

"These decisions, if you receive an offer, can be made on an individual basis based on the offer received and the price negotiated. Although your edge can not be guaranteed it is often inappropriate to pay for the cost of a professionally honed blade before a member knows how to strop or shave, either of which often dulls an edge. "

"Additionally, regardless of who you choose to hone your blade the forum takes no responsibility in the quality of the edge, whether you'll be able to shave with it after it arrives, whether you'll ever see you razor again, or any responsibility for injury based on having a honed razor in your hands"

If you guys agree you can edit this anyway you'd like, just my random thoughts.

Originally Posted by sidneykidney

Thank you Jim for your response. If you are seconding this then I shall edit the post. But I need a suggestion of what to replace Roberts entry with. So Jim and Alan get your thinking caps on.

Also to others if you disagree with this feeling in any way dont be afraid to say something. Its all up for grabs at the moment and nobodys point of view is more important than anyone elses (IMHO).

Out of interest Jim do you speak from personal experience or is this something you have heard through the forum or what? Just wondering....

Robert has more regularly put posting pictures of his work on newly forged and created masterpieces... the one i have from him is stunning and a truly great shaver... i also have a ebony rescaled henckels he did a while back and last time i looked ot classic shaving the number of Roberts rescaled work is going down and occacionally they have one of his custom creations on sale there as well.
he had recently stated his turn around time as 10 to 12 weeks... besides his real job and life... my guess is he is busy making razors... ask him

to the question of listing honing services... i know people would like a list but "word of mouth" around the forum would tend to stay more updtaed as it were and having them put that they will hone in their signature so that people can contact them directly.

lists are nice but somebody has to maintain them and then maybe someday a name will be taken off the list and this leads to lots of ugly posts in the off topic area.

skip the lists!

Originally Posted by AFDavis11

Perhaps this description is a little old?

Well of course it is... Josh posted that 9/23/06... a lot has changed since then. What would you propose to change it to? I'd suggest we normalize the descriptions... eg, everyone who makes custom razors gets the same descriptive verbiage... something like "custom razor maker"... or whatever. Honestly, it's very hard to not offend someone if we use qualitative descriptions... beauty is always in the eye of the beholder. Providing a list of vendors is is one thing, but saying a vendor sells quality products will eventually become problematic when someone gets a lemon or is dissatisfied.

As far as pics are concerned, isn't linking to their website enough? I guess if they don't have a web site (eg, JC) then I guess you can say PM them? But lets keep in mind that the topic of this faq is along the lines of "Why a shave ready razor isn't always shave ready"... not "where can I buy a custom razor".

Should Classic Shaving simply be listed with other recommended sellers rather than featured on it's own?

I believe that Vintage Blades also stocks razors pre-honed by Lynn.

Originally Posted by Nickelking

I'll second that, while it's good to have some honers listed it kind of relegates everyone else to second tier, if there is to be a honers directory I think it should be kept separate and in the vendors' forum. Unless of course the vendor has the explicit support of the forum. You could end up with people being leery of buying a shave ready razor in B/S/T.

Otherwise a separate list in the vendors' forum would be appropriate.

I missed this when it was first posted... I agree with it. Keeping the list seperate will make it easier to administer. But regardless of whether the list is separate or incorporated, such a list can never be administered fairly no matter how hard you try. That's why we traditionally have put the onus on the vendor to list themselves... eg, on the main site there is a links section where a vendor can list their website/services. We have a BuySellTrade forum where a vendor can list their goods and services. We have a Vendors forum where vendors can discuss their wares. We have a classifieds section where a vendor could list their goods and services. All of these would of course require that a newbie actually look in various spots on the site to find the info... hmmm... I'm not sure that's all bad, come to think of it.

Originally Posted by azjoe

Keeping the list seperate will make it easier to administer. But regardless of whether the list is separate or incorporated, such a list can never be administered fairly no matter how hard you try. That's why we traditionally have put the onus on the vendor to list themselves... eg, on the main site there is a links section where a vendor can list their website/services. We have a BuySellTrade forum where a vendor can list their goods and services. We have a Vendors forum where vendors can discuss their wares. We have a classifieds section where a vendor could list their goods and services. All of these would of course require that a newbie actually look in various spots on the site to find the info... hmmm... I'm not sure that's all bad, come to think of it.

I agree with this too. Having a seperate FAQ listing 'who does what services' will be less work for me as changing the one list will be easier. It will also mean the thread does not start to answer multiple questions. A more uselful way would be to link any additional questions that might be asked from this thread. ie at the bootom of the page have a questions such as 'Who can make my razor shave ready?' etc... and have that link to the list of vendors (amongst whom will be the honemeisters). Does that make sense? Do you agree?

Furthermore on reflection I think we should consider re-vamping all the descriptions. That way an official FAQ which may come accross as more SRP endorsed (as I think one post alluded to) would be more impartial. I think any list should state simply the Users name in real life, their username on SRP, their URL, their location and exactly what they do. How well they do it is a matter of opinion and is therefore something best discussed in the forums with both vendors and other members. I would not send my razor to someone unless they had had positive feedback on the forum.

Any thoughts on this? Am I off the mark?