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  1. #1
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    Default Can't get the blade to cut

    I just bought a new Mehaz razor at a local store along with a brush, soap, and a strop. The clerk told me that the blade was ready to shave. Now that I've been to these forums and looked around a bit, it seems that I was probably misled (and ripped off a bit as well), but alas, I wasn't aware of this site until too late.

    The issue that I'm having is that, try as I might, I simply can't get the razor to do anything to my face. I've tried a variety of angles, from nearly parallel to the skin all the way to completely perpendicular, but all I ever get is a rasping noise, a scraping feeling, and skin irritation. No hair ever seems to come off in the lather, and my face is just as scruffy as when I started, not to mention much redder.

    Are there any obvious points of shaving technique that I might be missing, or do I need to have this razor honed? I've certainly picked up the impression that a factory-honed razor generally isn't up to the task of giving a really good shave, but I'm surprised to find that mine, which thumb-pad testing suggests at least has a knife edge, won't shave at all.

  2. #2
    Senior Member cabo_sailor's Avatar
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    Yep it needs to be honed and stropped. I'm not familiar with that brand of razor but at least its not a Zeepk. There are plenty of gents here that will be glad to hone for a nominal charge.

    I'd suggest Lynn Abrahm's dvd on staight razor shaving because one bad stropping can ruin the honed edge. Or so I've heard.

    About the only place you can be assurred of a "shave ready" razor is if one of the members here sells you one and makes the claim. It would be very unusual for a new, out of the box, razor to be shave ready.

    And by the way, welcome to SRP.

  3. #3
    In over my head kasperitis's Avatar
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    You can also get shave-ready razors pre-honed from Jim at www.vintagebladesllc.com......

  4. #4
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    Yeah, I figured as much. I've stropped the heck out of it without making any noticable difference, so I guess it's time to ship it off to one of the honemeisters. If I could do it over, obviously, I'd just buy one pre-honed (and save some money to boot), but, alas, it's too late to do that.

  5. #5
    In over my head kasperitis's Avatar
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    But it's never too late to buy another razor!

  6. #6
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    Heh, certainly not, but I'd like at least to manage a decent shave with the razor I've already bought -- or to write it off as unusable if it isn't.
    Thanks for the welcomes, by the way. I'm really excited to get started with this; I've had a couple of fabulous straight-razor shaves from barbers that left me completely unable to put up with the rubbish I was getting from disposable multiblates. How long is the turnaround for these mail-away honings?

  7. #7
    In over my head kasperitis's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by existentialhero7 View Post
    Heh, certainly not, but I'd like at least to manage a decent shave with the razor I've already bought -- or to write it off as unusable if it isn't.
    Thanks for the welcomes, by the way. I'm really excited to get started with this; I've had a couple of fabulous straight-razor shaves from barbers that left me completely unable to put up with the rubbish I was getting from disposable multiblates. How long is the turnaround for these mail-away honings?
    7 weeks.









    ...actually, I really don't know. Got ya there for a minute though, didn't I?

  8. #8
    Senior Member Stilley30's Avatar
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    I have limited exp, but I would have to concur with these other gents. Sounds like you got a blade that isn't quite sharp enough. The good new is that there are solutions for you. You have found the right place, welcome aboard.

  9. #9
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    So what is the recommended approach here? Mail off this blade to get honed properly so I can go ahead and start shaving, then buy a stone and an eBay junker or antique razor to learn honing? Go straight to honing my own? Stick with mail-away honing for the life of the blade?

  10. #10
    Libertarian Freak Dewey's Avatar
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    Welcome!
    That's up to you. It's definitely easier to keep an edge sharp than to start from fresh. I would suggest that you look in BST for a Shave Ready Razor (in addition to sending the other one off). The Wapienicas are outstanding razors and very reasonable. You may even see if Lynn Abrams has any shave ready Wapis around - you could nail two birds with one stone.

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