How sharp is Classic Shaving's "Pre-Sharpened" Straight Razor Set?

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Originally Posted by Smiles

Thank you. Go raibh maith agat. That answers my questions exactly.

I'll send the original razor to Lynn. (I also think I made a mistake in getting stainless scales, because these can only nick the blade.) I'll also send him another two razors that I've fallen in love with.

Or, I might try it myself. I ordered a Norton 4K8K. I could possibly make it work.

Thanks again, Lunchbox.

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If you are interested in honing your own razors, by all means, pick up a Norton 4/8 at some point. Right now you owe it to yourself to start with a honemeister sharp blade. I don't know if Lynn does the pre-honed razors foe CS but I think he does. That means that the razor you received should fit the bill, no problem. I know that Lynn tests each razor that he hones, and believe me, the guy knows what a sharp blade feels like;)

I wouldn't be too put off by what seems like a little pulling. We get a lot of feedback from our blades and I think that sometimes that can be mis-interpreted as a razor that isn't cutting. If you have a something like a full hollow you will hear and probably feel the whiskers being cut. That's normal, but it can be dis-orienting if you are new to straight shaving. Unless you are really bearing down with a super dull razor you shouldn't be getting razor burn once your face acclimates to straight razor shaving, so that may be nothing more than a case of giving things a day or so to recover and trying again.

If you read the posts dealing with early straight shaving problems you will probably come away with the observation that there are a lot of things that have to go right to get a great shave, especially with a straight. I guess that may be true, but once you get it right, there's no other way to shave in my book. So, keep after it with proper equipment and it will soon fall into place. Welcome to the forum and feel free to post your questions and results.

note these are just my opinions:

I have an entire range of sharpnesses on my blades and to be clear though sharper is better it has little to do with shaving rash except if you are shaving with a tin can lid.

You are scraping your skin. It's not necessary to press down or scrape the same spot multiple times with the same stroke. (here's the opinion part) I like medium to short length strokes this week with no pressure, Last week I liked long strokes, next week I might like short strokes. Light touch and not scraping the skin is the critical part the rest is just what works for you.

If you are heavy handed like me start with learning how to shave your cheeks first and use your regular razor when you get in trouble till you are comfortable with it OR Start with with the grain shaving and don't bother going for against the grain or 3 pass shaves till you are comfortable going with the grain.

Think multi-pass and reduction. I am getting far better shaves than with my Mach 3 now and with far less skin irritation. I don't think I've had a pimple on my face since I switched.

You will enjoy a sharper razor more because there is less "pull" on the hair. It will simply cut. If you are getting clean cutting on your chin and upper lip without uncomfortable pulling anywhere along your edge it is probably sharp enough. Stropping may tame the edge but more honing isn't likely required.

-Bob
:w

"That means that the razor you received should fit the bill, no problem"

I don't understand - I thought that the pre-sharpened razors at classic shave are the razors that are machine sharpened for you, and that Lynn's honing is an extra service.

"Once the (very friendly and helpful) woman told me that it would take a week to send to Ohio, and some amount of time to be honed, and more time to ship to me, she suggested that I buy the Pre Sharpened kit because it was pre sharpened" - It sure sounds like he did not get the razor honed but rather was marketed the quicker alternative.

I very much doubt that a machine sharpened blade will fit the bill with or without problems.

Get it hand honed by Lynn so you can eliminate blade dullness from your troubleshooting list!

Thank you, everyone, for the responses.

Just to be clear, here's the set I ordered:
http://www.classicshaving.com/catalo...11/3875031.htm

Does anyone know if Lynn, or someone else, hand-hones the razor that comes with this?

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Originally Posted by Smiles

Thank you, everyone, for the responses.

Just to be clear, here's the set I ordered:
http://www.classicshaving.com/catalo...11/3875031.htm

Does anyone know if Lynn, or someone else, hand-hones the razor that comes with this?

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Why don't you call classicshaving and ask them? I suspect that Lynn honed these razors, but none of us and probably even Lynn won't know for sure.

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Originally Posted by hoglahoo

I thought that the pre-sharpened razors at classic shave are the razors that are machine sharpened for you, and that Lynn's honing is an extra service.

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This is exactly the case. When you order the set, do yourself a favor and have them send it to Lynn enroute to you. It may take an extra week, but in the end it's faster and easier than ordering it, discovering it's NOT sharp enough, sending it to Lynn, and waiting for him to hone it and send it back. I know because this is what happened to me. I bought one of the Dovo 5/8 Blackstar sets, which is basically the same thing as you're getting. In the long run, and the short run, too, it's faster and less headache to just get the honing service when you buy. Learn from my mistakes if nothing else.

Best of luck.

If you are getting razor burn, and it is removing hair, I would say it was probably honed. A dull razor usually won't usually do both.
Try stropping your razor on newspaper, it may take 50- 100 passes before you see a difference, but it can make a big difference.
If this doesn't improve your razor, or if you are really in doubt about it's sharpness, send it to me, I will check it out, and if need be make it shave ready.

In the mean time, you can try adding glycerine to your lather, or use a preshave oil... I understand even olive oil will work. (I use shave secret...)
Try using no pressure at all, keep the spine of the razor lifted off your face about 1-1.5 times it's width (15-20 degrees) and just try to remove the lather.

Again if you just don't want to take any chances, send it my way, and I will hone it for you. (I'll just ask you to pay the shipping)