I recently started listing some razors I have collected and gathered through the years and described them as "shave ready". Having said this I thought a good shave meant it actually worked despited tugging pulling and and over sanding of the face. I was way wrong. The razors I listed as a consequence were not even close to shave ready. How did I know this you might ask? I asked an experienced member. I recently bought a new Dovo and had it made "shave ready" from Classic Shaving. TO my surprise when a razor is properly honed and stropped it will get every hair in one smooth stroke. After making a jerk out of myself int he classifieds I discovered this. After realizing what I had done, I bought the Dovo, a Norton 4K/8K stone, and a Russian leather strop. Now, a person can sand a blade to a nice mirror finish if enough hours are taken and they can spend about 12 hours in the process starting with 80 grit sandpaper going o 2000 grit. THey can even spend an our or four honing and then say it is shave ready. To the newbies like me who doesnt know how it is supposed to work properly, a dull razor might seem normal. Time means nothing, technique is everything. But I recently discovered that if the razor is truely honed properly, it will shave as smooth and irritation free as the Mach3 and you can actually enjoy the process of shaving. And please do not buy anything labeld Zepk, this is terrible stuff and cheap for a good reason. But the new strop I bought was about $45 and I bought the paste for it too. It is totally different. If you are serious about getting started paln to spend about $150-$200 to get god equipment. And the good news is, I am told that a razor well taken care of can last 15 years or longer so ulitmately its cheaper.
I also looked at the help files and the Forge Forum. I recently made an old Wade and Butcher shave ready with the help of my new norton hone and a good strop with paste. Now, any newbie on the hunt, please dont try this one as your first it is square point and will cut you if you are not experienced (this is my opinion). I am only keeping it listed because I was brought down to earth by a senior moderator who knew what I was selling was bad. As such it was tested and some negative but very constructive comments were posted. I want everyone who is looking at my ads to read them. They helped me a lot! So if you are getting into this artform, I would encourage you to read the forums, and then message a senior member about how the razor should work. Now, I have many cuts on my face and I thoroughly reccomend staying away from square point razors as a beginner, but this is unavoidable. I also learned an interesting way to practice from a barber down the road from my home. He told me to practice the stroke on a balloon filled with water until you can do it quickly, smoothly and without cutting the ballon. I ended up going into a hallmark store to get balloons but he was right. But, I have may more hours topractice this before I am god at it. So, if you are like me and have done this a few weeks with discouraging results or are thinking about getting into this, then read the forums and purchase a new razor that comes ready, or buy it on the classifieds from an experienced member. I promise when you experience what these razors should be your attitude will change.
So if any senior member reads this, please fill in the gaps that I have left out. Also I am looking to buy some scales preferably of unfinished wood. I need about a dozen sets and would like them to be similar. But, this is an aside.
Newbies like me, Good Luck and remember if you find the reslts are not satisactory, make sure you are using a good razor and taking care of it properly before you give up. If there are any questions you have please let contact me any time.
Best Wishes
Trey