Quote Originally Posted by Duke19d View Post
I mentioned to my girlfriend awhile back that I was interested in trying to shave with a straight razor. Since she is amazing, when my birthday came around she remembered and surprised me with a razor and all the accessories. The blade is a Theirs-Issard that she got from The Art Of Shaving web site. The first shave was very uncomfortable. After looking around the web some I've decided that it is way too dull to shave with. It doesn't come close to passing the HHT. A friend of mine has a Norton 4k/8k that I've borrowed and used a bit with no real improvement. To be honest I'm worried about damaging the edge. If I do that I'll probably be in more trouble than if I just don't use it.

So what should I do?
How about just telling her the truth?

Something along the line of..."Honey it's one of the most wonderfully thoughtful gifts I've ever received but after doing some research I've learned that most brand new razors need to be sharpened before they are used and I don't want to mess it up." Then send it out to a honemeister!