Thread: Ok I'm a Klutz, so what do I do now?

OK I'll post again and elaborate more on my original advice. First I'll start with a simple observation from this thread so far:

The less experience a member has with honing, the more willing they are to recommend OP tries to fix it himself.

Now, in principle there is nothing wrong to try honing, I actually think learning to hone on a blade with a chip is the best way to go, as it takes some time to get the chip out which is a helpful practice.

However, his chances of success are less than 1%. So...

What does he have to gain from an attempt:
- experience (it can be done on another razor)
- satisfaction upon success (same as the previous point)
- $20 or so

What are the negatives from going this way:
- time - a lot of it
- pain from the bad shaves - a lot of it
- doubt - with just two shaves he has no idea what to shoot for, so will he be getting bad shaves because he can't shave, or because he can't hone?
- more hone wear on the razor than necessary - it's a nice razor and most people like them to stay that way if possible. Even if it gets eventually fixed the steel that's gone while learning cannot be put back.

I think the negatives outweigh the positives by a large margin.
But, of course, everybody can make the call themselves.

I normally am trying to be 'nicer' but getting good advice is the first priority.

I don't know if everybody paid attention, but the razor has a visible chip! It means the chip needs to go out and a new bevel be set. This last part is where virtually all newbies fail, no matter how good they think they are.