Razor pro honed by MAX

[thecurrins]

So I just bought my first straight razor. After doing some research on this sight and elsewhere online, I bought a slightly used JA Henckels. I own a few pieces of Henckels kitchen cutlery, and I am a fan, so I decided to stay brand loyal here. When I received it, the blade needed some work and was not shave ready. I did an amature job removing the stains on the blade with a Dremel tool, cleaned up some things here and there, and sent it to be honed by forum member Max, in Las Vegas (honestly, if I had come across his site before I bought my razor, I might have purchased one of his). Anyhow, after about a week and $27 (20 for the service plus the cost to ship the razor from NC to NV) I received my honed blade. WOW! You know the noise the Hitori Hanso blades made in Kill Bill... that was all I could think of. I don't know if he took it to 30,000, but it is wicked sharp. Honestly, that was what I paid for and what I expected.
What I didn't expect is what impressed me the most. This was his email to me...

"Honing. Had a test shave. It also passes the HHT. But it's not a reference. The test shave is.
Nice smooth and sharp. Gotta love those Henckels. Since I have the original red/orange paint that Henckels uses I patched and re painted the parts of the engraving that didn't have any paint left. Now it looks like new again. Never ever use a dremel or polishing wheel on the tang with the paint. It doesn't matter if it's the original or re painted. A buffing wheel removes the paint. A cloth or cotton is fine but power tools not. I'm talking experience. I removed some original paint in my early stages that way. Lesson learned. Same with an etching on a blade. Once swipe with the turning wheel and it's gone.I cleaned up the scales and couldn't remove a few of the darker stains which are impregnated into the plastic. There was also a small underneath laying tiny crack/chip but it's no big deal and really not an issue. The edge does have some remaining residual stains/pits but the edge doesn't seem affected by it and the edge looks great.

Basically the razor looks and shaves great.

I'll strop it so you can shave with it out the box.

Oh, and I un-warped the scales as much as I could so it doesn't hit the sides anymore.
Max"

Seriously, I paid him to simply hone, strop, and return the blade, but he went above and beyond my expectations. His communications were excellent, (email and on the phone). The thing is like new, & I highly recommend his service.

Vintage Straight Razors, DE Razors, Honing & Restoration sevices, Sharpening and Shaving

I wanted to get an idea of what to expect from a properly honed/stropped blade. Being that I am the definition of a newbie... this was my first self-given shave with a straight razor, I shaved the backs of my hands to get an idea of what angle to hold the blade, how well it would cut hair, etc. It sounds dumb, but I think it was worth the hair on my hands... Then, I wanted to shave my face with it as soon as I could, and it is great. . I am not confident with my strokes, I work around a goatee, and I have some moles to deal with.... but my blade shaved like butta! Thanks Max!