Shave Ready - What does it mean?

I am very new (6 shaves on a self-honed antique store razor). I spent a lot of time and was getting good shaves (HHT pass) on a JA Henkels razor.

I wanted to see what a professionally honed razor was like, and also wanted a nice Dovo for backup. I ordered the Green Pakka Wood and last night pulled it out to shave. I did a TPT and thought it didn't seem too sharp. However, being new, I figured it was my inexperience since most tests still give me mixed feelings about sharpness. I decided I would slowly strop it, but just a little. I then started my shave and after 3 or 4 passes (swipes), I decided it was too painful and just not working. I pulled out the JA Henkels and it went so much better. I finished the shave with it.

Today I decided to strop the new Dovo about 50 times or so, but carefully. After doing so, it now can pull up some arm hairs, but barely. It mostly glides over most hairs, and then grabs one every now and then. It's better than before, but not quite there. BTW, the Henkels will pull lots of arm hairs and easily pass HHT after stropping. I have gotten the Dovo to pass the HHT once after 20-30 attempts.

I do know that the professional honemeisters are magnitudes better than me. However, I just wonder what I got and is it what is to be expected. I guess that maybe I learned that my honing is good and that I should just give this thing a few passes on the Chinese 12k I have. I really didn't want to touch this new Dovo to a stone for months, after I have done the Henkels a few more times. Maybe I will need to.

Advice?

i would say talk to the person who honed it and see if they've tested it after honing. i'm pretty sure most guys will be happy to take another look and if they've made an error, rehone it.
don't put it to the hone yourself yet.

all henckels razors i've had i've liked better than the current production dovos, but all of them have been capable of providing a smooth and comfortable shave. of course i've shaved a lot more than 6 times, so i think i'm fairly proficient with the process and it makes quite a difference.

I would contact the seller of the razor , first .

The issue is that shave ready to me may not be shave ready to you, and vice versa. I am in the process of honing a razor that is identical in shave readiness as one of the razors a honemeister did for me, but I don't count it to be shave ready. It'll do a good shave, but it's just not at the level I want it to be at.

Shave ready to me means that, with a good lather, I can slice through the beard without having to really work. The best razor I've had I can't even feel as it slices through the beard.

I just did 30 passes on the cloth side and 50 passes on the leather. I did this to both razors and they seem to cut arm hair similarly now. I'll do the shave with both tonight, which in the end is what matters.

BTW, the new razor came with an oil on the blade. The oil was very heavy and partially solid in many places.

I'll take the advice and not touch it to stone at all. Thanks.

Shave ready to me means it will give a BBS with two passes. Any less and its back to the hones for me.

Just to be clear, I do not question the quality of the razor, the hone, nor the oil/gel put on it. I am just trying to understand what I should expect.

After the stropping, I must say that last night's shave went much better. Stropping made a world of difference. I shaved with both the self-honed and the Dovo I ordered. The results were that they shaved similarly. Not the same, but I can't say which is better. I think the Henckels shaved a bit easier, but the feel of the Dovo is more heavy/solid. To be honest, I think the Henckels razor is better for beginners. It is lighter and easier to maneuver. It could be that I just got used to it first though and the Dovo is a change, both in stropping and shaving.

I still have chin shaving problems. I just can't figure out how to make my chin into a flat surface for the blade and it pulls instead of cutting. I still blame it on beard prep and shaving technique...for now.

My advice is simple. Send a razor to be honed by a pro honemeister to find out what you are aiming for. You will appreciate your shaving SO much more!

:tu

I will tell you one fact (maybe two):

The sharpness and keeness of a razors edge will be different from one honemeister to another. - I, also, realize there will, also, be a difference in shaving technique, prep, and quality of stropping from one shaver to another. :confused: Yes, there are a lot of variables at work here! :)

Regards,

Steve

If you paid extra for a shave ready razor then the vendor is responsible to provide you with one. If it was one of the vendors who sponsor SRP they will stand behind the product. As previously suggested contact the vendor and send it back for special attention. If it was not one of the vendors who sponsor SRP then I don't know what to tell you. :shrug: You may be better off sending it to a known honemiester found in the SRP classifieds "member services" here. Lynn has honed a number of my razors and they were all outstanding shavers.

I completely forgot to explain where I got it from. The razor in question is from Straight Razor Designs, and it was my understanding that every razor from there would be honed by Lynn Abrams. I do not question their ability nor the razor's shave readiness. After stropping, the razor is much better. I just was hoping to get a razor out of the box that would shave better than anything I could have done. Having to strop it may be normal, but it messed up my "target" because now I will always wonder if I am stropping properly.

The oil was not exactly dry or hardened. It just was some kind of gel in a few spots and so it looked like pits at first, until I realized it was just some gel/oil substance.

In all reality, I am pleased with the purchase and the honing. I just want to make sure that I have a good reference/target for honing, but also so I know what a good shave should be like.

Thanks for all the replies!

Sounds like your honing is pretty good then. I've shaved with a few razors honed by other people. One was wicked sharp, I was very impressed. Another was "acceptable" and some others needed touching up.

I suppose the answer is if it shaves just as good or better than what you expect, then its shave ready.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Leighton

I suppose the answer is if it shaves just as good or better than what you expect, then its shave ready.

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The boy learns fast ;)

i have got several restored shave ready razors of a guy of ebay who goes by the name altima. They are like brand new it amazes me how he does it. and they are all shave ready but can vary it varys from differant razor i think and also aftetr athew shaves they do improve. I have also touched them up on bbw/coti and it has improved them slightly to my liking thats all. I no he uses 4k 8k and 12k kitiyama he does'nt use tpt at all he uses magnification only he his very good but like i say i like to put my final touch on the razors my self.

It sounds to me like a whole lot of testing going on. I find that many folks are predisposed when it comes to shaving based on the amazing amount of tests they perform before trying to shave. New is always a factor too. I am a fan of stropping every razor before shaving. The newly honed ones that I do have a coating of oil on them that needs to be wiped off before shaving. You don't necessarily have to strop, but I always do because of the oil. At worst, we always are willing to re-hone a razor.

I just saw your email and it says after you stropped the razor shaved rather nicely.

Thanks,

Lynn

Ok, based on all the answers, my own shaves, and so on, I think I will conclude that:

- This razor is very shave ready, but needed an oil wipe and stropping.
- The razor not shaving at all before this is most likely my inexperience. A perfect razor is probably still "shaving poorly" for me since I don't have the shave/prep perfected yet. Therefore I think if the razor is slightly not ready, then for me it is not shaving without much pulling.
- My beard prep is poor. (I knew this, but I still wait for my supplies in the mail)
- The razor is different. It is heavier and feels different. This may have threw me off too and it was just easier to go back to the JA Henckels razor.

...and finally

- I believe this razor shows me what an excellently honed razor should be and that I need more work on the shave portion.

I am really happy with the new razor purchase and the condition it came in. :y

Many thanks to all!!!

After another shave, using both razors, they seem to be doing well. I tackled the mustache area and my chin and did a bit better job. The JA Henckels seemed to do better in these areas, but I think I am not stropping the Dovo as good. It is heavier, thicker, and maybe angled differently. If I watch closely, I see I lift the blade a lot and thus am just running the spine down. I'll keep watching.

BTW, Lynn sent a nice email that said I could send it back for honing again if its a problem. However, I don't think I'll do that because I am 99% sure that it is me!

I'll keep this up to date after a few more shaves and after some real soap/brush prep.

For fun, I looked at the razors under a microscope. The Lynn-honed Dovo is clearly "sharper". It has a nice polished edge. Now I can visually see my target.

Last night, I got a good shave (by my standards) out of the Dovo. It's getting better. As I posted in another thread, there are other factors that need improving, and are improving, that contribute to my poor shaves.

Thanks for helping me understand what to expect out of a new shave-ready razor and for giving me confidence in my "reference".