Thread: Razors in the classified section

I am looking to buy my first reconditioned, shave ready razor and I was planning to do it in our classified section. I do have a couple of questions regarding razor condition, however.

I see razors as being shave ready and their condition as being fair, good, great, or excellent. Does this condition rating affect the shave quality of the razor or is it more its aesthetics? I saw a razor that I liked that was shave ready and listed as 'fair' condition. I'm really only interested in shave quality right now; should I be worried that the condition is only fair, will that affect shave quality? If it only refers to blemishes, etc., then I'm not really concerned, I only do not want shave quality to suffer.

Alan did a wonderful job of honing my razor, but even he said that it was still not great and not to use that razor as a baseline as to how a straight should shave. It still tugs and pulls a bit, not nearly the way it did before he honed it, and I want to know without a doubt that all tugging and pulling is simply my lack of skill and in no way attributed to the razor.

As I am on a wife mandated budget, I am not so much worried about the look of the razor and want to concentrate on its shave quality.

Thanks!

If it is listed as shave ready then the shave will be good. The conditions - generally - are the looks of the razor. I have a couple in my drawer that while give you an awesome shave but they're butt ugly so to speak

I also have a couple that are in excellent condition but are not shave ready.

I'm new to the honing thing, but I cant help but think that if even the guy who honed the blade says its not so great, that the blade steel might be below par. Or is it a question of the person who honed it admitting that he did a below par hone job?
From all I have heard, there should be no pulling and tugging.

And yes, condition should not affect "shave" I have a worn down, rough looking bit of Union Cutlery, that shaves as good as any other blade I have. It looks awful, but it shaves great! Just my opinion of course.

You may want to take a look at the shopping list in the beginners guide. When buying from the Classifieds, it makes sense to buy from someone who is known to be good at honing.

Regards,
Robin

if you are just looking for a great shaver then ask question directly from the seller. I am sure most of the seller will tell you what kinda shaver blade is.
Price of the blade is mostly depends not just quality +condition.
if you don't care 1 of them then you can buy very nice quality blade a lot cheaper price.
Please don't buy anything before asking question from seller.
usually they all easy accessible.
hope this helps

My understanding is that the condition should refer to the cosmetic aspects of the razor, i.e. tarnish, pitting, not to the edge. A razor that is listed as shave-ready should have as good of an edge as possible. Of course, then come the subjective factors - how good at honing the person who honed it is, how good of an edge the razor can take (you already had that experience, as Alan can extract the best edge from a razor), how much experience the seller has when evaluating the edge and telling you where it stands, what do they mean by the various grading categories....

So, as you see, picking a seller you trust is far more important than what the actual advertisement says.

Originally Posted by gugi

So, as you see, picking a seller you trust is far more important than what the actual advertisement says.

That is it in a nutshell.

Or as we say in the watch business, buy the seller then the watch. Same here.

Originally Posted by spinsheet

I am looking to buy my first reconditioned, shave ready razor and I was planning to do it in our classified section. I do have a couple of questions regarding razor condition, however.
......

After you digest your answers you might ask a more specific
question in the context of "I want".

Some of the guys get a "lot" of 5-25 razors. If all you
want is good steel, tumbler run, sound scales, honed to
perfection... say so.

If you want a full polish, full restore, name brand, fancy scales..
say so.

Perhaps one of the guys will PM you with an option.

Or just watch to see what is offered each day. It changes quickly
and when you see what you want go for it.

Originally Posted by niftyshaving

After you digest your answers you might ask a more specific
question in the context of "I want".

Some of the guys get a "lot" of 5-25 razors. If all you
want is good steel, tumbler run, sound scales, honed to
perfection... say so.

If you want a full polish, full restore, name brand, fancy scales..
say so.

Perhaps one of the guys will PM you with an option.

Or just watch to see what is offered each day. It changes quickly
and when you see what you want go for it.

Actually this is not the way to do it, as commercial activity needs to stay within the classifieds and the vendor's corner.
You can post a Want to Buy ad in the respective section of the classifieds.