An entirely useless post.

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06-20-2010, 11:59 PM
BretMattingly

An entirely useless post.

Hey guys,

Just wanted to get acquainted really quickly. I recently perked up an interest in straight shaving when The Art of Manliness (mayhap one of the best blogs of all time) mentioned it repeatedly in an article I read a few weeks back. I mentioned it to a buddy of mine. He responded that he actually had a straight razor and used it quite regularly. I was impressed and started looking into it. I figured my friend wasn't likely to spend much money, he must've gotten his cheap. So I picked up...

yeah...

...a Kriegar. It wasn't till AFTER it arrived that I found out my buddy's was a gift from his grandfather, who indeed used it himself. I think he mentioned it was a Shumate?

Back to the POS I bought. After reading the reviews (which were oddly positive), I knew it wouldn't be shave ready. Fortunately, my father (who is not impressed with straights, I suspect his experience was with a cheap POS like mine) had an original Swaty hone hanging around. So, 50 strokes on the hone later, and countless more on the strop, I gave the Kriegar a try.

It hurt. Bad. Fortunately (miraculously?) I didn't cut myself, but I'd almost wish I had. The irritation was unbearable. I did a bit more research and found Kriegar on the "Avoid" list in the Wiki here. Oops.

I've since remedied the problem by purchasing a shave ready Shumate from razormike in the classifieds. Now I just wait for it to get here and dive back in. The right way.
06-21-2010, 12:21 AM
red96ta

stinks, huh? Well, on the bright side, you can butter your toast with it :p Who knows how many folks Krieger has turned off to classic shaving with the trash they sell. They buy the razor and figure that if this is as good as it gets, then they'll just stick with their fusion.
06-21-2010, 12:44 AM
BretMattingly

Quote:

Originally Posted by red96ta

stinks, huh? Well, on the bright side, you can butter your toast with it :p Who knows how many folks Krieger has turned off to classic shaving with the trash they sell. They buy the razor and figure that if this is as good as it gets, then they'll just stick with their fusion.

My father had the exact same experience when learning guitar. He started with a crappy student acoustic, was very discouraged (the action and strings are **** on those things), and played his instructor's. What he found was what he knew all along: You get what you pay for. He went out the next day and bought a $400 Gibson acoustic electric that he's used ever since. I wasn't about to let a Chinese blade steer me away. I knew there had to be SOMETHING behind the str8 hype. :D
06-21-2010, 01:57 AM
richmondesi

That wasn't useless at all. You recognized your mistake, checked out the Wiki, and are well on your way. Good luck on your journey, sir :gl:
06-21-2010, 02:03 AM
jhenry

Paul is oh so right...Lesson learned. Perhaps the hard way, but learned nevertheless.
06-21-2010, 02:08 AM
gugi

The reviews were positive?!?! I want to see those reviewers demonstrate the product themselves.
06-21-2010, 02:40 AM
BretMattingly

Straight Razor Kriegar Pakawood Reviews at True Swords

Can't believe I missed the "folding knife". But check out the reviews...These people are madly in love with the thing.

It's not a complete loss. I'm going to use it a bit to work on honing/stropping technique, not that I'll have any way of knowing how well I'm doing...
06-21-2010, 02:49 AM
JimmyHAD

Welcome to SRP. Read my sig below to avoid nicks and cuts.
06-21-2010, 03:37 AM
gandrw

Go very lightly with a good well honed razor. And read up. There is a ton of info in the Wiki and there are several shave videos here that show allot about technique that reading can be kinda hard to get if you aren't familiar with the terms used.
Oh yeah and welcome abroad.
06-21-2010, 08:23 PM
markevens

Well, at least now you know from experience why POS razors are to be avoided. The Shumate will be extraordinary in comparison.
06-22-2010, 08:12 PM
BretMattingly

Quote:

Originally Posted by markevens

Well, at least now you know from experience why POS razors are to be avoided. The Shumate will be extraordinary in comparison.

Well, I can't say I do. I certainly know that they ARE to be avoided, but not so much as to why...I mean, other than they suck. One post I saw noted that there was a ton of cosmetic/construction defects with the Kriegar, which I've yet to see, but to me the only thing wrong (and the most important thing) is that the steel is crap and won't take a shaving edge. Having some experience with knives, and after I did my research, I honed a decent edge on the thing, but nowhere near shavable.