Thanks for your response ghostrider :-)
You got it in one, I want my first razor to shave with.

It sounds like you are talking about buying a vintage razor. I would have thought it would be better to start with a brand new razor?

I have contacted the seller of the razor I mentioned above and they told me that it was shaving ready. If a new razor is advertised as shaving ready would it need any hone work before it was used to shave with?

Thanks for the pointer to the wiki I will defiantly check it out.