Quote Originally Posted by shooter74743 View Post
Really? How will someone who is learning to shave know what a true "shave ready" razor is? Maybe I'm just mis-understanding your statement...I hope.
Why is it necessary to know what true "shave ready" means straight away? What is "true" shave ready anyway? I'm pretty sure I couldn't give anything but a very generic definition of that term: something like "a razor that gives you a good shave."

The problem is a "good" shave changes both between shavers and over time as you learn technique etc. The shave to shave fluctuations in a beginner's technique may well overshadow the subtle minutia of a "honemeister" edge versus an amateur edge, or dare I say even a poor edge.

I learned to shave off a factory edge Dovo. After two weeks of that I obtained the best stone I could find (an old 4K oilstone borrowed from my father in law) and went from there. There are many paths to enlightenment. There are many paths to enlightenment because there are many different people with many different ways of learning.

Recipes are great and can be quite useful and convenient when teaching something to others. But they are prescriptive and won't suit everyone. They also encourage a "stepford wives" approach to knowledge, and when someone comes along who challenges the "learned knowledge" ...well, we've all seen what can happen. Rather than creating a shaving Borg here at SRP I would prefer people to find their own paths, while the rest of us offer advice and encouragement rather than a "do this, do that" atmosphere. We should be encouraging people to be Chefs rather than just cooks who follow recipes.

Sorry this has gone a bit far afield. I still think the OP is very good advice and I would definitely encourage people to get a honemeister edge if they can. But it is not a rule, there are other ways to go about this hobby, and I encourage everyone to follow whatever path they choose. It is all about learning, making mistakes, figuring things out. Of course, we can and should learn from other's mistakes (and successes), but I always like to make my own - seems more personal somehow!

James.