Thread: My Startup Gear

Yeah, but $20 is way too much to sharpen a razor. I'm sure he does a nice job, but the fact it, those razors come close to shaving sharp in the box. To charge $20 to touch it up is outrageous, IMO. Save your money and learn to do it yourself. What's the point in owning something you can't maintain? $20 would be a bit more reasonable if he had to completely regrind it, but that'd be about it. A new razor is around $100. He's charging 20% of that price to touch up an already sharp, perfect-conditioned implement.

Not to sound offensive Joe, but sharpening a razor isn't quite that easy. I haven't honed any of my razors -- I've sent them all to Lynn, founder of the group here, as well as the guy who provides the sharpening service for ClassicShaving. I figure it's probably a huge pain in the ass, considering the number of posts and types of questions folks have on the subject.

Most new razors are sharp, but they are not sharp enough to shave with right out of the box. Almost everyone here will agree on that. In many cases, it is not simply a matter of polishing an established edge; rather, a proper bevel and edge must be established.

I'm not saying don't learn to hone because it's too hard. I am saying you really need an understanding of what sharp is, which means a razor honed by a master. This is the only reasonable way to establish a benchmark for your progress.

Originally Posted by sensei_kyle

Not to sound offensive Joe, but sharpening a razor isn't quite that easy. I haven't honed any of my razors -- I've sent them all to Lynn, founder of the group here, as well as the guy who provides the sharpening service for ClassicShaving. I figure it's probably a huge pain in the ass, considering the number of posts and types of questions folks have on the subject.

Most new razors are sharp, but they are not sharp enough to shave with right out of the box. Almost everyone here will agree on that. In many cases, it is not simply a matter of polishing an established edge; rather, a proper bevel and edge must be established.

I'm not saying don't learn to hone because it's too hard. I am saying you really need an understanding of what sharp is, which means a razor honed by a master. This is the only reasonable way to establish a benchmark for your progress.

Joe,

I have to agree with sensei_Kyle on this one. I thought my razors were sharp until I had one honed by Lynn (which by the way he honed for me by free) I then had a bench mark to work from. I agree we should learn how to do it but sometimes you need help and Lynn is the best. He is worth every dime he gets.

Originally Posted by sensei_kyle

Not to sound offensive Joe, but sharpening a razor isn't quite that easy. I haven't honed any of my razors -- I've sent them all to Lynn, founder of the group here, as well as the guy who provides the sharpening service for ClassicShaving. I figure it's probably a huge pain in the ass, considering the number of posts and types of questions folks have on the subject.

Most new razors are sharp, but they are not sharp enough to shave with right out of the box. Almost everyone here will agree on that. In many cases, it is not simply a matter of polishing an established edge; rather, a proper bevel and edge must be established.

I'm not saying don't learn to hone because it's too hard. I am saying you really need an understanding of what sharp is, which means a razor honed by a master. This is the only reasonable way to establish a benchmark for your progress.

No offense taken. I may eventually send one to be honed, just to see if there's any difference from when I do it myself. I'm very well aware there a huge difference between sharpening a razor and anything else, but there's lots of instructions, here and elsewhere, to help you out, and the only way you ever learn is to do it. That's what those cheap charlie Pakistani razors are good for, at least. If you screw it up, you haven't lost anything. The "masters" had to start somewhere, and I'd guess it was by sharpening lots and lots of razors. I didn't mean for my post to sound as offensive to anyone as it may have. I'm very happy Lynn made this site, and I'm very happy to be here. I've already learned a lot, and discovered some good people to boot. I guess I just believe the whole point of shaving in an old fashioned way is to do the whole thing the old fashioned way, and that means doing it yourself. Just my opinion, which is like an as*hole...everybody's got one.

I'll throw in my nickel on this. And I earned that nickel the hard way. $20 bucks sounds like a lot. But, if you spend $60 or $160 on a razor, $40 strop, $60 hone, $35 brush and a conservative number of $20 on shaving creams and or soap, you have made a serious investment. If the razor is not shave ready, you may give up. If you try to hone it and don't get it right, you may give up. Lots of guys have. But, if you start with a honed razor, the strop, brush and shaving creams or soaps, you can buy the hone later. Honing is a learning experience, and while it looks and sounds easy...it really is a challenge. In the grand scheme of things, $20 that covers sending it to Lynn, and Lynn sending it on...the actual honing charge is in reality about $14-15 bucks. The question becomes, do you want to put a piece of metal against your face that "might" be ready to go?

I'll pass on that!

RT

I want to learn to hone, and frankly I wouldn't be enthused about the prospect of having to send the thing off everytime I needed the edge on it, but I do believe that I'm picking the gently sloping learning curve here. Getting a sense for how they could have done it lo in days of yore is indeed part of what I'm interested in. If I merely wanted a break from the waste of disposable razors or the planned obsolescence of razor "systems" I could just buy a decent safety razor that takes the old style blades. After all, I'm not using that slot in the back of my medicine cabinet for anything else.

A double saw to smooth out the learning curve (skipping the 'ruined first decent razor' stage, perhaps) is worth it to me. I mean, I suppose if I was really determined, I could buy a bunch of grapes and whip up a Beaujolais. I'm more likely to end up with sneaky pete.

I probably spoke out of turn. I've certainly come to discover there's a world of difference between a sharp hunting knife and a sharp razor. I'll probably have Lynn or some other knowledgeable person really hone one, so that I know what I should be shooting for. I feel I can certainly do the job already, but I guess it's more a "how much sharper should it be" thing, since I really have only my own work to compare it to. My statement about the "masters" failed to take into account that they probably had an example to work to also, not just practice. Somebody did it first, but it wasn't in any of our lifetimes. Learning how to do something is often helped along by having a decent example. I'm totally new to this, too, and my post sounded pretty arrogant, now that I go back and read it. I'm going to hit the reset button...it's been a bad day.

Joe,

That's what we do on this site. "Voice our opinion" Yours is as valid as the next mans. Of course that doesn't mean we won't jump on you if we disagree
Keep on posting

Originally Posted by RichZ

Joe,

That's what we do on this site. "Voice our opinion" Yours is as valid as the next mans. Of course that doesn't mean we won't jump on you if we disagree
Keep on posting

That's what I love about these forums: Polite disagreement and no flame wars. We all manage to have our own opinions without loosing manners.

My previous experience was with programming forums and those are pissing contests in which I was not interested in. I hung around these forums for a couple of weeks to make sure this was a community I would want to be part of.

Rich what you call "jumpin on you" is mastepiece theater compared to the fray you would see if you went to some of the forums frequented by the "Unwashed Masses".

True I remember the war at the Yahoo site. Not pretty