Thread: Cheap Ebay Razors for Honing Practice, Really??

I'm not sure if the title to this thread will get my thoughts across, but here it goes;

I see a lot of threads in the honing section referring to cheap Ebay razors acquired for honing practice. Members, usually new members, acquiring straights from Ebay with the intent to use them in practicing their honing skills. When I read this, two concerns come to my mind immediately.
The first is concern for the razor.

Many of the fine restorations that are completed daily by members of SRP began their rebirth as cheap Ebay purchases. I feel that most of these cheap Ebay purchases are diamonds in the rough. I would like to hope that members purchasing these razors, would look more closely at the razor itself ie. manufacturer, model, overall condition with regard to future restoration and approximate date of manufacture; with price of purchase being second. I realize that not everyone wants to restore every razor they purchase; I would just like to see more of these cheap Ebayers get a second look over. I for one, enjoy seeing the restored razors put back on the line for us all to enjoy.

The second concern, is for the member trying to learn honing on his cheap Ebay purchase.

I feel that a member learning to hone, on a razor in questionable condition (pitted,rusty, chipped, excessive frown/smile) puts himself at a disadvantage to begin with. I read many posts where a member experiences frustration with his honing progress. I feel it has a lot to do with the razor he chose to learn on. In most all of the courses of instruction that I have had in my life, I was given adequate, sometimes top of the line, equipment to learn on. As the course progressed, often the equipment was compromised in some manner or other to make the course more difficult. This tested our ability to apply our new found knowledge. I'm not suggesting that a member who wants to learn honing, needs to purchase a new Dovo to learn on; just consider the condition of the razor a bit more prior to putting it to stone. Putting $20 or $30 more into your starter razor might speed your learning along.

As stated by many, the true test of a honed razor is the shave itsself.
Several of my razors were antique store rescues under $20. If they passed the shave test, they went into the rotation along side the razors that cost hundreds.

Just my thoughts for a nickel.