Thread: Greetings from Holland

the best thing to do is to get your razor "pro" honed..by pro i mean someone who has experience in honing and knows what they are doing (laurens, dimitri, lynn,glenn) . stropping a razor is necessary before you shave with it (being careful you don't fold the edge) to get a nice smooth shave. there is no need to get a razor €100,- + to get a good shave.. have a look on the whipped dog site for a sight unseen razor in combination with the poor mans strop, you'll be good to go for about $60,- they come shave ready so no hassle bothering with honing

I came acros the whipped dog website last week, if I have some money left next month I think I Will order a kit. Give that a go for a couple of months before buying a brand new razor.

Hi and welcome. Those sites that strop only tend to have reports of razors not being shave ready. Honing is the best way to go. Good luck. Ed

Originally Posted by Timothy26

I came acros the whipped dog website last week, if I have some money left next month I think I Will order a kit. Give that a go for a couple of months before buying a brand new razor.

Good idea. When you do buy a new razor, that one too needs honing. Factory edges are usually not what one would consider shave-ready.

Good luck and enjoy!

That were my thoughts to, so it confused me that a, I think, well renowned and old store (in antwerp) only stropes them and call them shave ready, and even advise to not do business with people who say that honing is required to make a razor shave ready. A bit confusing for a newbie...

a bit? it sounds like they don't really know what they're talking about..

I've heard much the same story at the New York Barbershop in Rotterdam. The guy, a barber himself, genuinly believed that factory edges are shave sharp. But then again, he wasn't shaved himself and shaved his customers with disposable Feather blades, so he's never tried the straight razors he sold. Who knows, the guys in Antwerp don't shave with their own goods as well?

On a sidenode, this sort of confusion happens a lot. There are also people selling Pakistan razors while genuinly believing they can be used for shaving, and others who only care about making money. I was lucky to have found the lists of good and bad brands in time.

Maybe thats it. Its a pitty though, They have a good selection and prices, but I rather receive my razor truly shave ready, so I have to look elsewhere.

There are some sellers online that offer their razors honed and shave ready.. Have a look on the invisible edge or SRD. on the invisible edge are some great started kits. http://www.theinvisibleedge.co.uk/page93.html

Thanks for the info. I will have another look around the net in a couple of months, after I get the hang of it with a kit from whipped dog.