New straight razor interest

Good evening all.

The straight razor has been a bit of an interest as of late, so I figured I'd sign up and at least get some feedback on where I'm at.

That and with the rising prices of the mach 3's that eat it after two uses the costs are adding up, however I do have a few newbish questions.

1: I have two old razors that we're my grandfather's that I dug out. Would it be better to try and get them cleaned / sharpened back up or just buy a new one that's shave ready?

One is a J.R. Torrey and the other is in a Solinger case but doesn't have the name anywhere on the blade, so not sure on that one. Should I leave these two alone and just buy a new one or are there places that even sharpen them or is this something that I would have to undertake?

You could go to the classifieds section at the top of the page, then look under member's services.Pick one that sounds good to you or is close to you, then send them a personal message with pictures of the blades.They will tell you if they are good enough to hone and use. I know that the Torrey is well known and respected, so maybe you should start with that one.They should be able to hone it for you for less than you would pay for a shave-ready razor ,if it doesn't need other restoration.

If the fact that they were your grandfather's confers any sentimental value (I don't know, maybe he was a jerk) then don't use them or clean them or do anything with them yet. Learn on something else so that you don't make your newbie mistakes with an irreplaceable razor. You are always better off starting with a shave ready razor.

Thanks for the input, I've decided because they do hold a bit of sentimental value to just go with a new one and not risk destroying them trying to get them sharpened.

Soon, I will be getting a new razor.

Thanks again.