Thread: Hi from Virginia

A crazy impulse buy from a deal-centric site that I frequent has led to me purchase a stupid cheap straight razor and my extreme lack of research has lead me to this fantastic site. I'm starting to get interested in straight shaving (I'm the kind of guy that gets really into my hobbies and I can already see this one is going to consume many, many days of my life as I absorb all the info I can). My experience at the moment is bittersweet. On one hand, I'm practically giddy about trying to get into this new world. On the other hand, I'm pretty sure I have purchased a complete piece of crap razor to start with, lol.

Being new and not being well versed on the day-to-day goings on and full extent of the rules here I will err on the side of caution and do my best to not name names. I was drawn to purchasing a razor from a shoddy looking website (should have been a flag going up on this right away) and upon doing research after the fact the claimed manufacturer of said blade does not come up in any web search I've done (through google or any of the shaving sites I've peeked through) and after doing even more research the product description itself is not really adding up.

Let's just say the deal was zombie related and if you know what I'm talking about that will say everything.

The razor hasn't arrived yet and I'm not sure that when it does I should even try to use it. I currently do not have a strop and judging by what I have read so far it would be safest not to try and shave until I at least acquire one (should I decide to try and use it at all).

Does anyone out there know of the razors I am (tiptoeing around) speaking of?

Here's more of a description without saying anything too specific at the moment (if I am told I can just name names I'll do so).

The razor in question is described as such:
-10in overall
-3.75in rounded blade
-half hollow
-polished carbon steel
-pakka scales

What scares me about it (after more research) is:
-Price is (now obviously) too good to be true
-It seems there are other sites owned by the same company under different names with the same pictures and descriptions (never a good sign as a trustworthy company would just take multiple domain names and have them re-direct to their main site)
-Nomenclature doesn't add up in different item descriptions (self-contradictory descriptions now that I know more about the proper terms actually used)
-Crazy markup on entry-level (read: low-end) soaps and brushes (Van Der Hagen Natural Shave Brush [Boar] for $15 as an example [I just bought one from a local shop for $6.99])


I'm actually laughing at myself now that I'm laying this all out in one place.

I guess I'm looking for a sympathetic shoulder to cry/laugh on and hopefully a "maybe it will actually be an ok shave".


That being said... Hi guys (and gals?). I'm a total noob and I'm here to absorb as much of your collective knowledge as I can. Looks like there's some great people with massive experience hanging around and I'm excited and happy to become a part of the community.

The manufacturer is claimed to be GB Buckingham & Sons. They do not show up on either the good or bad list (or the rest of the internet for that matter). I'm pretty sure it's going to turn out the blades were made in the Middle East.

I'm going to give it a shot when it gets here and will probably end up with a Sight Unseen kit by the end of the next week.

cpcohen gives you some good advice and sites to check into. Don't feel like your the only one who has bought a bad razor, many of us have until finding the SRP forum and getting on the right track, myself included. Check out the information on the wiki and keep the questions coming. welcome to SRP and hope you have a happy shaving journey.

If it is a bad quality razor it should be added to the list and talked about maybe. I can't imagine other people have not purchased from the site (and sister sites) I did.

Originally Posted by Jinxt

If it is a bad quality razor it should be added to the list and talked about maybe. I can't imagine other people have not purchased from the site (and sister sites) I did.

There are an aweful lot of deal sites. I don't want to be bashing a vendor but it would be nice to know which site you purchased from.

Originally Posted by bharner

There are an aweful lot of deal sites. I don't want to be bashing a vendor but it would be nice to know which site you purchased from.

I purchased from vintagestraightrazor.com after I came across a deal on deals.woot

They also do business as featherrazor.com

I ordered the "Exotic Cherry Pakka Wood Razor" (paid $19.99 plus 7.99 shipping). At the time I didn't know Pakka wasn't a tree, but a composite material man-made as plywood is, haha.

I've got a lot of learning to do.

I've seen that site, and I just don't trust it.

The razors are unlikely to be worthwhile, and the soap prices are absolutely ridiculous. Worst case scenario is a waste of 25-ish bucks. Best case, you get an acceptable cheapo razor. I have to bet it'll be the worst case, however.

++1 on heading over to whippeddog, or checking for sets at straight razor designs (or vintagebladesllc.)

I have the razor in my hand right now. Turns out the mailman was late yesterday so when I checked the mail he had not delivered anything yet.

A couple things I've noticed so far.

-The edge does not seem to be straight from point to tang. It's not bent but it has a slow curve to it.
-The spine also has a slow curve to it but not the same curve the edge has. Part of this obviously has to do with the blade being a semi-hollow grind but there is an area in the spine where more material has been ground out than the rest making it look kind of amateur (which is to be expected from a $20 blade but they normally sell these for $99 when not on sale...).
-The honed edge is not uniform across the blade.
-What looks like a metal stamp in the photos on their website is actually just a matte sticker that readily flakes off with a light touch.

I've brought these issues to their attention and they are refunding my money and sending me a new razor which they claim to be of better quality. We'll find out if they ever actually do ship me one.

In the mean time I plan on photographing the razor so that people more experienced than me can get a good look at it and offer their unbiased view on the matter.

For now, lesson learned and since I'm getting another one for free plus a refund on my original expense I plan on putting that money towards a sight unseen deal at whippeddog as with all of my hobbies I am hesitant to dip into my budget for something I may not stick with but do not want to have my experience tarnished by starting with a p.o.s. just because I caught a seemingly good deal in the beginning.

Thank you guys.

Hello,

kind of a sad story so far. Let me know if I can help you out in any way.

Welcome from Fairfax.

I wouldn't say it's sad, per se. But I've got the sneaking suspicion that this happens to many hundreds of people weekly that do not stumble across this website and they automatically get turned off on the subject.

If I was talking about more than $28, or if they hadn't offered a refund AND exchange or if I had not known better and tried to shave with it anyway; that's when the sad would have kicked in

I've yet to see a review of these companies/razors on any of the SR related sites I've come across. Not even a single mention good or bad. If anything other people will read my post and be better informed. I'll update when I get some pictures shot and again when/if I receive my replacement razor and we'll have a better understanding on if these are just cheap Paki blades being sold by someone out to make a quick buck or if it really was just that I got a defective product. After dealing with the "president" of the company I'm going to side with the former at the moment. Time will tell for sure.

Is there anyone here in the Hampton Roads area that has a little bit of time to meet up with me and give it a good once over to see if maybe it's not as bad as my brain is telling me it is? I'd love to get an experienced opinion on it and see if these are two sites people need to be warned about doing business with.