Thread: Whipped Dog Sight unseen Razor and poor mans strop set

Originally Posted by Will0369

Hello all, just wondering if anyone has purchased a sight unseen razor from whipped dog. Would it be a good first razor, and would I benefit from getting the poor mans strop set?

I've honed a couple of WD's & rejected a couple that couldn't be rehoned for a fair price. Maybe I've seen some worse case scenarios but at $28 a razor you may still be in the world of disposables unless you learn to hone for yourself.
Just bear in mind there can be hidden costs in anything 2nd hand.

Originally Posted by onimaru55

I've honed a couple of WD's & rejected a couple that couldn't be rehoned for a fair price. Maybe I've seen some worse case scenarios but at $28 a razor you may still be in the world of disposables unless you learn to hone for yourself.
Just bear in mind there can be hidden costs in anything 2nd hand.

Thanks for the objective post. It clarifies some of my questions.

Just a couple of things to add....

1) I have sold some razors TO whipped dog when I was in need of some quick cash and didn't have time to restore or hone. While none were pristine, for the most part they were all capable of being turned into good shavers.

2) they come shave ready. As pointed out, Larry has to hone them. Most of the guys offering honing services in the classifieds are charging 15 or 20 dollars. That means Larry is selling the dogs for a whopping 8 bucks. I would buy used razors all day long for 8 bucks.

3) Some of the best shaves I have EVER had, came at the edge of razors that were (very) well worn, and showed the effects of 100 years of use. I think a person is MORE likely to drop straight shaving if they get lousy results from a shiny new "factory shave ready" Dovo, then they are from not wanting to look at their "ugly wife" An O-Lan will never betray you or let you down!

I've bought several things from Larry and been very pleased with every purchase (in fact, I just ordered one of his silvertip brushes and am anxiously awaiting its arrival ). I have one of his sight-unseen razors, and while it isn't my prettiest shaver, it is still one of my best. I highly recommend this as a way to get into str8 shaving; why not start with one of these to see if you like it? Then, you can upgrade once you know what you're doing.

I also highly recommend his poor man's strop kit; the strop is narrow (meaning that you will need to use an X pattern), but it works and you won't feel bad if you cut it up. Also, the balsa with CrOx works great for touch-ups; it has already saved me some time and money on honing. YMMV, but my experience with whipped dog has been great!