My collection of straights is slowly moving from mostly vintage to "modern" customs for the most part. Modern razors just work better with my hands.

Anyway, a huge portion of my razors have been from Robert. That said, a few have been from others like Butch and Max as well. As we all know customs take time to create, and I've had word back on two of them in the last couple weeks. Both e-mail chains have included the phrase "I did a test shave, and it was great". I was taken aback by both of these as I was expecting a new razor. Yes, the test shave was done by the maker, but to me there is a certain pleasure on using a new razor for the first time.

I asked Robert if he does test shaves and he said no, he relies on his honing knowledge to know the blades will shave properly. This is really what I expect from any custom maker. So I was just wondering what others think. If you pay $500+ for a new custom, do you expect to be the one who shaves with it first? I recently sold a RW Regal Purist for over 25% off what I paid after only one use (it was just too hard for me to hold with my fingers). The steep discount was due to the fact it had been shaved with. Once. How is my one shave any different than the makers "test shave"? Why does my shave count against the value of the razor and theirs doesn't?

Again, just looking for the opinion of others out there.