Thread: First straight razor, Ralf Aust or Revisor

Here is a review of the entire SRD strop line. You might find it useful. I would definitely not buy the Latigo strop. It has too much draw, and I found it the least ergonomic of the entire line. If you want to start with a more affordable strop, I would recommend you get The Natural.

Both razors are made by skilled craftsmen. They use the same blanks, anyhow. I cannot confirm the difference in so called shave readiness, and I have handled more than a few Revisor razors. The ones I have handled were more than capable of shaving. The US market seems to be far more geared towards high grit synthetic hones, but that is not what Revisor use.

Either is an exceptional razor for anyone. My Revisor 6-0049 was new, and truly "shave ready" IMHO. My Aust, I bought from an acquaintance who only had it 3 months. I honed it after receiving it (2nd hone job ever preformed (1k - 12k) and it shaved as well as the Revisor.
So, either I suck at honing, or it was good enough to feel as a professional job.

Originally Posted by lethalgraphix

Either is an exceptional razor for anyone. My Revisor 6-0049 was new, and truly "shave ready" IMHO. My Aust, I bought from an acquaintance who only had it 3 months. I honed it after receiving it (2nd hone job ever preformed (1k - 12k) and it shaved as well as the Revisor.
So, either I suck at honing, or it was good enough to feel as a professional job.

I know that for the guys that don't hone, getting a razor already shave ready has its value since you won't have to turn around and send it out. But since you will have this thing for a long time, make your decision based on the qualities you like in the razor. If it comes shave ready, all the better. And if not, well then there's going to be a delay in using the new razor until it is. Getting one from SRD should ensure that you won't have to send it back out. That might be a deal breaker.....or not.

I own both Revisor and Ralph Aust razors. As mentioned in previous post, my Revisor was not shave ready. A R.A. Purchased from SRD will arrive shave ready. If you decide on the R.A. don't strop before your first shave. This will give you a benchmark for judging a "truly shave ready edge".

Originally Posted by OCDshaver

I know that for the guys that don't hone, getting a razor already shave ready has its value since you won't have to turn around and send it out. But since you will have this thing for a long time, make your decision based on the qualities you like in the razor. If it comes shave ready, all the better. And if not, well then there's going to be a delay in using the new razor until it is. Getting one from SRD should ensure that you won't have to send it back out. That might be a deal breaker.....or not.

Ihad been avoiding honing razors for quite awhile, so I can get the necessary. Stones and equipment. Last month I cut my teeth on the stones with the Aust, and am now 3 razors in on the stones. Its not that bad. (But I haven't run accross a wrecked razor yet).
Now I'm not as concerned about buyind shave ready razors as before, but I still try to in order to see others work and to compare against my own abilities.

Originally Posted by feltspanky

I own both Revisor and Ralph Aust razors. As mentioned in previous post, my Revisor was not shave ready. A R.A. Purchased from SRD will arrive shave ready. If you decide on the R.A. don't strop before your first shave. This will give you a benchmark for judging a "truly shave ready edge".

Very true statement. Maybe I was lucky with my Revisor, or I'm not as critical. If it's not tuff to shave and I don't get cut, its good for me. YMMV

I have two Austs and two Revisors. One Aust from SRD was shave ready (surprise!) and the first one I got was from the ShavingShop. It was not shave ready only because I asked John not to hone it, but it was ground so well that it was incredibly easy to hone.

Both Revisors were direct from Revisor and they were far from shave ready. I have not honed one of them yet so I will try to take photos of the factory edge some time soon.

Now, that is NOT to say you should not buy a Revisor. It simply means that you might, repeat might, have to have it honed right away.

Riddle me this - how come razor makers ship razors not fit for shaving, but Lynn shipping tens of thousands of razors without ever a dud? Just sayin'...

Same for any(!) other shop selling additional honing services.

Originally Posted by RobinK

Riddle me this - how come razor makers ship razors not fit for shaving, but Lynn shipping tens of thousands of razors without ever a dud? Just sayin'...

Same for any(!) other shop selling additional honing services.

I have no idea why almost all of the manufactures sell their goods not quite ready for service and they require further service by the end user or the reseller. It seems to be the new standard for the manufactures though. It seems to me that the past advertisements suggest it was not always the way. It make no sense to me as this would be your last chance for inspection and quality control. I think it is a less than perfect business plan, but I am not in that business so there may be a logical explanation, perhaps TI or Dovo or Ralf Aust or Revisor or Wacker would be able to offer an idea. As far as I know the only manufacture offering shave ready from the artisan is Hart, although Hart is more a group of artisans than a manufacture. I am pretty sure that all the artisan makers as in custom makers all deliver shave ready. Why the bigger manufactures have let this aspect of the process go is indeed a good question.

The "bigger manufacturers"? Such as...?