Thread: Issue with new Ralf Aust - thoughts?

Please, let's not become unfriendly over this. Lynn is a professional who has honed probably tens of thousands of razors, and taught me how to do my own honing with his video, and it's going to take a whole lot more than one complaint to shake him up.

I can remember my humble beginnings as a straight razor shaver. The "100 shaves" threshhold is something I missed by a country mile. It was 6 months before my first BBS, and two years before I really got the hang of it. I've been doing this for five years and my straight shaving the last two years far eclipses my first three years.

When I was a noob, I cut my thumb down to the tendon switching hands. I was so focused on technique I forgot to notice where the blade was. The doctor laughed at me like I was a nut while stitching me up. Of all the ways a knucklehead can injure himself....

My first razor was honed by Lynn Abrams. I couldn't shave with it. I latched on to a YouTube video and memorized the choreography to the inch and still couldn't shave with it. It would be grossly unfair to blame Lynn for my failures, because at the time I couldn't find my butt with both hands. Lynn can handle inexperienced shavers and doesn't take their feelings personally or else he wouldn't be a leader in the business.

The OP may not be a noob but he's relatively inexperienced. I bought another razor and had better results with it. Later on I went back to Lynn's razor and it worked. Perhaps the grind was different. I didn't pay attention to full hollow, half hollow, etc. when I started. I can't identify the "ah-ha" moment but it occurred.

Early this year, with five years experience, I ordered 5 Dovo Special razors from Lynn, the same model as my first razor that he honed for me in 2010, and I could shave with them! I doubt that Lynn got better at honing, but I got better at shaving.

So let's not make this "Lynn's forum," where a complaint incurs the wrath of other members. This forum has a niche as being a haven for purists IMO. At least I've learned more from this shaving forum than others. Let's do everything we can to make people feel welcome, enjoy the fellowship all of you have afforded to me, and to learn. Otherwise we will develop an unfriendly reputation.

Sometimes we just have to overlook a post that someone writes if it rubs someone the wrong way and conclude that no offense was intended. Rather, I think the OP expresses a real desire to straight shave. Hey, I can identify with that!

Might I suggest that we close or delete this thread, let the OP take up the matter with SRD, and start over again?