Wife bought me a straight razor...

Ive wanted one for a long time, my wife came home with one the other day. I have my doubts about this one though.
I can't find any information regarding it,
Wild Turkey Handmade Collection, is on the front of the razor, on the back side it says 1045 Surgical Steel First Production Run.
The razor is about 3" long.

It came with a strop, Which I'm not sure of the quality, the bag the Strop came in said made in china.

I've never used a straight razor, so maybe its user error, but i have tried shaving at various angles, aiming for 30 degrees. Pulling my skin tight etc, wtg, atg, all that good stuff. Can't cut anything. I even tried deliberatly cutting my skin to no avail. (no need for concern, ha)

I tried useing the strop thinking maybe the razor just wasn't ready. I watched videos on how to properly strop. I ran the blade through the hairs on my arm, nothing.

I tried sliding the razor along my thumb nail. It did what i would expect a sharp knife to do, it didnt just slide off like a butter knife, it shaved a little bit of my nail off, could blow the "dust" off the razor.
Maybe I'm doing something wrong, maybe it's a crappy straight. I don't know, thats why I'm asking you! Please help!Attachment 275580

Not familiar with the brand. Better pictures may help plus the price. Personally does not look like a high quality razor. More like Kreiger which are razor knives and not for shaving. If you never used a straight and yours is not shave ready or an actual straight razor you will not succeed with a good shave. Hope others have better info than me.

I think those are imports from Pakistan, so probably not a good place to start. It was already dull based on what you said, but for future reference I'll just point out that with a sharp razor, running it along your finger nail dulls it enough that you would want to take it to a finishing stone or at least a loaded strop afterwards.

Get yourself a real razor if you're curious! Try the buy/sell/trade part of the forum.

Unfortunately Chinese made razors do not have a very good reputation, on this forum anyway. Some can be made to shave with a lot of work and then there is the issue of whether or not it keep it's edge long.

When it is that dull stropping it will do nothing to help the edge. You could try sending it out to be honed and see what happens.

I would say put it on display to keep the wife happy and invest in a real straight razor.

Bob

Welcome to SRP!
Do you want the good news or the bad news first?
I'll start with some good news. You have a loving and caring wife that listens to you!

Now for the bad news.
That is what we call a razor shaped object (RSO). It is more of a knife than a razor. Or maybe a letter opener, I've never been able to heat treat 1045 to hold an edge.
The factory bevel is a 30 degree knife edge, so not something you want to shave with. The spine on those is not the correct width to hone it like a razor either.

The remaining good news: You have found the right place to learn how to get into wet shaving. Start by reading the Beginner's Section on the main page and ask us any questions that have. We are here to help.

That is what i figured. You're right, I do have a good wife! Its the thought that counts right?
I'll look into the beginners section, thanks!
Would going antique store hunting for a vintage razor be a bad place to start for a beginner?

Like said stick with the buy sell trade section. At least you'll get a razor that is shave ready and from a member that knows what they're doing. If you go with it antique stores you don't know what you're getting and the Razor will not be shave ready.

What a great wife! I love when my wife surprises me with something I've been looking at for a while. I'm not familiar with that razor, but you can find some decent user grade, but properly honed, razors on the forum here for not a lot of money. I'd suggest you give one a try!

Welcome to SRP!!!!

The best place to start, is the Buy/Sell/Trade area of the forum. You'll get a good razor that's shave ready.
Just look at the tool bar at the top and there you go :tu

Good luck, enjoy and have fun!!!!

You can find razors that way but not having any experiance you can easly end up with something that would need a lot of work in reshaping the blade and then honing. The best way for a new guy is to look at the b/s/t on this forum. Buy from one of the guys selling and if they say its shave ready then it will be. At an antique store your still going to be sending it out for a proper honing even if in good shape.

Being new to this you need to have a real shave ready edge or your not going to be happy with the results and will cause nothing but problems right out of the gate. If you take a perfectly honed razor and run it across your finger nail, youve just cost yourself some money to get it honed again. The edge is very touchy. Keep in mind that you strop because your whiskers have damaged the edge after a shave. So think how touchy the edge 8s knowing that.

Welcome to srp and enjoy the learning prosses of straight razor shaving. Glad to have ya.

Looks like 3 or 4 of us were answering at the same time. User grade from b.s.t can be had for around 30 bucks is you wait and watch for them. No need to spend 100+ on your first razor.

If you do get one from an antique store or even a good quality brand new razor it most likely will not be shave ready. But you can send it out to someone here who can make your razor shave ready. The buy sell trade is the best place until your skills improve.

awesome thank you for all the replies! Great community here!

Your Wife only meant to do good for you. Rejoice in that.

Watch the B/S/T on here for a while. You will gain an education. In time, you will instantly recognize a razor from a razor shaped object.

Welcome to the forum.

I think this is one of the reasons many people don't take to this hobby. I can't stress enough how important it is to get a shave ready razor for your first one.

At least you have been able to practice technique with relative safety, so it's not all bad.

Good luck, get a good shave ready razor and enjoy.

You have a great wife! Congrats on that.
There's a lot of stuff being sold of dubious quality. If it is made of surgical steel as it says and its temper is right you may be able to sharpen it and have a shave with it. Worst case scenario: you will have a very sharp letter opener that will be the starting point of many interesting conversations.
SRP is all you need to accompany you on your straight razor shaving journey.

Yep, what everybody else said re: your razor. Whatever you do . . . . . Don't hurt your wife's feelings . However, for starting out you'll want a better quality razor. Pm me if I can help. I'm up the road in N. Ga.