Thread: RSO's

A guy in the UK purchased this from the states and cannot seem to get a decent edge

Is this not fake Damascus , i ask because they talk it up a great deal so much so that i want one :/

https://www.thevintagegentlemen.com/...ht-razor-vg-17

It’s an RSO.

Nobody makes a Damascus blade that is any good retails it for that price point. If it is too good to be true it usually is. Just one look and I'd be saying RSO imo.

Bob

I notice that nowhere in the copy for the RSO does it say anything about being a good shaver, edge retention or being shave ready. The text is not geared to someone who knows anything about shaving with a straight razor.

And, I agree with Bob - sounds too good to be true.

I saw an eBay listing once for one of these and sent the vendor a PM asking how he could offer a real Damascus razor at that price point. The response I received was an honest “we don’t expect anyone to actually shave with it.”

Originally Posted by DZEC

I notice that nowhere in the copy for the RSO does it say anything about being a good shaver, edge retention or being shave ready. The text is not geared to someone who knows anything about shaving with a straight razor.

And, I agree with Bob - sounds too good to be true.

I saw an eBay listing once for one of these and sent the vendor a PM asking how he could offer a real Damascus razor at that price point. The response I received was an honest “we don’t expect anyone to actually shave with it.”

Thats a bit of a shame because it is real purty, I was tempted too

Just look at a real straight razor and it just looks wrong.

Bob

You have to be extremely wary of any blade with "Damascus" steel at anything near that price point. Sometimes they are actually forge-welded steel of different types that etch differently, but there's no way to know exactly what kind of steel went into it. Could be mild steel and some low-grade crappy steel with some nickel thrown in. Or worse yet just pot metal (i.e. whatever happened to be chucked into the foundry that day). In other words: you might get it "sharp"-ish, but it will never ever hold an edge. And shave-ready will always be a distant an unachievable goal. Even worse, some cheap "Damascus" blades are garbage metal with a pattern painted or printed on to it.

Way too much work and way too much good steel goes into a good pattern-welded steel blade. In a nutshell, cheap = crap.

Also, that style of scale is a red flag. Way too big, clunky, and heavy to be a comfortable shaver. And more often than not, those scales are attached to truly useless blades.

So yeah, if you're looking for a wall-hanger, knock yourself out. But for a shaver, stay well away.

The scales are absolutely a red flag.

Yes the scales are common RSO, .These blades are £25 on the bay..
I had just told the guy that i would not hone it and it was not real Damascus but a pattern created with Acid maybe, probably made in Pakistan so i thought i would proof my thoughts/comments by running it by you guys..

Total crap and at a high price :/

The bloke that bought it should have saved his cash and put the money towards one of your lovely old Sheffied refirbs Joseph. Then he'd have himself a real razor.