Thread: The best of the..worst (EBAY Razors)

so, there are a bunch of poor quality razors being sold there, but my question is: can I turn a beast into a beauty ?

Im thinking about buying one of those 10 buck "bread knifes" sold as razors to start learning how to hone

any thoughts or previous experience with those ladies?
what was the razor?
and the stones used?
for how long does the razor held the performance?

depends on what you buy for $10. some are waste of money, others are diamonds in the rough.
one way to learn what is what is to give it a try. it'll be more expensive than buying one that's already fixed, but you've got to pay for the lessons
you can get a bit of a head start by reading past threads of members who have done that, but you'll still buy a lot of junk along with the good ones.

to hone a razor from ebay you will need full set of hones - take a look in the wiki honing sections for details.

Originally Posted by biazottipaulo

so, there are a bunch of poor quality razors being sold there, but my question is: can I turn a beast into a beauty ?

Im thinking about buying one of those 10 buck "bread knifes" sold as razors to start learning how to hone

any thoughts or previous experience with those ladies?
what was the razor?
and the stones used?
for how long does the razor held the performance?

First, make sure that whatever you get isn't on the "do not buy" list:
Brands of Straight Razors to avoid - Straight Razor Place Wiki

Second, I think I was told once that you should learn to hone on a good blade first before you start trying to hone auction razors. Made sense to me once I heard it -- learn on the easy stuff before trying to figure out Ebay razors in who-knows-what condition.

It's going to be tough to learn how to hone with a razor that won't take a good edge because you won't be able to track your honing progress. The razors sold as new for $10 and less on eBay are not really shaving razors

I think it's best to learn with quality tools

A lot of these $10 ebay specials venture in to resto world....

Thanks guys. I'll go with the classfields and get a strop from somehwere too.

my question to you now is: There are a ton of razors in the classfields sections. I know that a 6/8 is a good starting razor, but i am still a little over whelmed by all the options!

Also, is buying a used razor sanitary?

Don't tar us all with the same brush - we aren't all crims and hoodwinkers on Ebay!

Regards,
Neil

yes choice makes life so hard sometimes

whether a used razor is sanitary - i would say yes.
i am not aware of a straight razor that is produced and honed in a sterile environment, so as far as common pathogens go it seems to me that just simple disinfection is enough.
over 90% of my razors were used by somebody else before me.

its a steel so nothing lives on it that eats organic.
as far as the edge goes , as soon as you strop you have taken off the used steel and revealed a fresh new layer of it.
You can also dip the whole thing in some 90% Alchohol and let it air dry then rinse with hot water and dry , oil and store.

has anyone tried the Sweeney Todd brand razors you see on ebay? They look really cool!