Thread: Smile no Smile

You don't necessarily have to go to ebay. I found my first smiling razor in the classifieds here. I think it cost me $60.

Originally Posted by rgc58

When looking at razors on e-bay, classifieds ect. it seems that most blades have a bit of a smile. Im a noob and was wondering if any razor is supost to have a flat edge. When I see some razors like the round tip type they seem to have a straight edge at least pics of the new ones. Are razors with a flat edge harder to shave with. I do have a razor with a flat edge and a round tip but have not shaved with it yet.

As a new guy to SR's the smile although considered by most to be a better/more comfortable shavers is a royal pain to hone when you are new...
If you really look at Jimmy's link and see how to hone in a smile OVER TIME, that will help you learn...
Now if you are not planning on honing yourself, then by all means Smile away

Originally Posted by 8BallAce

You don't necessarily have to go to ebay. I found my first smiling razor in the classifieds here. I think it cost me $60.

+1

Shopping for razors on ebay and/or the antique shop can be a lot of fun once you know what you're looking at, but it's a terrible way to buy a first razor. There are routinely quite a few razors on the classifieds that would be appropriate for a first razor, and for very little money.

most of the razors up to early 1900s have at least slight sway on their spines, which means they were designed to have a bit of a smile. that then seems to change and more modern razors have straight spines, but most of them got smiles over their lifetime from honing (both by intention and by incompetence).

if you go on ebay now, you'll probably end up with a pretty good amount of junk until you learn to tell the difference, so it really depends what you're after, and if you have the means and desire to buy the education, which isn't very cheap. the cheapest way is to leverage somebody else's already spending the time, money and effort.