Straight Razor Question

Gentleman and Ladies,

I recently purchased a new in box straight razor that was according to the dealer and manufacture "shave ready". Ever since my first few shaves it has always pull my whiskers and all in all a very poor shave experience. I won't say the name because I don't do that kinda thing. I have looked at the edge under a strong magnifying glass and I can see that the edge is not polished and you can see marks for the hone or whatever was used to sharpen it. I have stropped the blade and it does not make much of a difference. I have a thick beard, but I have used straight razors before without issue. Should the edge be polished like a mirror? Its very troubling to say the least. Its my opinion that the razor was not shave ready when it left the maker and someone just missed it.

Stan

Usually, razors marked "shave ready" by the manufacturer aren't. To get a shave ready razor you really need to buy from a reputable dealer who will hone it themselves before sendshipping it.

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Originally Posted by Theseus

Usually, razors marked "shave ready" by the manufacturer aren't. To get a shave ready razor you really need to buy from a reputable dealer who will hone it themselves before sendshipping it.

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Its a reputable dealer and the manufacture is known for shave ready razor. Maybe I just got one that was not ready so to speak. The edge for certain was not polished like you would expect.

Stan

Statistically speaking by over 95%... everytime this question comes up it is the the user not the razor :) I swear I am not joshing you :D

That being said after you try the best prep in the world, and using as perfect an angle and stoke you can manage, on just the spot from your Sideburn to your Jawline... If that doesn't cut smoothly, then contatct the vendor directly. But you need to give it a real try first...and just on that spot....

In all honesty, I have been sharpening things since I was ten years. By the way the first place I tried was the sideburns. I would have better luck using a pair of tweezers. Hey no one and no company is perfect and I think we all could agree on that. I'm not here to bash a company. If I was I would have gave the name of the company that made the razor. Just thinking out loud. I have a nice Jnat and Nagura's in the mail and I'll just set the razor aside till I can hone it.

Stan

They don't have to be mirror polished to shave well - the other week I shaved with somebody else's razor that had some striations from the 1000 and 5000 grit hones. My rehoning improved it a little bit but that's it.

Under strong magnification I can see the honing striations on almost every razor that I have. Even those who have been finished with ultrafine abrasives in the suboptical spectrum have a striation here and there because nothing is perfect.

Here's a photograph of a brand new Feather blade (I think it is the PRO variation). You can not see striations on the tertiary bevel, which is to be expected because these things are also coated with something similar to teflon.
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_r...E/IMG_8635.JPG

And here's a razor that has been finished on suboptical abrasive:
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_r...s/IMG_8656.JPG

If it is a quality straight you will be able to get it shave-ready, either DIY or by honemeister intervention. Out of the box razors are rarely shave-ready. If the edge is keen and you can't shave with it it probably is an operator problem. But most newbs experience a very steep learning curve.

On this forum we discuss the qualities of various razor brands, so there's no problem mentioning which brand you have, it might help us to help you. If you are having problems with certain vendors: try and resolve the problem with them.