Thread: Did i buy the right straight razor?

Originally Posted by alanm92

Well the guy said it was shave ready. Now granted he probably just said that so I guess my second question is how do I check if its shave ready. And if it's not is there a way I can do it without sending it away.I just got it it would kinda suck to send it away now lol

You need to shave with the edge leading into the hairs at an acute angle to your face. If you are doing that, and not cutting ANY hair then your razor has failed the shave test and is not shave ready. It's a little hard to believe that even a factory edge is that dull, but if that's the case then your razor needs to be honed.

You have two options. Either send the blade to be honed, or do it yourself.

DIY will require buying hones and learning to use them. This is something you will need to do eventually. In the short term it will be easier and more rewarding to send the razor out.

My suggestion is that you send the razor for honing. While the razor is out you can address your other needs ie a strop and brush. Buy a strop from an online vendor. Make sure you get a high quality model from a good vendor You can also order a brush at the same time. Canned gel will work, but lather made with a brush is the best.

I'll happily hone the razor for you at no cost. Just pm me if you want. Otherwise look under member services in the classifieds for a pro who can do it.

Michael

To answer your title question. You bought a good razor. The other posts will tell you everything else you need

I would like to thank everyone who replied I am going to try it again when my face isn't so sore. Thanks guys hopefully it is just my technique. because then ill eventually get it. I just wish i knew before that I HAD to get a leather strap because after i got the razor moths are coming out of my pockets.

Tell us where you live and maybe we can help you meet up with an experienced SRP member in your area.

I disagree with mjsorkin," you will have to learn to hone sooner or later". You can send out your razors over and over. I don't think you are ever obligated to learn to hone. Many of us come to a point where we want to learn, so concentrate on learning to shave with a straight and leave the rest until you choose to learn more. While you are watching shave videos, you may want to watch a couple of stropping videos too. It is fairly easy to kill a well honed edge with bad stropping techniques, and stropping is really something you need to learn alone with shaving technique.

Originally Posted by RezDog

I disagree with mjsorkin," you will have to learn to hone sooner or later". You can send out your razors over and over. I don't think you are ever obligated to learn to hone. Many of us come to a point where we want to learn, so concentrate on learning to shave with a straight and leave the rest until you choose to learn more. While you are watching shave videos, you may want to watch a couple of stropping videos too. It is fairly easy to kill a well honed edge with bad stropping techniques, and stropping is really something you need to learn alone with shaving technique.

Rez,

When you put something in quotes, please make sure it's something that I wrote and not your own words.

What I did write is my opinion and I stand by it.

Michael

I stand corrected, and I apologize.

Alanm92 if you have a Sally's beauty products store near you they also offer the Fromm Hair Trimmer which uses disposable blades. It costs about 10 bucks if I remember correctly and though it is not a "pure" straight it still requires very similar technique. This is what I used to learn with over 3 years ago while I was waiting to select my first pure straight razor. I found the transition from the Fromm to my regular straight razors to be very quick as the angle was just slightly different, but that is true for normal straights as well, and the weight/feel was different as the Fromm is much lighter but because the blades are like a single edge I still had to let the razor do the work and not try to force the blade otherwise I would cut myself.