Thread: "Shave Ready" in the Classifieds

I have been around for less than a year and, more importantly, I consider my self a newbbie. I have not taken any offense to anything said in this thread. One thing that is said over and over here is that this skill takes practice. Not just in the actual shave but also prepping your face, getting a good lather, post shave care for your razor, etc., etc., etc. I include purchasing razors as an area to practice as well.
It seems like it should be the responsibilty of the purchaser to try to rectify any issue with the seller just like any other purchase you may make elswhere. However, if someone is routinely and purposefully selling poor products there should be a system in place to let buyers know. I consider the everyday banter on the forum as that place. It is not what is said so much as what is not said. When a purchaser is happy with their purchase it is made abundantly clear with high praise for the seller! I look for what others have said when making a purchase from another member. If I don't find anything positive than I would think harder about the purchase.
Having said that I do hold members here to a higher standard than some random person on ebay. I consider myself a member of a community here and like to think we take care of our own.
My two cents.

Tom

Originally Posted by Churchill

Well to expand on Alex's idea of accountability,how about making it a requirement to offer a money back guarantee if you sell a "shave ready" razor?
That would at least give noobs a safety net when purchasing razors in the classifieds.
To tell you the truth that would keep guys like me from selling shave ready razors. I'm fairly new at
this and while I have no problem honing my razors for myself I have a fairly light beard so I'm not really
sure whether my edges would work on someone with a heavy beard.

As a noob (two months into straight razor shaving) I just would like to mention the following:
- I am in no condition to judge the shave readiness ( I bought a razor from the classifieds and it seems shave ready to me, so I posted the appropriate feedback, but my objectivity is at least questionable)
- I will probably experience troubles due to stropping technique far from the perfect
- I will probably experience troubles due to preparation for shaving.
- I will probably experience trouble due to shaving technique far from the perfect one
- I will probably ruin the razor with the first honing
- There are some stores that sell brand new razors that are not knowledgeable enough as for the shave readiness of the razors they sell (this happened to me, I asked the DOVO importer in my town if the razors are shave ready and they didn't know), they offer no safety net or money back guarantee.
- What gives me then reason to believe that my bad shave is because the razor I bought is not shave ready?

I just have this concern that someone with as little experience as me might annoy a perfect seller and judge bad a perfectly good razor and service. My safety net was the abundance of information SRP provides, and I don't think there is need for an additional safety net.

Well said, Tom.

I probably should also add a thank you in that my comments may not enhance your greenie quotient. I'll do that as soon as I hit the go-for-it button.

Wow, lots of good discussion here.

I just want to clarify that

a. yes, the intention of my post was primarily in the interest of the buyer new to straight shaving

b. it may also be to the benefit of the seller, since (a) is not the most reliable judge of a razor being shave ready (not in anyway bashing anyone).

c. re the cost issue raised, the suggestion was merely to send at least a razor for evaluation initially. Once "passed," addtional razors need not be sent.

Like many things, shave readiness is very subjective, as has been pointed out. Some form of certification is just a way we try to assess, in an objective way as possible, something subjective, so that there may be more standardization. The concept is not new, particularly if someone will be providing a service for others and be paid for it. From the lady driving the schoolbus, to the barber that cuts my hair, to the guy doing brain surgery. Sure, I can do my own plumbing around the house, but if I were to do it for others for a fee (or as part of a package I am selling), I'd need a license.

Anyway, the classifieds as is are fine for me, personally, either as buyer or seller. Easier too. I just thought it would be worth considering, both for the benefit of the newbie shaver (hey, that is the OPPOSITE of bashing ), and for SRP's continued reputation as the mecca for straight shavers.

Ahhh, I see now. The suggested certification would be something along the lines of:

" has successfully prepared a razor [of this type] to a certified shave ready condition"

as opposed to:

" has prepared this razor [single or one of a batch] to a certified shave ready condition"

In the first case, cost and time would not be an issue for frequent sellers. It would still be a consideration for the seller who is only planning on selling one or a couple of razors.

Another idea - just kicking it around - might be a voluntary certification - the way physicians can be board certified in a specialty, but don't have to be. For example, I would not be concerned with being certified because I don't sell many razors nor do I "charge" for honing. Someone who restores and sells many razors, might want to be "hone certified" to enhance their reputation and increase sales.

There could be an "International Society of Honemeisters" responsible for certification. Maybe the test would be to hone three razors - a warped blade, a wedge, and SS. Just thinking out loud....

Jordan

Many months ago Maximilian put a razor up in the classifieds. A Koeller Gun Metal. He didn't specify that it was shave ready. I bought it and when I received it I felt the edge with my thumb pad. It was sharp. I stropped and shaved. Great shave. I PMed him and mentioned that I got a great shave and was surprised he hadn't mentioned that it was "shave ready".

As the chances that there will be a "certification" for honing skills of sellers in the classifieds are from slim to none perhaps the seller who is not totally confident in his honing skills could make the razor shave ready but not say so.

If after having sold a number of razors in that fashion he receives feedback from the buyers praising the shave quality of the razors he could with some confidence begin to declare his wares as the celebrated shave ready. Just a thought.

Originally Posted by jnich67

There could be an "International Society of Honemeisters" responsible for certification. Maybe the test would be to hone three razors - a warped blade, a wedge, and SS. Just thinking out loud....

Jordan

But the candidate must hone the razors in front of the judges, otherwise, how'd you know who really honed the razors?

Everybody is free to do their 'voluntary certification' and plenty of people have sent a couple of razors around t get feedback on their edges before they started selling them.

The biggest problem with this proposition in my view is where do you find the board members? i very much doubt that the guys who may be qualified to do it will actually want to deal with this. And then there are all these other issues that were mentioned.

I think we all can behave as responsible adults, there are more than enough resources to get somebody with motivation to succeed in this, even if they purchase a razor that is not exactly where it ought to be.

I think there should be some sort of standard of what shave ready means. Right now, it doesnt mean much IMO. A razor I have bought from the classifieds here, that was described as "shave ready" wasnt shave ready. It felt rough and didnt remove the whiskers that well. It wasnt dull, it didnt need bevel setting, but it was not shave ready.
But I'm a newbie, and people on here tell me I dont know what shave ready is since this was one of my first razors. I have bad technique, dont know how to lather, my brush is made out of spaghetti, my soap is crap, bla bla bla. I think you guys are confusing "newbie" and "stupid". No offence. Keep a 30 degree angle and move the razor down your cheek without pressure - how hard can that be? We're talking assessing basic sharpness, not getting the best shave of your life with your first razor. Anyway, I sent the razor to Bart who agreed it wasnt shave ready.

Right now, I dont consider a razor in the classfieds "shave ready" unless it comes from a honemeister, irrespective of what the description says. I agree with Ray that some sort of standard should be implemented in order to provide newbies with truly shave ready razors. Newbies are important, they're the ones who will keep the tradition up and get the word out; we must take every possible step to make their first experience a good one. There's little point in welcoming and helping them out in the forums and doing work on digg.com, do search engine optimization and what not if we then sell them razors inaccurately described as shave ready. When I first came here, I expected to cut myself with a straight razor, not to get a (relatively) dull one.

Obviously, there are a lot more people than the 5 or so honemeisters in the classifieds who are able to get a razor truly shave ready. How does a newbie know that the razor he's looking at in the classifieds is from one such person? - He doesnt, there's no way to tell. Granted, you could read all the posts in the honing forum and you'd probably find that member X, who owns 20 hones, 2 microscopes, 3 strops, paddle strops, etc. will probably be able to get the razor truly shave ready, but that's not a practical solution for a newbie to quickly find out who he's buying from. Perhaps yet another small logo could be added to the 10 or so currently found under people's usernames that will explain that the member is actually able to hone razors to a shave ready state?