Thread: What Mistakes Did You Learn From The Most?

Anybody do something to a razor that you felt like an idiot for making afterward?? Share them here and maybe we can learn from them, and not feel as bad about our own goof ups!


A while back I had several razors I was working on and wanted to disassemble them so I could clean the pivots better and make some templates (so I could copy the scales accurately if I wanted).
Long story short, I took a beautiful Wade & Butcher chopper that looked almost new (except for some rust at the pivot) and I ruined one of the scales and two of the quarter inch bullseye washers. Now I'll never rush the work if it could lead to mistakes and never disassemble a good razor unless I absolutely have to.
I know I made other newbie mistakes, but that one still really bugs me.

Saving money on wet shaving is difficult. Too many toys

The first of many.

Thinking Dovo razors are shave ready outta the box.

The first couple weeks of dreadful SR shaves that took a month to heal up from.

Found this forum, thank you all, and learned what "shave ready" means the hard way and found a Hone Master.

Thought I could carry the razor from bathroom to bedroom in a hand that was also carrying something else. Dropped the straight, of course, and chipped it good.

This was recent, and I'm still nursing it back to shave-ready. And it was _such a smooth & sweet shaver_! Hurts me even now. If I could turn back time!

When buffing tangs hang on like a vice grip and be mindful that some more curved tangs catch on the buff and will either spin and cut your hand somewhere or go flying across the shed.
Don't ask me how I know this coz I don't want to have to lie to keep face LOL
but I have it from a very reliable source that it is true and will happen in the blink of an eye.

I had a tray with 5 shave ready straight razors on it and accidentally dropped it .... All hit the floor!!! Chipped 2 blades! I didn't even get a chance to shave with 3 out of the 5 yet..... Spent a few hours getting the chips out.....GRRRRR

Now I only handle one at a time......

Light pressure on the strop equals nice.....Don't overstrop....took me a while to learn that....

Taking pain meds and trying to strop while having one hand in a cast. Ruined the strop.

prying apart the wedge end of a razor after grinding off the pins, not carefully enough: snap!!

Originally Posted by rolodave

Taking pain meds and trying to strop while having one hand in a cast. Ruined the strop.

Does that mean you were about to shave in that condition? Or a post shave stropping?