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Newbie question

Hello, I’m thinking of trying straight razor shaving. I am looking to purchase vintage but I don’t own a strop or honing equipment. My question is, if I purchase something like these two razors from eBay which I’m sure are not shave ready, how difficult would it be to get them ready? Either through guidance from the group or maybe even sending them out? Thanks.






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brandaves

With a great avatar comes great misidentification
Commenting on active auctions is generally forbidden by B&B rules...but I'd say you'd probably be better served starting with a shave ready razor rather than starting with honing. I'd recommend a Whipped Dog sight unseen. They are shave ready and inexpensive ($45 I think). That's my two cents.

Buying razors off the bay is always a bit sketchy. You can't hold the razor and get a really good look at it. If you go through Larry at Whipped Dog you're sure to get a razor that will provide you with many years of service.
 
+1

Larry is dedicated to providing inexpensive razors that shave real good. A great place to start - and you can buy a beginner's strop from him too.
 
Thank you both for the info. My apologies for the active auction post. I’m still Learning and trying to keep the rules straight (pun intended) lol.


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Slash McCoy

I freehand dog rockets
Commenting on active auctions is generally forbidden by B&B rules...but I'd say you'd probably be better served starting with a shave ready razor rather than starting with honing. I'd recommend a Whipped Dog sight unseen. They are shave ready and inexpensive ($45 I think). That's my two cents.

Buying razors off the bay is always a bit sketchy. You can't hold the razor and get a really good look at it. If you go through Larry at Whipped Dog you're sure to get a razor that will provide you with many years of service.

I think Larry stopped doing the sight unseen special. Last time I checked, he did have razors for sale but not sight unseen. www.whippeddog.com.
 

Slash McCoy

I freehand dog rockets
He also sells some brushes at a pretty good price. How does $48 for a 30mm silvertip sound? You can maybe get a Virginia Sheng a couple of bucks cheaper but do you want it in 5 days, or do you want it in 5 weeks. Larry is a US seller and most VS resellers are in China.
 

Slash McCoy

I freehand dog rockets
What they said. You can post an ended auction or a "Buy It Now" but not an open auction. It would drive up the bidding. Looks like somebody got it anyway, and the auction is ended. From the pics I would say both razors are usable after honing.

For a newbie to hone his own razor before he even knows how to shave with it or understands just what a shave ready edge is, is possible but far from easy, and most newbs will fail. You need to start with a shave ready razor, so you have a benchmark and understand what makes a razor shave ready and how to tell if it is shave ready or not.

Beware of razors listed as shave ready on fleabay. Nearly all sellers are just selling a razor and do not shave with a straight razor and so would not know a shave ready edge if they saw one. There are probably 3 or 4 active sellers on the bay selling razors that are ACTUALLY shave ready and not merely internet shave ready. One is april71989 I think is his nick. I have bought from him. Look for stores that have at least a dozen or two razors, lots of sales, and near perfect feedback rating in addition to the claim of the razor being shave ready. You can always ask about a seller here on the forum.

There is a huge difference between sharpening a knife and honing a razor. If you insist on trying, go to the Honing subforum and from the sticky threads at the top, select "Newbie Honing Compendium". Read the whole thing, including all the threads linked within. The whole thing. It will take quite a few days. BUT, all relevant questions regarding The Method will be answered therein. If you are willing to completely follow directions absolutely to the letter, there is a decent chance that you will get a usable edge first time up, and a better than professional edge by the second or third attempt, but only if you make no substitutions or omissions. The system is meant to be used as a system. If you halfway do it and sort of wing it, figuring this detail or that one is not important or is too much bother, you will probably fail. This is not the only way to hone a razor but it is very likely the best, particularly for a beginner to honing, and it is the cheapest way to go if you want an edge that will shave you efficiently and comfortably.

You will absolutely need a strop. You will probably destroy it while learning so you want a fairly expendable one. No, do not use a belt. The cheapest usable strop I have seen is from a guy called "thexbay" on ebay. He sells a 2" and a 2-1/2" strop. Get the wider one. It is less than ten bucks last time I checked. Made in Pakistan but don't let that faze you. This strop is not utter garbage like similarly priced strops from China. Plenty of opportunities to upgrade to a better one once you are experienced at stropping.

There is a Buy/Sell/Trade (BST) forum here, where members can post their personal items for sale or want to buy. Sometimes there are pretty good deals there, though the good ones do go fast. If a member here lists an item as shave ready, it is probably really shave ready. Nobody wants to trash his own reputation.

Back to fleabay, look at pics carefully. You don't want a razor with deep pitting at the edge, or big chips or dings out of the edge, or any cracks. Look closely at the scales, too. They sometimes will be cracked at the pivot. Also for your first couple of razors, I suggest sticking to razors with very straight edges, and only hollowground.
 
What they said. You can post an ended auction or a "Buy It Now" but not an open auction. It would drive up the bidding. Looks like somebody got it anyway, and the auction is ended. From the pics I would say both razors are usable after honing.

For a newbie to hone his own razor before he even knows how to shave with it or understands just what a shave ready edge is, is possible but far from easy, and most newbs will fail. You need to start with a shave ready razor, so you have a benchmark and understand what makes a razor shave ready and how to tell if it is shave ready or not.

Beware of razors listed as shave ready on fleabay. Nearly all sellers are just selling a razor and do not shave with a straight razor and so would not know a shave ready edge if they saw one. There are probably 3 or 4 active sellers on the bay selling razors that are ACTUALLY shave ready and not merely internet shave ready. One is april71989 I think is his nick. I have bought from him. Look for stores that have at least a dozen or two razors, lots of sales, and near perfect feedback rating in addition to the claim of the razor being shave ready. You can always ask about a seller here on the forum.

There is a huge difference between sharpening a knife and honing a razor. If you insist on trying, go to the Honing subforum and from the sticky threads at the top, select "Newbie Honing Compendium". Read the whole thing, including all the threads linked within. The whole thing. It will take quite a few days. BUT, all relevant questions regarding The Method will be answered therein. If you are willing to completely follow directions absolutely to the letter, there is a decent chance that you will get a usable edge first time up, and a better than professional edge by the second or third attempt, but only if you make no substitutions or omissions. The system is meant to be used as a system. If you halfway do it and sort of wing it, figuring this detail or that one is not important or is too much bother, you will probably fail. This is not the only way to hone a razor but it is very likely the best, particularly for a beginner to honing, and it is the cheapest way to go if you want an edge that will shave you efficiently and comfortably.

You will absolutely need a strop. You will probably destroy it while learning so you want a fairly expendable one. No, do not use a belt. The cheapest usable strop I have seen is from a guy called "thexbay" on ebay. He sells a 2" and a 2-1/2" strop. Get the wider one. It is less than ten bucks last time I checked. Made in Pakistan but don't let that faze you. This strop is not utter garbage like similarly priced strops from China. Plenty of opportunities to upgrade to a better one once you are experienced at stropping.

There is a Buy/Sell/Trade (BST) forum here, where members can post their personal items for sale or want to buy. Sometimes there are pretty good deals there, though the good ones do go fast. If a member here lists an item as shave ready, it is probably really shave ready. Nobody wants to trash his own reputation.

Back to fleabay, look at pics carefully. You don't want a razor with deep pitting at the edge, or big chips or dings out of the edge, or any cracks. Look closely at the scales, too. They sometimes will be cracked at the pivot. Also for your first couple of razors, I suggest sticking to razors with very straight edges, and only hollowground.

Awesome info here. I truly appreciate your time and guidance. I will take all into consideration in my hunt and adventure. Thanks again.


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I would also recommend checking the BST here for shave ready razors. 'Shave ready' is not guaranteed at the BST, but if it's stated there is much higher chance of it being true here than at the auction sites.

It's quite easy to send out razors to get them honed and several people here with good reputations will be recommended if you go that route.

I would also recommend posting your general location. There's a good chance that there is someone local to you that could help you get started.
 
I would also recommend checking the BST here for shave ready razors. 'Shave ready' is not guaranteed at the BST, but if it's stated there is much higher chance of it being true here than at the auction sites.

It's quite easy to send out razors to get them honed and several people here with good reputations will be recommended if you go that route.

I would also recommend posting your general location. There's a good chance that there is someone local to you that could help you get started.

Thanks for the info. I’m located in Delaware, Ohio just a bit North if Columbus.


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