When buying a new razor

[willye]

When buying a new razor such as a Dovo or Boker. Are they really ready-to-go out of the box? Most say honed and stropped before shipping. Is this done at the factory? or does the retailer handle this?
And if the later is the case, are there dealers that are better at this than others? Or does dealer matter as long as it is a good and recommended brand?

 

[ScottChapin]

I am not aware of shave ready blades from the factory. Shave ready blades are honed by the retailer , or some might send the blade to someone to hone it for them.

I expect some honing services are better than others.


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[bluesman 7]

I'm pretty sure that TSS hones all of the Dovos that he sells and he has a good reputation.

 

[willye]

TSS?

 

[Slash McCoy]

TSS?

www.thesuperiorshave.com

 

[Slash McCoy]

A factory edge is not even close to what most of us regard as a shave ready edge, generally speaking. Some of us are less picky than others. Some smaller and more artisanal makers will do a better job of honing. The fact remains that it takes time to hone a razor from scratch. Time is money when you are paying employees or even just trying to ensure that you the maker are not working for peanuts. Nobody wants to put up with the hassles of being in business and paying for tools and equipment, rent, materials, lights gas and water, taxes and taxes and more taxes, wages and benefits, insurance, and all that, and still only be making $10 or $20/hr for his own actual labor and headaches. Customers want a lot for as little as possible, naturally. The maker has to reconcile that somehow. So, factory honing is NOT going to take more than a few minutes. You get a rough bevel if you are lucky. An edge that will shave efficiently and smoothly? Forget about that. It's on you. And by the way, when you hone a razor, often you are voiding the warranty. Lose/lose. Unless you buy from a reputable vendor who hones the razors he sells, and hones well and stands by what he sells.

 

[Ice-Man]

The one I bought from Jarrod he did hone it on a coticule, I must say it had a wicked edge and that was from thesuperiorshave.com also when I buy another one I will ask for them to hone that one...

 

[JamesBlades]

I've never bought a new razor, but Maggards states in their description that they hand hone all blades before shipping. Here's a good example: Boker 140535 The Celebrated Curly Birch 6/8 Square Point Straight Razor, Professionally Honed | Maggard Razors Traditional Wet Shaving Products - https://www.maggardrazors.com/product/boker-140535-the-celebrated-curly-birch-68-square-point-straight-razor-professionally-honed/

 

[willye]

So even tho everyone claims shave ready, it sounds to be pretty rare

 

[rs_776]

So even tho everyone claims shave ready, it sounds to be pretty rare

That it not exactly true.

If the retailer is saying that the razors is honed & stropped before shipping, it is being done by the retailer. If you buy from a reputable retailer, you will get a shave-ready razor. There are a handful that will give you the choice of getting a shave-ready edge (for a small up-charge) or factory edge. But in my experience, most will hone every razor they sell at no additional charge.

 

[ajduplessis]

So even tho everyone claims shave ready, it sounds to be pretty rare

correct

 

[ScottChapin]

Bare in mind too that not everyone will agree on what shave ready means. Some undoubtedly prefer a blade to be sharper than as others do.

I think commercial establishments probably keep it on the less than extremely sharp side so their clients won’t make mince meat of their faces. Those who like it really keen won’t have much trouble taking it to a finishing stone and getting it where they want.

I have never bought a shave ready blade that was as sharp as I want. They shaved OK, but weren’t worthy enough for me. Now, I have only purchased 5 razors with a sixth on the way. Maybe six will be magical.


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[willye]

Okay,
For better or worse, I've ordered a vintage Maples &Co "Beehive, Fine surgical steel" razor from Griffith Shave Goods. He even gave me a 15% discount from an email I got after I ordered.

I'm very interested in how this first shave is going to go.
Thanks again for all the input.

 

[Steve56]

If you need an edge, I’ll help out.

 

[willye]

Cool , thanks.
I’ll let you know after the first shave.

 

[Rosseforp]

I just got my new Dovo from Jarrod at thesuperiorshave.com today. He has some pretty good prices. The edge looks like it was honed on a coticule and it was definitely shave ready, but not as sharp as I prefer. I got a close shave, but not what I would call comfortable. I'll give it a few hundred strokes on my arkie, dust it on my on my Crox paddle and diamond paste balsa, and it will be good to go.

 

[steveclarkus]

I bought a new in the box plastic wrapped Boker Edelweiss with instructions about three months ago and it shaved well out of the box. I suspect it was a good 12k edge. I shaved with it once then brought it up to 200k with diamond pasted balsa and then it really shaved. 12k is a bit barbaric for my taste.

 

[lev36]

My custom Portland Razor Co. came perfectly shave-ready; they hand finish every order (which means there's up to a two week wait before it ships, depending on how busy they are).

I love it, and being new to SR shaving, thought it would be the only razor I'd ever need - but now that it needs re-honing, I realize having two is a minimum. I mean, I do have a shavette I can use as a backup, but after switching to a traditional blade and finding out how much more forgiving that is, I don't enjoy switching back!

Lucky me, though, PRC is just a few miles away so I can go in for a "while-you-wait" honing until I've learned how to do it myself...

 

[Slash McCoy]

Or buy a nice vintage razor for a backup. Won't cost much.

 

[lev36]

Or buy a nice vintage razor for a backup. Won't cost much.

Thanks - do you have a favorite place to get a good restored vintage razor?