Thread: Disappointment

Just got a reconditioned 6/8 razor in the mail. It had a nice,weighty feel to it in the hand, much heavier than my 5/8ths. I was all excited to give it a try. Took a long hot shower and did the usual beard prep. Now, I don't really have a lumberjack-type, cast iron beard; and I've been shaving now for several months. This shave was a real let down. The blade didn't seem to pull or cause any irritation; it just simply didn't seem to be shaving my beard off. It's almost as if it was gliding over the beard hair. I had to get to work so I went to my ATRA razor to finish up. Any ideas what might be going on? It's from a very reputable dealer who guaranteed it shave-ready. Was this the razor or my technique? I've had no major problems with my other two razors(one of which came from this dealer).

If you do well with your other razors, then this one's edge is suspect. I'd send it off to one of the honers here and make sure it's right.

What kind of angle did you use? Did you stretch the skin while shaving? Did you strop before shaving?

If you haven't had any issues with your other razors I'd rule out technique, especially if it's supposed to be a newly honed razor. I'd say it slipped through the cracks and was not shave ready, it does happen from time to time. Contact the vendor, chances are they will be more than happy to help you out. Good luck

I think I used the correct angle, and did skin stretch, I shaved the same way as I did with my other razors. I stropped it lightly after a minute or two of shaving because of the poor results I was getting. I'm thinking maybe the dealer honestly forgot to hone it shave ready prior to shipment.

in this case yes sometimes it can happen a razor is a bit off, talk to the vendor and I am sure they will take care of you.

Just guessing here, but it sounds like it needs to be honed by an experienced honemeister. Sorry to hear about the rough start and hopefully the vendor will deliver some good customer service.

Pabster

Gliding over the facial without cutting sounds like a bevel issue to me. Sometimes, like said, things slipped through the cracks. Id just called the seller and mention it, anyone would fix it for you if they're well known here.

I had a similar but not nearly dramatic experience. I bought a new Bismarck from a dealer on this site that guaranteed shave ready. I got it and it was but when I shaved I couldn't say it was a lot sharper than what I was getting on my Norton combo and newbie ham-fisted honing technique.

However, I sent it back them to get honed as I bought it with lifetime honing and when I got it back maaaan what a difference. I don't know if the honemeister was different but man that put all my other razors to serious shame. Might be worth sending it back to them. Seems like most dealers in the business are legit and take customer care seriously.

I had a similar experience with my first razor. Pictures on ebay weren't that great, but the razor being sold was a full hollow antique german razor described as "shave ready" with the comment that the seller had just experienced a very close comfortable shave from the razor (I don't remember who the seller was now, it was a couple of years ago before I found this site).

When I got it, it was maybe HHT-0 sharpness or a little less, and it had a significant frown that didn't show up in the pictures and that the seller didn't describe. I honed the frown out of it, cleaned it up so it was actually shave ready and sold it to some guy new to the hobby for $10. Last time I will ever pay extra for a razor described as "shave ready" (and once you're able to hone, you won't need to order shave ready razors, anyway).