Mother of Peal Texture, advice/opinions

[NightLad]

Hi everybody,

I am a total noob to the world of straight razor shaving, and of natural crafting materials, such as Mother of Pearl. (Real MOP, not imitation.)

I was just wondering if the scales on real MOP straight razors are supposed to be perfectly smooth on the surface, or are they usually marked with small grooves and indentations?

I have no way of knowing if the one I ordered (perfectly smooth on one side, one indentation/groove on the other toward the tip of the scalp) is normal or a defect! LOL Gotta love being a noob, eh?

Any thoughts or advice is helpful. Thank you.

[crankymoose]

Welcome to B&B :thumbup1:

I got a DOVO MOP it feels perfectly smooth to me, unsure about others

[NightLad]

Thanks for your reply! The one I have is a Dovo MOP too. Hmmm... okay, so that is one for the 'perfectly smooth' column. I hope others reply, as I only have a limited time to exchange this if it is indeed a defect. Thanks again!

[Thebigspendur]

MOP is a natural product and as it comes raw from the shell is not smooth. So its a matter of how it is finished. Also MOP has its own grading system as to quality which is based on the play of colors you get.

[edk442]

i have the MOP razor from dovo and the finish is perfectly smooth however the spacer end has funky grinding marks identical to this:

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=41040

is this typical? on such an expensive razor it kind of irks me to see it. think it warrants returning the razor?

[Doc4]

i have the MOP razor from dovo and the finish is perfectly smooth however the spacer end has funky grinding marks identical to this:

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=41040

is this typical? on such an expensive razor it kind of irks me to see it. think it warrants returning the razor?

Funky grinding marks ... bad

Natural grooves or whatever in MOP ... okay.