Newbie - possible mistake.. Please advise.

[Goldfish221]

I've started using a straight razor lately, and used a shavette to begin with, but just bought a normal straight razor on ebay.

The lot was a razor, strop, hone and paste for £40, listed as new and unused.

The razor is a Cyril R Salter Solingen blade (which is a good start, yes?) - but when it arrived, there's what looks like rust on the back of the blade (see photo), the pivot pin seems very loose, and it isn't shave ready.
The strop also has a significant amount of wear - including a few nicks and cuts.

Now, this is clearly not as it was described, but is it worth keeping? The blade itself retails at £40 alone - so the lot seemed like a good deal (assuming it was actually new..).

I'd hugely appreciate some advice!

Cheers,

~ One somewhat-disillusioned Goldfish

[mparker762]

Besides the nicks in the strop, and the rust on the blade, the bevel on that razor appears to be extremely large and uneven, indicating that it's been badly honed (though it's possible this was done at the factory since I don't see corresponding wear on the spine).

Send it back if you can.

[maierar]

I agree. You did not get a bargain. The strop is clearly defective and the blade needs a polishing and honing.

[crankymoose]

defnitely not a good deal, but the razor can be honed by a pro and be fine as to the strop it will do I would put some neatsfoot oil on it and if your new to straights you will most likely put more nicks in it so it will be an ok starter strop. I take it from you are from the UK here (http://www.theinvisibleedge.co.uk/) is a UK dealer who also does honing and restorations very well :thumbup1:

[Goldfish221]

Thanks for the speedy response folks, much appreciated.

It does seem hard to find a decent razor to start with. I'll get back to the search.

Is is generally recommended that the first razor is NOT bought from eBay? I am a student, after all....

[gregs656]

I would say not to bother with ebay until you have a more complete idea of what is a good deal. Personally I don't take risks on ebay razors for more than a few quid.

The buy/sell/trade forum on here gets shave ready straights quite often, and I don't think it's innapropriate to suggest you have a look over at straightrazorplace.com either, which is more focused on straights and the classifieds there reflects that.

Welcome anyway, from another british student.

[gugi]

The razor is a Cyril R Salter Solingen blade (which is a good start, yes?)
I've never had one, but from other people's experience they are bad, perhaps mediocre at best, but more likely bad.



It does seem hard to find a decent razor to start with. I'll get back to the search.

actually, it's very easy, the problem is that you don't know what 'decent' is.



Is is generally recommended that the first razor is NOT bought from eBay? I am a student, after all....
yes, that's the recommendation. you will end up paying several times what you would by just buying a good shave-ready razor. why? because you don't know what is good and what isn't so you'll buy based on 'looks' from ebay pictures and it'll likely be junk.

for example i think you just wasted 40 pounds on that set. that leaves you with 40 less for the good one that you'll have to buy next. That 40 would've made a rather big difference on what you can get.

sorry for the bad news - read through the guide that's a sticky in the top of this section, as well as the newbie section on straughtrazorplace and you'll learn a lot.

[mparker762]

I've never had one, but from other people's experience they are bad, perhaps mediocre at best, but more likely bad.

I believe they're made by Giesen & Forsthoff, which doesn't have a great reputation. There's a reason everybody remembers Dovo but forgets about the other Solingen manufacturer...

[gugi]

yeah, that's quite possibly the case.
last year there was somebody moderately experienced with honing and couldn't put an edge on one of them.
i suspect that you may be able to make it shave, but the effort will more than likely not be justified by the results.

[Goldfish221]

for example i think you just wasted 40 pounds on that set. that leaves you with 40 less for the good one that you'll have to buy next. That 40 would've made a rather big difference on what you can get.

That's actually ok, I'm getting the refund, so we're just back to square one.

I've seen the issue someone had not getting the edge too, but thought it was a one-off.
Mistake made; lesson learnt. I'll get back to reading!

[PhatMan]

GoldFish221,

I would heartily recomend you take a look at the site "http://www.theinvisibleedge.co.uk/"

There are some very good razors on there for you to start with, for example the 'plastic' Wapi.

best regards

Russ

[Goldfish221]

I would heartily recomend you take a look at the site "http://www.theinvisibleedge.co.uk/"

There are some very good razors on there for you to start with, for example the 'plastic' Wapi.


Cheers Russ, I've been tossing up between that Wapi and the basic Dovo Best Quality - both seem to get good reviews - but it does sound like an excellent site.

Out of interest, have you used the Wapi?

[scottish steve]

Don't forget the Buy/Sell/Trade subforum. Some nice razors on there too.

[PhatMan]

GoldFish221,

I have the Wapi I (stainless scales, since re-scaled), Wapi II ('plastic' Wapi, being re-scaled)) and the Dovo Best (1/2 hollow). All were obtained from the InvisibleEdge, and were supplied shave ready.

All three are excellent shavers, and I use all of them in my rotation. You will not be disappointed with any of them. The Wapis are somewhat cheaper than the Dovo. The Dovo was my first straight, and I really like it !

Best regards

Russ

[gugi]

That's actually ok, I'm getting the refund, so we're just back to square one.

I've seen the issue someone had not getting the edge too, but thought it was a one-off.
Mistake made; lesson learnt. I'll get back to reading!

very good, take a look at straightrazorplace as well, if you haven't. it's a forum dedicated mostly to straightrazors.
either of these razors will be fine. i'd go with the dovo, but you have your own priorities that are different from mine.