Thread: need some help

Hi all how is it going?
I have a new razor a Solinger and I can not get a close shave at all it just leaves stuble and it is like shaveing with an old disposable one that just pulls I hhave stroped and stroped and no change
need some help please
Bob

My first question, Bob, would be has the razor been honed? I had to learn the hard way myself that new razors don't really come shave ready.

I agree ... probably not sharp enough.

+1 on 12stones. If on the other hand though the blade came shave ready and you stropped it before using it, you might have ruined the sharpness. In any case you will probably need to have the razor re-honed. Get it to a pro. There are some great ones in the services section of this site.



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Ray

If it did arrive shave ready, & it was improper stropping that dulled it, you may find that stropping correctly will bring it back. It's worth a try. In those circumstances, the difficulty is to master the correct stropping technique for the second time around.

Thanks for the replies. I did take it back to the shop I got it from they said it needed to be honed and told me that they did it. I took it home and it did not do very well. It has not gotten any better .. the razor does say made in Germany . I have watched a few of the videos on stropping and have done my best but I can not seam to get it sharp.
I do not know where to go from here. Quite disappointed at this point any one in Orange county CA that I can contact?

Bob

Stropping will not sharpen a dull blade. It will true up and smooth out an already sharp blade. You need someone experienced in sharpening razors with the right tools to do it. Hit the vendors section and send it off to someone to do the job. Make sure you really study stropping while it is gone so you don't roll the edge right away. Spine and edge laying flat, spine leading, no pressure to speak of(enough to keep it flat).

i agree with most of the other post here that it is probably not honed correctly, though i am not an expert.

you can also go on the Wiki and check out the sharpness test that you could try, just to see what you come up with. most use the Thumb Pad Test (TPT) which i am getting more used to, but i also use the Hanging Hair Test (HHT), though there are many who think it means nothing. check it out.

Where is the vendor sec??

Solingen is a town in Germany that is renowned for quality blades. Unfortunately a lot of manufacturers have capitalized on that with the result being that a lot of crap razors are now labeled that way. Is the razor new? If so, it's probably not a good razor. Also, if the shop said that they sharpened it, then that is also a concern. What else do they sell in the shop? I wonder if the person who sharpened it had a clue what they were doing as most retailers have no clue how to sharpen a razor.

I'd be willing to hone it for free but if the steel is no good I can't guarantee how long the edge will last. When I send the blade back, it will already be stropped and ready to shave out of the box so you will not have to deal with that variable on your first shave. You can PM me if you are interested.

Another thought. If they sold and sharpened the razor and it still doesn't shave right, you should have the option of getting your money back and buying one here in the classifieds.