Thread: Buy my first straight razor

It's like buying a used car. You have to factor in some repair costs as well. Unlike a used car these razors will last a few lifetimes if cared for.

im going to this old barber shop on Monday to ask around if they know some one who can hone it or even if they know a shop.

Btw, great price on the palmera, $20 bucks I would probably buy it. But honestly I wouldn't bother with barbers shops etc, it's very unlikely they will actually be able to sharpen it, and if they say they do, that they will actually do a good job. That blade needs quite a bid of work on the hone.

I just shaved with the 4th not sealed from the factory vintage razor ever to still have a decent edge after many decades. Since I've been at this hobby I've probably seen 700-1000 vintage razors, so the ones that would shave are only 0.4%-0.6% ratio.
The edge wasn't spectacular either, but it could shave on the low end. May be it's comparable to, say, out of the factory dovo, but with a good bevel.

Neither of your two razor is in the condition of the one I'm describing - just looking at the rest of the blades I have really good idea how bad the edges are. I think barber shop is a good place to start - those are professionals after all and if they really shave people with straight razors, or have done it for years in the past, they have a good idea what a decent edge is.

Hey guys, an update . I got the Palmera 14 and the scales were in better shaped than showned in the pictures. My only concern is a small chip near the heel of the blade, probably 1/3 of a mm. Some guy informed me of this kinfe house that used to make straight razors thats fairly near so im going to try my luck getting it hone there. Will post pics later.

btw, thanks helping me choose my razor!

Be sure the guy honing it actually uses a straight razor or you will get back a razor with about 10 years wear on it.
The classifieds is a safer bet : Member Services - Straight Razor Place Classifieds