Review (3/5): MIxed feelings
After reading on many shaving blogs about how much closer a straight-edge razor will shave, I decided to try it out. I got tired of using disposables and having difficulty cleaning them and dealing with the cost. Having never tried straight edge shaving before, I debated whether to buy a high end blade, a cheap one, or something in the middle. I decided to go for the higher end of the lower cost models and bought one of these.
My first impression on removing it from the box was that the gold embossing on the handle really detracted from the looks of an otherwise attractive blade. But it doesn't really matter what it looks like if it works well. Out of the box, it is not shave ready. I did everything I'd read about to prep properly (except hone the blade) and it just didn't produce a close shave and pulled quite a bit. By way of comparison, I went back over and got a much improved result from a three week old disposable afterwards.
I have no doubt that this will take an edge and function just fine, and I suspect there is some truth to the "snob" argument that a better blade will hold an edge longer, as is true of knives, but almost any blade can be honed to sharpness. In fact, I subsequently purchased a different brand of carbon steel blade that was pre-honed from the seller and it performed quite nicely. To be fair, I don't know that a more expensive blade won't have the same issues if not honed by the seller prior to shipment.
As stated by another reviewer, any blade will require maintenance and the skills to sharpen it if you plan to use it regularly. I will give a try at sharpening this one eventually since I will need to learn this skill. Just be aware that you may need to develop the skill or find someone to do it for you before you will get a good result.