No manuals that I know about. I do know a man who only buys the stainless steel Chinese razors. He gets 'em REALLY scary sharp ... and gets an excellent shave. I've been shaving with a straight razor since I started putting out stray hairs of peach fuzz. It was an old German model that belonged to my maternal grandfather. Now, they have all of these new fangled things ... like that youtube place. Tens of thousands of videos on using a straight razor. I watched a few and could almost feel the blood flowing ... caveat empter (even when it's free).

Stainless steel ones can be had for around seven to fifteen dollars.