I am thinking about buying a straight razor. I am not really on a tight budget but on the other hand I don't want to pay more than I need to. I saw a Dovo brand razor in a shop and it seemed kind of expensive for what basically after all is nothing more than a very thin knife. Then again, I see these really cheap razors on ebay and I have to wonder if they are just junk or not. I'm not talking about all those old second hand used ones that are probably crawling with exotic and dangerous germs, but new ones for like $10 or so. Are they just garbage? And if so, why can't a good razor be made for that price? Any recommendations on an online vendor? I don't have to worry about the budget but I need to be able to justify the cost if it is exorbitant.

I know I need a strop and a sharpening stone but I actually got my great great grandpa's old strop. Well, my Dad has it but he said I can have it if I get a straight razor for it. My Dad has sharpening stones and he de-stresses by sharpening his pocketknife freaky sharp on them and shaving parts of his face with it. Bizarre, right? Well anyway he has them and says I can use them.

I guess I could ask similar questions about the brush. I understand you can't use regular canned shaving cream with a straight razor but must use a brush and a shaving mug. Once again, family heirlooms to save the day... I got my grandpa's shaving mug and his brush too, but it is all falling apart. The hair is all frizzled and it looks like about half of it must be gone. Well, at Bed Bath &Beyond I saw a shaving brush and it looked nice but it was like $165 and I see shaving brushes, not so nice I guess, but only $10 at Wal Mart. So are they junk? Was that $165 brush just a rip off? What do I get for my money when I buy an expensive brush? And should I have two of them, so one can always be drying? That is what the lady told me. Was she just trying to con me into buying two of them? It didn't work cause I didn't even buy the first one.

Right now I am using a Fusion and basically whatever gel type shaving cream is at the store when I run out. I think I get a pretty good shave, and I am not worried about saving money on cartridges but I kind of like the idea of going totally traditional and retro. I really like old timey stuff. I like the Barbasol shaving cream not because it is better than Edge Gel, but because it looks really cool. I like Old Spice because it smells really old school. Now I am ready to jump back in time with both feet and start shaving with a straight razor.

And before anybody suggests it, those ones with the replaceable blade, I have tried and I don't like them. I cut myself up so bad it looked like I had spent the morning sorting wildcats. I was leery of it in the first place but my Dad's barber uses one to shave customers and he seemed to have no problem with it.

Any recommendations for a wannabe straight razor user?