Thread: Do you get what you pay for?

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?

there are some very good razors here in the classifieds often. they are usually shave ready

Originally Posted by bouschie

...They have Dovo and Ralf Aust for around $100. They come honed and shave ready. All they need is a good strop; about 100-150 passes...

100-150 passes?

No, you don't always get what you pay for. Sometimes you get more and sometimes less. With everything type of goods you buy the is a point of diminishing return. Throw out the really cheap options and the really expensive ones and stay in the middle ground for value to money spent.

If you do a little reading and research on here you will find that the really cheap brand new straights are just junk. The really expensive new straights atr dressed up version of that companies plain Jane models and shave about as well as the plain Jane models. If you want a new straight get a basic model from a reputable dealer that comes shave ready and be prepared to ballpark $100.00 for that, give or take.

Do the same for finding a brush and a strop after researching those items. As for those old used straights crawling with all sorts of exotic bugs and diseases, they can represent some of the best value for the money if you know what to look for. Good shave ready used straights can be found in the classifieds here and a lot represent a substantial savings over buying a plain Jane new straight.

Bob

Yeah +1 on looking in the classifieds here, or the Dovo or Aust for less than $100. I think when I looked yesterday SRD had the Dovo 5/8 for $79 in stock.
Don't worry about germs - it's a flat piece of metal. You can sanitize that with ease...

Tulane,

I have been there and bought a ten dollar razor before I found this site and learned that I shouldn't have. Lets just say it was very very disappointing. Those 10 dollar razor are usually made in pakistan or china and the steel is not good at all and if the even can get an edge they won't keep it very long. As mentioned above you can find one for about 100 and it will come shave ready and work excellently. I bought a brand new Dovo razor and spent more than I should have but whatever it will last me the rest of my life and it shaves amazingly. I didn't think my face could ever be that smooth. Last month I bought a vintage razor for 30 bucks and it shaves just as good as my Dovo. Its not pretty like my Dovo but does the job. While I will say that I got lucky with the 30 bucks, you can still find a great vintage razor for about 70-100 dollars in the classifieds here and it will be shave ready. Now I do still play around with my 10 dollar mistake (I am very determined to get it shave ready if for nothing else but to make me feel like that money wasn't wasted). As far as your brush situation you can go get one from the store and it will be okay and it will do the job or you can continue using canned cream (there is no law saying you can't use canned with a straight it just that most if not all of us will agree that the soaps and creams are much better). I also have my grandfathers old brush and the bristles are boar and I personally don't like boar so I am going to buy a new badger knot from the goldennib.com and replace the knot using the steam method. I will then have a very high quality brush that has a personal factor to it also. You could do the same and I think you would be very satisfied with the result. If your really concerned about the germs on used razors, usually everyone sanitizes them before sending them out but if you want to be confident that there are no germs you can always rinse it in alcohol. I mean that's why God gave us whiskey right...to uhh sanitize our stomachs Take a look at this link before you buy.

http://straightrazorpalace.com/srpwi...sidered_bad.3F

Everything. Bob said is correct in my opinion. I would also add that a vintage straight razor, in addition to being good value, can be, and often is more unique than a brand newie, while you can spend a lot on a nice vintage razor you dont have to.
With regards to exotic bacteria, they can easily be disinfected if you are worried.
The classifieds here have good vintage razors, it if you see something somewhere else and there isnt a pressing urgency to buy it immediately, posting some GOOD pictures here will usually yeild some reasonable advice as to whether it is a good buy.

About a strop. Don't use a heirloom strop for your first. Once you have mastered stropping go ahead and use it.

SRD's strops are a great value, but whippeddog.com's poor mans strop kit does nicely as well.

All good advice above. The advice about not using your heirloom strop until you have improved at stropping is a good one. You WILL cut up the strop when you are learning. All of us do. Either Star Shaving sells good quality cheap strop or WhippedDog.com is also a good choice. Welcome to SRP and straight shaving! Do all the reading you can on this site. Many, many good articles. That will really help you out in the beginning. All the best and keep us posted!

Hi there, I am new to straight razor shaving but I can tell you that Van Der Hagen shaving kit is available locally in any drug store and is pretty inexpensive. You get the soap, boar bristle brush and a shaving cup. I would personally go and spent few extra bucks on their Luxury kit, it comes with Badger brush and better soap. Make sure that the razor is trully shave ready. Most of all listen what people here tell you, they all have been through it and give sound advice, why not learn from mistakes someone else has made and save yourself time and money !!!