aquiring the basic essentials

I've been reading the archives to start to get a handle on this whole process. I've been using the Williams soap and the basic boars hair brush from CVS. Right now I've paired that with my standard cartridge razor. The FROMM disposable is pretty much useless after 4 strokes with the current blades.

So, I have been looking at every site I can find to approach this from a couple of different fronts.

One way is to order Tony Williams starter kit.

http://shop.thewellshavedgentleman.c...1&categoryId=5

That might be doable, and there is no real downside except I'll probably need more than that. At least another razor. lets say 200.00 for this route. It looks real good!

Next would be to get a couple of basics piece by piece.
A tony Williams strop.
One of these razors,

Found this FROMM for 40.00, plus sharpening?

http://www.bestclippers.com/fromstraigra.html

Still would need a hone, well from what I've read I could use some 2K and 25K wet dri paper along with a barbers finishing hone.

http://www.bowmanbeauty.com/store/sh...OD/1-6070/AH-1

There was this hone, but no grit sizes listed. I have not e-mailed them to get any info. I did read through the archives about barbers hones and found that some like them, some don't.

The easy answer is to get Tony's stuff, top notch and shave ready. There is the aspect of needing to learn some honing skills as well. I could have somebody sharpen a razor for me and then work on a second one. That is where the idea of going piece by piece comes in. I could get a little more equipment to start for the same initial outlay. Chances are I'll damage my first stuff as I learn. So going a little less fancy but still workable has an appeal.

At this point I could get by with as little as a razor, strop, barbers hone, and drive on. Thats just less than 100 bucks, throw a second razor in and I'am still under 130 give or take.

I checked the antiques and thrift stores. One store had two razors. They wanted 80 to 100 bucks for them. I would just as soon buy new for that money.

I'am not rushing into this right now. I'am still learning a lot with using the brush and soap right now. So far I really like it. Been shaving for 25yrs and I'am really just learning some good stuff. It is a long journey and I'am still in the driveway.

The cheapest way to get going would be to get a Tony Miller hanging strop and a 0.5 micron Chromium Oxide pasted bench strop and then a couple of shave ready razors from one of our members. Josh Earl always has something lying around in the $30-40 range. Tweezerman Pure grade brushes can always be found for like $10 shipped and Colleen's soaps are great deals. If you want to get honing, also get the Norton. It will save you a lot of time and frustration.

I'd take Ilija's recommendation if you want to put together a cost effective set up without compromising any quality whatsoever. Shave ready razors from a member are almost a requirement for the new shaver and the benefit of a high quality strop cannot be underestimated in my opinion. Get yourself an affordable pasted strop to maintan the edge and you're good to go.

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I have to agree with the above comments. I would add that using sandpaper and that el cheapo barbers hone are simply a prescrition for failure. The Norton 4000/8000 is the most popular hone for good reason. Read the honing forum and you will get a lot of info.

As others have already said Ilija (FiReSTarT) gave you the most cost effective advice. You can hold off on the hone for quite awhile if you get the Chromium Oxide pasted bench strop. Especially if you can score two shave ready razors from members here. The only other thing I could reccomend to you would be to go back to your antique shop. Check around to see if they have any old DE razors lying around. I picked one up for 5$ and got a pack of Merkur DE blades. It is a nice, cheap fall back tool while you learn to use the straight. This way you can start your shave with your shave ready straight. Then if you get stuck on some hard to reach areas, dull up your straight while learning to strop, do too many passs .......etc etc. You will have an excellent back-up plan.

Do you think someone could get by just using the 4 sided paddle strop, leaving one side not pasted and used as a regular strop, and getting 3 sides pasted to keep the blade sharp when needed? If so, what pastes should I ask Tony to use on the 3 other sides?

You could even use a 2-sided one like that but it's much more enjoyable and easier to use a paddle and a hanger. The cheapest hanger together with a 1-sided bench strop (pasted with 0.5) won't cost you much more than a 4-sided paddle, so consider that option.

So you'd recommend the beginner's hanging strop and a pasted bench strop pasted on one side w/ 0.5? What about all of the other pastes w/ diff. abrasiveness, do I need those?? Thanks for your help!

If your razor is already sharp, 0.5 microns will be sufficient to keep it running. 0.25 is a bit of a luxury and may be too fine for some hair types. The coarser abrasive will make your post-Norton work a bit quicker, but once again, you can get that far with the 0.5, with a few more strokes. Therefore 0.5 is just fine to start with and the only thing I'm using, to my perfect satisfaction.
A starting hanger from Tony will be a great performer and there's nothing bad to be said about it.

Thanks for the info. firestart! One last question... and all this stuff should probably be on the strop or hone section but... whats the difference b/t diamond pastes, chromium oxide and boron pastes? Is a 0.5 diamond the same as a 0.5 chromium oxide... I gather that its not but which one is better?? I'm thinking of doing a bench strop, one side pased 1.0 and the other 0.5 but not sure what type of paste to use... Thanks!

This is just a theory, but Chromium Oxide is supposed to give you a finer scratch pattern at the comparable grit than diamond, leading to a smoother shave. Since I was REALLY satisfied with just using the Cr2O3, I never got to test the diamond and see the diff.

:HJ
I'll snatch the thread here, if you don't mind...
I've got a hanging strop that Puff kindly sent me, the starter strop from Tony. Should/could I use strop paste on that one or should I get another strop for the paste? Maybe the strop on the coarser side?

If it's an abrasive paste and you don't have another strop lying/hanging around, I would not use it. If it's just strop dressing, chances are you won't need it.

Thanks for the replies everyone,

I totally don't mind somebody else jumping in with more questions, not a hijack as far as I'am concerned. Knowledge is a good thing.

I was going to order the pasted paddle set from Tony if that was the way I was gonna go. I'd throw a hanging strop alongside it not to far down the road.


My goal is to have some decent workable tools and just drive on. I'll probably add a real nice razor in a few months, but I'am not looking to have hordes of razors lying around. I just want good shave tools.

I'am probably a few weels away from ordering something. Need to read a bit more.

Ilija has a suggested a pretty good starter setup that is more well rounded than going with just a combo paddle or just a hanging strop but still doing it for the least investment.

The bench strops are all 2 sided now and the 1.0, 0.5 is the most common setup. I'd go 1.0 diamond on one side, 0.5 chromium on the other. Paired with any basic strop like the beginner model you'll have all you need to go for a long time.

It is very likely you will damage the first strop you have so the #4 model is an economical approach.

Tony

Dito Tony big time.

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