Thread: good first time razor?

I'll echo what other people have said and suggest getting one from the classifieds here, from SRD, or Larry at whipped dog. When your starting you want to limit the number of things that can go wrong. You want to ensure that you actually have a shave ready razor since you don't know what a shave ready razor should feel like. You don't know if something you get on eBay is actually going to be really shave ready.

duely noted... any suggestions Raol?

also can someone suggest if getting a Norton 4000/8000 combination whetstone would be better than 1000/8000 for honing? I have a cheapy razor to practice my skills..

Definitely the 4/8 as the 1/8 is a huge jump. You should be able to set a bevel on the 4 it will just take a bit longer.

To add to eddy's point: you can also pick up a King 1k off of Amazon for less than $20 if you need to do serious bevel resetting in the future.

P.S. For simply refreshing an edge all you really need is the 8k, the 4k you'd only use if there was serious dulling, and you'd only really need a 1k if you end up doing something silly like dinging the edge of your razor on the sink.

thanks again so much for the replies..

taking your guy's advise, i've browsed throught the classifieds here and picked 2 razors.

the first one doesn't really tell me much info about the razor ( what grind and the how thick ) also, maybe it's just me, but in one of the pictures, looks like the blade isn't entirely straight - seems like it has a slight curve to it.


Cardinal shave ready straight razor - Straight Razor Place Classifieds

second one is here:
seems pretty straight forward, lots of info, but according to the first picture, looks like maybe some rust or petina on the blade... Maybe it's just the reflection..

http://straightrazorpalace.com/classifieds/showproduct.php?
product=17739&title=price-drop-6-2f8-charlex27charles-hake-27-solingen2360&cat=3

Can I get some suggestions on which would be better quality, or give me a better shave?

Cheers,

Mark

Buy cheap pay twice!

Have never heard of Charles hake so wont comment except to say do a search( I always search blades Im unsure of and have been surprised to almost always find some info). The first is made by witte which I believe are a good manufacturer who had blade made in both Germany and the USA. Both look like they should perform well and be good shavers. Good luck

I decided to go with the best quality I could afford... I believe it would be better in the long run for me to learn to shave with a higher quality blade, than a lower quality one.. I won a Razor off of eBay. I don't know if I got a deal on it, or maybe I overpaid a little... Maybe you guys can tell me...

Its a J.A. Henckels 1078 9/16 half hollow

The seller was very helpful and answered a ton of questions I asked him about the blade..
He honed it with 4k,8k,12k, then stropped it..

Here is his listed description of the razor with pictures..






Here for your Consideration is a Beautiful Like New J.A. Henckels 1078 Straight Razor Shave Ready made Solingen Zwillingswerk Germany with Original Box that's excellent condition. The Blade is in Excellent condition no defects the Shank and Tang are covered with Ivory looking Celluloid matching the Scales which also are in excellent condition with no defects. The pins are tightened with the just the right amount of pressure and the blade centers perfectly. Please examine all photos carefully they speak for themselves . And if you have any questions contact me before bidding . Thank you.


So what do you guys think?

Looks great and henckels are great razors. Should be a razor to last a lifetime. good luck with the shaves.

I agree - it looks like a nice cutter. Just be extra careful with that square point!!!