Thread: First straight razor

Hey guys you probably get this question alot, I am making the switch from a gillete proglide to a straight razor and I have absolutely no knowledge of what brands and styles are good or not so what I'm asking for is a bit of guidance as to where I can get a good beginner razor and start my new shaving experience, thanks in advance

Look in the "helpful links" section on the left side of the homepage.

Check the wiki:
Brands of Straight Razors to avoid - Straight Razor Place Library


Good Straight Razor Brands - Straight Razor Place Library

These two are a good jumping off point. That list is not exhaustive by any means. I shave with a Case Adoration forged in the USA (not on the list)and it is a great tool.

Your budget will likely steer your hand...whether you go restored, new, used and honed, or ebayed and sent for honing. Make sure it is honed by someone reputable so you can learn this the right way...your face doesn't feel anything but the edge so don't worry about aesthetics yet.

It all depends on what you want to invest. Straight Razor Designs has Ralf Aust for around $100. You can look in the classified on this site. Or you can hope to get a good vintage razor shave ready on eBay. Do not forget you are going to need a strop and if you do not have it already a brush, scuttle and soap. Good luck.

It all depends on your budget and your taste. I would say that a safe bet is buying a "Dovo Best Quality" from Straight Razor Designs. It is a brand new, professionally honed, quality razor with no fuzz which makes it very affordable. But if you are on a very tight budget, no budget, or likes vintage there are better ways to go for you.

What ever you decide, I'd recommend not getting anything with a square point as your first razor (and I say first because if you hang around here it's inevitable that you will get more). I made that mistake and it was an additional degree of difficulty I did not need when first starting out.

Take a look at the Beginner's guide to straight razor shaving - Straight Razor Place Library and note this: buy a shave ready razor, whatever the brand and shape and looks.

Note that some people use the word "shave ready" in their eBay ads to draw more buyers, so if you're unsure, ask here and post a link to whatever website you're looking at. This unfortunately also goes for stores, so far I've heard of and experienced a couple of stores where the sales men genuinly thought that a factory sharpened razor is shave ready. It's not.

The Classifieds here is a good start

Good luck and enjoy!

I'll put a plug in for the Classifieds here on the site (look for shave-ready razors) and if budget is an issue you can do the sight-unseen razor at Whipped Dog. It isn't necessarily pretty but it will come with a nice edge. They also have fairly inexpensive strops and brushes to get you started.

I just picked up a Ralf Aust 5/8" from straightrazordesigns for my first razor. Great price and lots of praise about Ralf Aust razors in general. I'd check it out. Expensive shipping to Canada though, and I forgot that our exchange rate is in the crapper so that was not a fun surprise... I was just too excited and threw down my card heh.. oh well

I recently did the samething as you a month ago and you won't regret it. Glad your going old school and welcome to SRP.
Sully