Thread: intrigued, excited, scared and can't pull the trigger!

You seem to have answered a lot of your own questions in the initial post I have been at this for almost a year now and can say that whatever razor you get all you will want to be sure of is that it is quality steel (carbon or stainless) and is honed by a pro. The question about which type of steel to get is not of any importance right now, in the beginning. Your face won't be able to tell the difference and there are many other more important things to focus on a than that.

I use art of shaving products as well and I really like them. They are good for a beginner to learn with as they whip up a good lather relatively easy. There are many cheaper options out there that many of the members here love (Proraso, C.O. Bigelow) that might be easier on your wallet starting off too

Honing I might stay away from for right now. Hones are quite expensive and can dull a perfectly sharp razor in one pass if you don't know what you are doing. If you're only shaving 3 times a week and have a light beard you could make a freshly honed razor stay nice and sharp with proper stropping technique for quite a while. My advice would be to get the razor you want that is within your budget and invest in a quality strop.
This advice was given to me when I started out and I think it really helped my learning curve. Poor Mans strop might be fine and dandy but I would say stay away from something you have to learn a quality X-Stroke on just to keep your razor sharp. Get a 3" strop or the modular strop from SRD and you will not be sorry.

And lastly, you mention staying away from a square point at this point in your straight razor journey. I too thought along those lines starting out, but I really feel that with just a little focus, and you will be very very focused with a giant razor by your face, it shouldn't matter too much. I can't tell you how many times I wished I had a good sharp point when I started out that could get to those hard to reach places on my face. So do not shy away from the square points just because they are not necessarily a "beginner" blade. You WILL cut yourself no matter what blade you start out with just ask any of the members here. Moving from a square/french/spanish point to a round point may even be easier in the future when you want a new blade. So that's my $.02 worth

As for a good razor I have a Ralf Aust and a Dovo and love them both! Whippeddog gets all around great reviews for the razors that are shipped out, even if they aren't the prettiest. I would say 5/8" and 6/8" size blades would be best for you starting out. Whatever is in your budget and is a quality product should serve you just fine as long as you take good care of it

Good luck with everything!

Sam