Anyone Bought From Whipped Dog?

I fell victim to a cheapo off ebay. while it.does shave it pulls and doesn't get very close at all. Also purxhased 2 others from eBay and they on Do Not Buy List. One that actually "shaves" is a no name but came with strop from Beauty & Barber I think. Back to point, I don't want to keep repeating same mistake and plan to eventually purchase a Dovo Best Quality 5/8 half hollow but want to get the straight razor shave on lock down first. Was refferred to WhippedDog.com by a friend (collector) & was wondering if their razors are worth the 28-48 plus shipping they will set me back? They are sight unseen supposed "vintage names you can trust" razors that are truly shave ready and quality pieces. Plan is to Ultimately have 7 I use, any help here guys? I don't make lots of cash so can't just hop for $300+ piece, especially buying disposable heads/razors in mean time. Budget is about $50-$60 MAX to spend on one right now which makes whipped dog's razors VERY INTRIGUING!!! Any experiences or opinions GREATLY APPRECIATED. I'm located Near Rockwall/Garland TX if that helps any.

Larry's razors are for the most part ugly ducklings that shave well. When you receive your package don't mess with the razor, just go ahead and shave. Save the stropping for after or before your next shave. His edges are shave ready. Hey also has other budget gear to get you started. He doesn't have any high end stuff but it is all of usable quality and should last you a good while. It is a great place for a new person to buy. The next thing you need to do is stop buying off ebay until you have researched and found out what to buy. There is a ton of not worthy purchases there and sorting through it takes a little figuring out.

Whippeddog gets great reviews from everyone who buys from them. They are not the prettiest razors, but you can be basically guaranteed that they will shave, and shave well. Be careful with any ebay purchase, as you've now learned. Even if you get them for 5 bucks you factor in about 5 bucks each for shipping and that's $30 down the drain right there. If you plan on having 7 razors total, I would say a whippeddog straight could find a home in that rotation.

Are you planning or do you have a strop? Cuz that is a necessity that you cannot do without

Thanks. Quality of my current strop is questionable, as it came with the razor I have been battling with as a free gift (or.maybe other way around). I also ordered a Van Der Hagen Premium Shave Set off Amazon so been using it, despite my low lather yields, Have noticed threads on improving them and slowly they are building better and better. I'll definitely throw my business on my first "big boy" purchase his way and save for my Dovo & Boker etc. Also plan to send my current "Do Not Buy" razors and no name in for sharpening. They will be going in my display case not rotation but would like best edge possible on them as well. Thanks for your help.

I started with razors and a strop from Larry and I still have 3 out of 4 in my collection.
A great way to start shaving with a Straight and Larry provides a great service to the DE and Straight Razor/Wet Shaving community.

Smooth Shaving!

I can't say enough good things about Larry at whippeddog. His razors aren't pretty to look at, but they come to you truly shave ready. He doesn't restore them, in order to keep his prices down. I got my first razor from him, and I still have it in my regular rotation.

+1 to what everyone else has said. It might be ugly (but then again it might not... a sense of intrigue is built in to his business model :) ) but it will be shave-ready. And as Shaun said, don't let it get anywhere near a strop before your first shave! Using it as-is will give you an idea of how a shave-ready blade behaves.

My first razor came from Larry. It won't win any beauty contests but it shaves really, really well. Also, I purchased Larry's poor man's strop set. Since then I've purchased his silvertip badger brush.
Larry is a pleasure to buy from.

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Originally Posted by chapman

Whippeddog gets great reviews from everyone who buys from them. They are not the prettiest razors, but you can be basically guaranteed that they will shave, and shave well. Be careful with any ebay purchase, as you've now learned. Even if you get them for 5 bucks you factor in about 5 bucks each for shipping and that's $30 down the drain right there. If you plan on having 7 razors total, I would say a whippeddog straight could find a home in that rotation.

Are you planning or do you have a strop? Cuz that is a necessity that you cannot do without

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I do have the strop that came with my no name razor. it's linen & leather with padded handle. plan to buy a Quality one but once again nervous of all the online "high quality leathers" offered at cheap prices. I plan & will order from whipped dog a razor and maybe a flawed poor mans strop kit if available. If it's not I'll just buy poor man's kit. Also, shoild I keep my current strop to use linen side? Every site I've been to tells me different things but they all trying to sell me something, thats why I'm asking here? If it'll help I can pull eBay purchase history and evem post ad number and company. I DO KNOW EBAY RAZORS ARE STAYING AWAY FROM MY FACE FROM HERE ON! They might make it in display case though.

A strop that is real leather and is smooth should work. For that matter if it was not even manufactured to be a strop it will still work. So will denim and newspaper. If your strop fits this criteria go ahead and use it. If it is not smooth or real leather just get the one from Larry

I just started with a Whipped Dog setup. $110 for a straight, a DE, poor man strop kit (balsa and leather), badger brush and soap. Everything came with little tip/instruction sheets to get started. Other nice touches like extra abrasive for the balsa strop, oil to treat the leather strop, even a tiny packet of Aqua Velva.

Shipped same day, received the next (Texas).. The straight was certainly exactly as advertised. Keen edge, quality vintage razor, just not polished...

I posted a pic of my stuff in the beginner section..

Have ordered several times from Larry, razors, soap, leather, etc. and have no complaints. Larry is a heck of a good guy to deal with and is as fair as you will find. I will buy from him again in the future and recommend him highly.

Yes, go for Larry. You will get a razor that shaves well, all quality on a budget. Another alternative is the Classifieds here. You can get some razor for $40 to $60 that will be shave ready.

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Originally Posted by RezDog

A strop that is real leather and is smooth should work. For that matter if it was not even manufactured to be a strop it will still work. So will denim and newspaper. If your strop fits this criteria go ahead and use it. If it is not smooth or real leather just get the one from Larry

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It definitely seems to be pretty smooth and it's real leather. Considering the Poor Man kit just for the balsa strop kit it comes with. Seems to be a good deal just for balsa leather strop plus the oxide pastes it comes with.

+1 on the comments above
I have purchased 2 razors from Larry and had them sent to me in Australia
Both are good shavers and were definitely shave ready from the start.
Also got a poor man strop which i still use occasionally.

Larry is a true gentleman of the art of shaving and is always willing to answer any questions.
You will not be disappointed with his razors IMO

Larry at Whippeddog = no nonsense great value quality goods. As with all other comments would I recommend, definitely yes based on personal experience.

Just a couple of things: it 'might' not be ugly. It 'will' be ugly. It may be short, and have an incredible amount of hone wear. It might very well have actual rust on the blade itself. For what you get for that price, it is rather expensive. 50 / 60 will get you a clean, decent razor in the classifieds.
Straight Razors - Straight Razor Place Classifieds

So the choice is really: do you want a good, clean razor that still looks like a razor, or do you want something rusty that is worn to a nub and costs as much as the good clean razor.

the whole reason they are 'sight unseen' is exactly that. That's like buying a fountain pen that someone ran over with a car, but it still writes, when you could buy an actual pen in good condition for the same price.

Given the choice between a sight unseen razor and a similar priced one from the classifieds, the safe money would be the classified razor - you can see what you'll end up with.

Having only purchased two of the sight-unseen flawed razors I can't comment on the more expensive, sight-unseen, non-flawed razors. The flawed razors I received were fine - one had warped scales but the blades of both of them were absolutely fine. Perhaps I was lucky but I found the experience to be positive - obviously, the post previous to mine gives another account so bare this in mind when deciding.

Edit: Thinking about it, I should add that the sight-unseen flawed razors are for sale at $28 which is a fair amount cheaper than $43 for the non-flawed razors.

Also wouldnt you be worried to shave with sight-unseen flawed right away ? As they are flawed they might carry some disease with it.

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Originally Posted by hotfuzz

Also wouldnt you be worried to shave with sight-unseen flawed right away ? As they are flawed they might carry some disease with it.

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Too true. I caught the ebola virus when I shaved with mine and died.

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Originally Posted by Christel

Too true. I caught the ebola virus when I shaved with mine and died.

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Well it only takes one unfortunate case where you dont get lucky and pay the price. I would try to disinfect them first.

While I don't worry too much about disease, the rust could lead to all sorts of nasty things.

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Originally Posted by newbiestraightshaver

Thanks. Quality of my current strop is questionable, as it came with the razor I have been battling with as a free gift (or.maybe other way around). I also ordered a Van Der Hagen Premium Shave Set off Amazon so been using it, despite my low lather yields, Have noticed threads on improving them and slowly they are building better and better. I'll definitely throw my business on my first "big boy" purchase his way and save for my Dovo & Boker etc. Also plan to send my current "Do Not Buy" razors and no name in for sharpening. They will be going in my display case not rotation but would like best edge possible on them as well. Thanks for your help.

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I cant really be polite here, but i will try, if the razors are going in a display case, and are on the do do not buy list because they are not very good, why would you spend at least $50 plus postage to get them honed, if you want to spend the money either put the $50 with the $60 you want to spend and get a nicer razor, or buy 3 from larry.
I personally have never seen or used any of whipped dogs razors or equipment, but i have heard that the razors he sells can be pretty worn.
I had a junk razor (from ebay) that i sent off for honing (against the advice of the person who was going to do the work) spent more than it cost honing it and only used it once, because as i was advised it wouldnt be a lot of good once it had a frown honed out etc, he did try to charge me half price for the honing, but i paid him full price anyway as he had done the work that was requested.

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Originally Posted by hotfuzz

Well it only takes one unfortunate case where you dont get lucky and pay the price. I would try to disinfect them first.

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I apologise for the sarcastic nature of my post, i thought yours was in jest and replied in kind. Of couse, safety is very important - using barbicide is good practice when using a newly acquired razor and it equally applies here.

As for rust, well, a wipe down with some emory cloth should blitz all but the deepest of rust - although i bought two of the flawed razors and neither of them had any rust.

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Originally Posted by hotfuzz

Also wouldnt you be worried to shave with sight-unseen flawed right away ? As they are flawed they might carry some disease with it.

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There's a note in the package that notes the razor has been disinfected.

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Originally Posted by DoughBoy68

Have ordered several times from Larry, razors, soap, leather, etc. and have no complaints. Larry is a heck of a good guy to deal with and is as fair as you will find. I will buy from him again in the future and recommend him highly.

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+1
His customer support is fantastic and the emails you receive from him are very thorough.

I have not purchased from whipped dog so cannot comment on that. I would suggest you slow down a bit and go easy on the buying at this point. Get your razor from whipped dog
and take the time to find out if straight shaving is something that really works for you. If it
does and you decide you would like another straight razor take a look at the classifieds here
on SRP. You will find some excellent shave ready razors available. Good luck and steer clear of ebay for now.

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Originally Posted by SpikedLemon

There's a note in the package that notes the razor has been disinfected.

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I was also initially concerned with sterilization and getting a used razor and was very happy to see the same note in my package as well. It outlines the chemicals and process used to sterilize the razor. Now I am a couple of weeks in and already thinking I need to go ahead and buy another sight unseen razor to be able to rotate the original back for a hone job when necessary.

I'm ordering the flawed one this week. I didnt evem think about the display ones not needing a razor edge. I'll just throw em in the case. Once cash is more steady I'm gonna get my 7 day shave kit underway more. Any idea whetr to find a mentoring in Rockwall/Royse City/Caddo Mills TX area? Wanna try it on my own first with all the helpful info I've been given but might need mentoring.

I'm not too terribly far from you (relatively speaking), over in Denton. Probably just about an hour from Rockwall. Been shaving with a straight for about a year, so while I'm not the most experienced, I have figured a few things out.

There are plenty of affordable razors in the Classifieds. Personally, I would go that route over WD. YMMV of course. :)

My first SR was a 'sight-unseen' from Whipped Dog. Like others in this thread have said, it definitely wasn't going to win any beauty contests. There was significant darkening and pitting on the blade, spine, and tang, rust spots in the pivot, and a lot of hone wear. It holds a decent edge, though, and shaved well enough for me to learn with.

I've since upgraded to something newer, but now that I've started to hone, it makes a perfect practice razor. If you're on a budget and aren't concerned with aesthetics, the Whipped Dog kit will definitely get you started. Just don't be surprised if you feel the urge to upgrade later down the line.

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Originally Posted by six

Just don't be surprised if you feel the urge to upgrade later down the line.

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I do wonder how many people buy a straight razor and shave solely with it, never adding any more razors.

I set out to do this and certainly didn't stay true to that initial plan!

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Originally Posted by Christel

I do wonder how many people buy a straight razor and shave solely with it, never adding any more razors.

I set out to do this and certainly didn't stay true to that initial plan!

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This was supposed to be less expensive than cartridges!!!!!!

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Originally Posted by six

This was supposed to be less expensive than cartridges!!!!!!

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Too true... The shininess, it calls to me and says "Please buy me! Don't worry about feeding your family, they can forage for their own food in a feral state of warre"

I too had a sight unseen as my second razor, I have sold it since but it was a good deal and it was useful as a reference of what a shave ready razor is.

Really nothing wrong with Larry's strops. They just don't have the fancy stitching and buckles of the more expensive ones. No worries!