Thread: How to decide on the first real straight/strop etc purchase as a newb

Well I hit up the Art of Shaving, both locations here in the Atlanta area. First, I went to the Perimeter Mall Location. For anyone else planning on visiting it for the same purpose they did not stock any. That location only had DE and SE holders which was odd to me because it was the larger store and had chair services. Next I hit up the Lenox store and even though it was very small, it did have 4 razors that I was able to hold and talk with a gent about. That was very helpful, I learned alot from him. He took the time to explain some things and actually showed me a few things as well, such as the proper amount of tension to put on the strop with each of us holding an end, that amongst other things was something that I had thought about to this point and would be difficult to get the feel of by simply reading about it. As for the Razors besides the licensing for AOS they had 3 Dovo's and a TI. The 3 Dovo's where basically the same blade 5/8, round tip, full ground, carbon except the scales where different and one had some decorative gold on the steels spine and blade face. The TI was in the same league a 5/8 blade, round tip, full ground and carbon with some wood scales. The dovo's all felt pretty much the same in my hand even when mimicking different shave positions as far as grip and balance with the scales only adding a slightly different feel between them. The one thing that was very interesting was the lowest price model. While the guy I spoke with them informed me he could not tell a difference, he had been instructed by the Dovo rep that that particular model was a single edge and was meant to be used shaving on the one side only and not flipped like the others. It also came in a smaller plastic case similar looking to a tooth brush holder as opposed to the typical nicer Dovo case similar to that of a sun glass case. He went on to say it was still a very good blade and came out of the same factory from Dovo. My takeaway on it was that it was there low end "value engineered" competitive blade, except it didn't make that big a difference on the price tag in my humble opinion. Of the 4 I did like how the TI felt over the Dovo's, primarily because it having a more pronounced set of Jimps. Not having a actual use comparison of these units or much experience otherwise they still seemed a little to small and delicate to me for my extra large frame body type/hands. Perhaps the tradeoff for that feel I was expecting in my hand would be offset by the manuevarbility around the face as well as reaching the nooks and crannies of a smaller blade, I don't know. I guess my next hope would be to find something somewhat opposite like a 6/8 or even 7/8 wedge. At any rate it was a very worthwhile trip, I even got some samples to take home with me and a card for a local honing specialist that they utilize and recommended.

Originally Posted by buckeyecoastie

let me know what you come up with

I did have an idea on the way home for another potential option for a place to get my hands on some blades in person, a pawn shop. I've heard flea markets alot but no mention of pawn shops. I don't know of many flea markets around here, while I'm sure they exist I just don't know but I do know we have lots of pawn shops. Food for thought...

Originally Posted by criswilson10

It's called RAD.

If no one from Atlanta pipes up, I'm about 2 hours from there and would be glad to meet you half way.

What's RAD stand for? And WOW thanks for the generous offer to go an hour out of your way just to help me out. Hopefully, I never need to put you to that trouble not to mention expense with the price of gas these days. I'll keep that option on the back burner if only for no other reason but to meet a fellow SRP member . I think I just need to keep my local exploration efforts up for now since there is no rush and see how that plays out but nonetheless definitely thanks for the offer.

RAD is Razor Acquisition Disease or Disorder. It has been my experience that most pawn shops won't take SR because of health issues and liability even tho they do carry guns and knives. I can guarantee you that Atlanta is a hot bed for antique stores you just have to look for them. Do a search for Atlanta in the 'search" function and you should come up with a few members here. This is what I came up with and it is only the first item under the advanced search Atlanta Straight Shavers - Straight Razor Place Forum

RazorCut, have you contacted Crouton yet. Lather and blades and lots of info from him.

Originally Posted by Razorfeld

RazorCut, have you contacted Crouton yet. Lather and blades and lots of info from him.

I'll shoot him a PM but typically I don't PM much especially when its not directed at a person that way the information is shared for all. I'll tell him you sent me

Originally Posted by RazorCut

I'll shoot him a PM but typically I don't PM much especially when its not directed at a person that way the information is shared for all. I'll tell him you sent me

Info always shared across the board here but one-on-one is where it is expanded on and then the chance to extend it to the rest of the crowd happens.