Getting ready to pull the trigger on a razor

Hello Gents,

I have been doing a lot of reading on here, research on the net, and watching a lot of youtube videos to the extent that my wife is already sick of hearing me talk about shaving. Little does she know it is only getting started :rofl2: I have two or three vintage razors in mind. They are: Vintage 11/16 'Kukri' No. 190 Straight Razor,5/8 Wester Bros 'Manganese Steel' Straight Razor, and a 9/16+ Peaso No. 25 Straight Razor. All of these are ready to shave and have been restored.

I have read that to start out a good size is a 5/8 with a rounded tip, yet all of these fall close to this. Any thoughts on these razors. Who knows maybe I will get them all. Sooner or later I need to have a stable of razors that I can switch things up with right:hmmm:

Just my personal opinion, but Vintage Razors has this Wester Brothers which is not a round point, but which is in great shape and was honed by Lynn Abramshttps://www.vintagebladesllc.com/sho...cyIaAql78P8HAQ. Not knowing what your sources are, I'd go for it.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
Lao-tzu, The Way of Lao-tzu
Chinese philosopher (604 BC - 531 BC)

For most of us we can look back and say it does not matter what we started with (assuming it was shave ready, and we had a spare) but that we started.

It does take a little time and effort but it gets better quickly with a little study and practice.

And I suspect that most, if not all, wished they had started years ago..

Suggest if you have not already read the intro guide Beginner's guide to straight razor shaving - Straight Razor Place Library that you give a a couple of reads, then go for it...

The razors you mention - shave ready - are great razors to start with.

And as another wise man once said:

Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy."
-- Norman Vincent Peale,
American minister and writer

Smooth Shaving and welcome to SRP...

Any of the ones you listed should be suitable for a start. The important thing is to get one and get going!! Welcome to the insanity!

They should do. Just make sure they really are shave ready. Know the source , don't just believe some of the eBay sellers. Tc

As long as it's truly shave ready you can and will learn to use it. Be careful those stables multiply

from your options, i would go with the kukri or wester bros for the size. like everyone else, i hope you are buying from a good vendor. eBay is not the place for first timers.

I don't know anything about the razors but my girl got sick a long time ago of hearing me talk about shaving. After a while they just accept the fact that it's an interest of yours. Good luck with those razors, vintage blades are always a solid choice.

Thanks for all the info. The seller is on ebay, rspe7027. From what I can find, he is highly spoken of.

rspe7027 is well known on Ebay. Has always offers first class vintage razors and communicates well with buyers. Good choice

Hi StackNitup & welcome to the forum. I have not heard of that seller but just be careful. You can't believe everything you hear or read on the listings. If you throw your hat in just be sure that is what you want. First of all, I just looked at his razors & he is in Australia & shipping is expensive. I'm sure you could find something better in the US that will have less shipping or even look in the classifieds on here as well. Sellers usually on here will offer something for a decent price & will be shave ready. If not, continue to look for a more local deal, there are plenty here in the US that you can find & even ask one of us for an opinion on. I don't mind. You might find one that you will more than likely have to send it to one of the honing guys here in the classifieds as well. I would send it to gssixgun or to Lynn for a good professional hone.
Steve

Maybe somebody in the US that has bought from Australia before can let us know what Customs and possible duty fees are going to mean. I'm pretty sure that for that additional cost on top of what he's asking for some admittedly good looking razors you can get a better deal in the US.

AND first you should check SRP classifieds for an acceptable razor at a reasonable price from a fellow forum member. And it usually will come truly shave ready. I love our Australian brothers but shipping can be costly.

So often the new kid on the block is steered toward a $100-$125 "vintage razor" which may just be a very wonderful thing. Having owned my share of vintage blades in the past I can see the merit in same. But......

Why not on the other hand make mention of the razors currently available that are brand new, made by reputable manufacturers, sold by reputable vendors AND are shave ready?? Yes, contrary to popular belief, such goods are out there and priced from about $77.00 (Dovo Best) to $119 (Boker King Kutter) and all over the place from there. We are also talking IN STOCK with free or modest shipping charges.

When the monetary output is essentially the same for either, what's the downside of "new" over "used"??

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Phoenix51

So often the new kid on the block is steered toward a $100-$125 "vintage razor" which may just be a very wonderful thing. Having owned my share of vintage blades in the past I can see the merit in same. But......

Why not on the other hand make mention of the razors currently available that are brand new, made by reputable manufacturers, sold by reputable vendors AND are shave ready?? Yes, contrary to popular belief, such goods are out there and priced from about $77.00 (Dovo Best) to $119 (Boker King Kutter) and all over the place from there. We are also talking IN STOCK with free or modest shipping charges.

When the monetary output is essentially the same for either, what's the downside of "new" over "used"??

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I just looked at the vintage razors OP refers to, and they have more fancy embelishments than the 'new' razors you are talking about and the price is comparable or cheaper. You can't get 'worked back' or bolsters on the scale ends from the current new productions in this price range. The workmanship on these razors while not quite perfect is certainly better than that on an average dovo best quality. And I must say that in my experience the anchor brothers is a nicer shaver than the dovo best. I just don't think that the comparison is fair - embellishments cost more, sometimes significantly more as you can see in the current production and while nowadays there is more diversity in razors than a few years ago the vintage spectrum is far from covered.
For example I haven't seen deep etch/engraving on the blade from any current production, or multicolor enamel - usually is just rather thin gold wash; or hammered tangs, or fancy sculpting of thumbnotches and points. That exists on vintage razors.
People pay $300 for a lightly ground 'new' razor, vintage ones of better quality and a lot more refined looks could routinely be had for half the price. It's largely a matter of individual's values - to some people 'new' is valuable to others 'used' is more valuable. I see recommendations for both all the time and haven't noticed a particular aversion against one or the other.