Thread: what do you think of this set up

hi I was offerd a set up of a razor strop and hone stone for 70euro would like to see what people think iv a choice between a Dahl-Gren Eskilstuna , joseph Elliot, vostok or a kropp. here are some pictures


any help would be great

forgot to say they will come shave ready to

Hi madpaddy!

First, Welcome to SRP! I can see that you've begun "The Search"!

In my opinion, I think you're taking a big gamble on the razors, particularly, for your firsts. The photos aren't nearly clear enough to see what's going on. That probably goes for the strop as well.

As per the stone ,as we discussed among other things, you shouldn't need one yet.

I would humbly suggest checking out the "Helpful Links" on the left hand side of the main page. Lots of good stuff there. I discovered there where questions to ask and considerations to be made of which I was completely unaware.

You'll want to make a list of the things you need, if you haven't already(ie-razor, strop, brush, soap, etc.). Read up on each category, so you have an idea of what questions to ask, consider posting one post for each category(and subscribe to the thread). Ask, listen, read and watch videos. And, maybe, even find a mentor in your area. We have Irish members here. Consider changing the location in your profile to specifically where you live so members might be able to assist you.

Also, look at the SRP classifieds. I remember getting my 1st razor there and I spent less than $50, as I recall.

It's a lot to take in, so take it slow and do alot of asking. Top notch people here at SRP that are quite happy to "hand hold" those beginning their journey. We all have to start somewhere

There will be other who will come along and, no doubt, contribute some valuable input.

Regards,

Siguy

iv had a good read on the forum so far and taken all of the above into account I have a straight razor and strop but they would be from what iv read on the sight the same quality as the gold dollar brand. so im basically looking for something good for starting with as for the stone I was only taken it as part of the sale wouldn't have looked to use it until I got more experience
thanks for the input

I'm not sure if all is well with this deal. It is kind of a little about how well do you know the seller. If you think the seller is trustworthy and the blade will be truly shave ready, you may want to consider it. The thing that you want to ensure is the shave ready. The second last razor would be my choice in this situation. You could watch the classifieds for razors too, the come up at some pretty great values, however I am not sure how much shipping is going to be as many of the guys are in the US. There are nice razors that come up in there from the UK and EU periodically too.

Do you know what the stone is? It looks funny to me.

I can't make out much from the pictures, but I would go with the second to last razor also.

It's a Rozsutec stone,,,,

I'm fairly new myself madpaddy, so take that into account with my comment. I agree with the comments above. It's difficult to see the condition of the blades, but from what I can see, the majority of these blades look near to the end of their life. They look like they were 9/16 (except maybe the bottom two), but have been honed significantly. It's one of the issues on my check list of things to watch out for with vintage razors. Again it's difficult to tell, but you may not get much life out of these, if there's any life in them. 70 euro ($91 U.S.) is a good chuck of money for a set of razors that may not have much life left in them. There seems to be a huge number of good vintage razors available for sale. I would pass on anything questionable.

Can't really tell anything from the pics other than that some may be more a trimmer size than shaver size.

I'd go with the Kropp - it's sheffield steel, full hollow ground and from the blurry pictures doesn't look like it's been abused. Crisp picture would be most helpful of course.
As everybody tells you how well it's honed is extremely important, and you'll have to research the seller and decide for yourself if you trust them. You could also check with experienced members in PM - some may know the seller or shaved with his razors and be able to give you informed opinion.
No idea about the hone. If it's the equivalent of a barbers hone it'll be good, if not you're better off skipping on it. You need to do more research on it.
As far as the strops, don't know either - I can see they're basically a piece of leather, but there is not enough detail to see the surface and even if you do and it looks good it doesn't tell you about the function. I can see that the hardware work is sloppy, probably part of what makes them relatively cheap.
If the person has good experience with shaving with straight razors, has verified that they work well, and you trust them, that's all you can do.

Alternatively you can buy new from a vendor where there is consistency within the product lines and you can ofter find reviews and opinions for the specific products from other people.

thanks for all the help guys i think ill hold off and see do i stumble across somthing on this site