Thread: Whipped Dog for a beginner

madpaddy,

I do not recommend site-unseen purchases, whether clothes, foods or shave products, because you pay for it and you don't know what you get. Show me what I'm buying, is what I say. There are plenty of vendors throughout Europe where you can make your purchases — and see what you're buying. By the way, welcome to Straight Razor Place.

There are probably thousands of great vintage straight razors all over Ireland, in antique stores, barber shop drawers,,, just get out & look for some,,,I bet most could be had for under $30.00,,,

Originally Posted by Hirlau

There are probably thousands of great vintage straight razors all over Ireland, in antique stores, barber shop drawers,,, just get out & look for some,,,I bet most could be had for under $30.00,,,

Looking for the lost and unwanted is have the fun of straight razor shaving and owning.

Yes, it is & I don't hear a lot about razor collecting in Ireland,,,, it could be a target rich environment,,,

The problem for a beginner like myself, we/I are looking for a starter razor, something cheap and shave ready that we wouldn't mind ruining on a hone or in an acident.
In an antique store we/I wouldn't know value and they wouldn't come shave ready.

Would "shave ready" gold dollars be a good option?

No,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

With respect to Whipped dog, I have just ordered the "Poor Man's strop" package. Personally, I agree with the notion that "sight unseen" purchases are a risk I would not take. This is not because I do not trust this particular vendor (he has a pretty good reputation among members of another site I frequent), but simply a personal choice. You may feel otherwise . . .

We all were beginners at one time. Some beginners may have gone out & made their first razor a $300.00 one; others may have been lucky enough to have one passed down to them & spent no money at all.

Many look at their current spendable cash on hand & try to fit a razor purchase into that.

Still others want to rush to the counter to buy a razor that they already know is sub-par,,why??

3 hours max. of reading in the library on articles related to straight razor purchases would help teach a beginners how to avoid 80% of the bad, junk razors that are lying around in antique stores & ebay.
There is a section here on SRP with literally hundreds of photographs of good/great vintage razors for you to examine & enjoy; use them as a guide when out purchasing.

I can't relate to this thought process of looking for a "cheap" razor to practice honing on.
I can relate to the practice of buying quality (,,,and price has nothing to do with quality) razors & following the well established guidelines on maintaining a razors edge.

Why start yourself out on this journey with equipment that you already know, is not what you want?

Honing can be as easy or as difficult as you make it, why stack the deck against yourself from the beginning.

Larry from Whipped Dog has a good reputation on this site for suppling shave ready razors. Some of the items ge sells are a cheap way to enter straight shaving and others are just short changing yourself. I believe he sells sight seen razors that you can look at and make a informed choice. The starter strops have been used by many so you know they will work. His brushes had been said to be fair for the price. I would NOT buy the cut down hones as these are not worth the money and will make it harder to learn. The classifieds here regularly have lower cost straights that will be truly shave ready. Maybe start there an Illinois razor Co 827 strop and brush and soap are all you need to start. You should be able to get those items in your price range and start with good equipment. Good luck

I started with a Whipped Dog Sight Unseen razor and a Poor Man's strop in October. It was indeed shave ready. I've accumulated a few more, restoring some vintage bargains and even honing a a Gold Dollar. I say you contact Larry, and let him know what you want, or find a hobbyist here with a good reputation willing to ship to the Emerald Isle.