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ok so iv found a site whipped dog and im wondering
if you were a beginner and you were going to buy a Razor and strop from Whipped Dog, what would you buy and why
im also on a budget of about 100 euro think its 110 120 dollars
anyone ever shaved with his razors if so are they good and do they come shave ready?
thanks for any input
They are an okay deal. I know the razors come truly shave ready as I have honed razors for Larry my self. He must get swamped some times and hire outside help.
The sight unseen deal is probably your best bet. Some really decent blades can be had.
You do work for Larry? You are honing his Sight Unseen?Quote:
Originally Posted by DireStraights
Purchasing anything sight unseen is just not a wise way to part yourself from your hard earned money. There are British and probably suppliers in Ireland. Welcome to the forum.
I would think a 5/8 or 6/8 round point. I would MAKE SURE it would be sent shave ready. I would also watch as many of the shaving videos I could on the internet. The 5/8 and the 6/8 are a nice size to start with. the round point want dig into the skin like the square or spike point it the angle of the blade isn't right. the strop as long as it's function able really no preference except leather and canvas. you'll need both. watch the videos on stropping you can ruin an edge quickly if you do it wrong. practice with a kitchen knife that's not sharp. You don't want to cut the strop. Like most thing worth doing there is a learning curve. don't hesitate to ask. the folks on the forum are a wonderful bunch of guys and will help in any way they can.
whether or not you buy from whipped dog or anyone else starting out go slow. the bug will bite . this hobby can and in my case is expensive. But we all know that money don't have no home. Enjoy have fun.
The more opinions, the merrier. Keep em coming, brothers. Considering Ireland as madpaddy's place of origin...
Keep in mind, we're trying to advise madpaddy on his firsts for everything he needs to start the SR journey. :)
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,,,
Looking for the lost and unwanted is have the fun of straight razor shaving and owning.Quote:
Originally Posted by Hirlau
Yes, it is & I don't hear a lot about razor collecting in Ireland,,,, it could be a target rich environment,,,:shrug:
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.
Here is a joke that my father likes to say from time to time when it comes to quality vs price.Quote:
Originally Posted by RedGladiator
A guy enters a store and the sales person asks them what they are looking for. So the guy says "I am looking for a great quality TV set at a very cheap price. Do you have any?"
"Sure" says the sales person, "but separately"
It is very similar with razors but more in the context that if a razor is not in very good condition it can be made shave ready but it will have some issues, so when the owner decides it was time to hone, then the headaches start. It could be other things that will make the experience of owning and using a razor less pleasant.
Of course the razor "sight unseen" could be also just fine, but the term "sight unseen" would imply that those blades are more"as is" rather than " great", "excellent", mint "condition".'
You can find good razor in good shape for decent price in the classifieds for example. A new Dovo with basic scales is in the $80 USD range if I am not wrong. So there are options out there for getting a great blade at affordable price.
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.
If the GD was prepared properly on a DMT before honing and was under $25 it is an alright option.
They shave fine and hold an edge OK but the #66 model is pretty darn ugly.
I would really only go with a GD if you are one of those people that hates vintage but isn't looking to spring for a new dovo.Quote:
Originally Posted by RedGladiator
A shave ready GD is not a bad option to learn to shave with. Imo they are not good to learn to hone with. Like many others when starting out I assumed that cheapest possible razor shaped object would be a good idea to learn with. Due to the way GDs are made the design faults can really impact on honing, convincing the novice that they are doing something wrong. I almost gave up trying, thinking I could never get it right, until I got a vintage that I could make shave ready. Mind you a vintage can have its own problems too.
Now I have a few gds I use regularly. A gd if bought shave ready can be a cheap option and if bought from the right vendor will have the design flaws corrected.
I was looking at a 6/8 dovo he has on the site. I wasnt goin to go sight unseen as id like to know what i was buying. I was bought a menrock straight razor and strop its a english brand cost 50 euro and i reckon you could get a closer shave with a butter knife. I dont want to chance a gold dollar razor from what iv read.
Thanks for all the input
I started with a Whipped Dog razor, strop, soap, brush, etc. back in May. My sight unseen is still my best shaver of the 4 I currently own.
For about $100 USD for everything to get started, it was a great experience for me. You can find plenty of people that say they would never buy sight unseen, but you can search all you want and you won't find a single case of anyone being disappointed by Whipped Dog/Larry.
Of course you won't.Quote:
Originally Posted by leftyonly
It is against forum rules to bash a vendor & any complaints that might show are always advised to be dealt with between buyer & vendor.
I purchased a sight unseen straight from Whippeddog as an auxiliary razor when I was a newbie. It was just 28 usd. He sent me a Taylor eye witness Sheffield razor and it was Totally shave ready of course it wasn't clean like a New blade but it shaved very well. I also purchased strop from him and still use it regularly.
He also sells sight seen razors which you can see what you get. Larry can change the razor if you don't like it. All I'm saying is whippeddog is a good place to start.
Btw welcome to the forum and straight razor world.
I bought two sight-unseen razors from Larry at the same time. I told him I was just starting out so I'd like a 'variety' of razor types. I got a smiling wedge Wade & Butcher, about 6/8, and a 4/8 square point something-or-other. Both shave just fine and helped my decide that I'm partial to the bigger blades.
If I had one piece of advice to offer it would be GET A 3" STROP! I struggled for a year trying to figure out why I couldn't keep my edges sharp. Once I switched to a 3" strop, just like magic I got a lot more shaves out of my edges. For whatever reason I just could never get the hang (no pun intended) of the 2.5" strop. FWIW.
Any pics of the W&B?Quote:
Originally Posted by coryschmidt
I'll try to post a pic when I get home tonight.
Larry Andros at Whipped Dog is a stand up guy in my experience. I have bought many products from him and have never been disappointed. He also took a lot of time to answer my questions and even shipped to me free once. I wouldn't (don't) worry at all dealing with him. He has an excellent reputation.
I am a beginner but I had good experience doing business with Larry. Got two sight unseen - 1 ugly one not. Both were shave ready and one is my favorite right now. If you want to give Whipped Dog a try, just email Larry and I am sure he will take care of you.
Here's the Wade and Butcher. Hopefully the image comes through...Quote:
Originally Posted by coryschmidt
have been sending Larry a few emails the last couple of days he is top class couldn't be more helpful so I will be buying from him in the next few days razor and strop and id say I will be back to him for a badger brush to.
thanks for all the help guys
Very good to hear, madpaddy!
As a beginner, these seemiingly minor considerations can each seem like their own mountains. I found a lot of relief when I decided the what, wheres of my first kit.
Now, to continue soaking it all up. :)
Madpaddy hi there I'm from the north of dear old Ireland myself, if you want to get a good start you could do worse than buy a straight razor from the classifieds on this site. I bought a dovo best quality razor off of obie here to begin with and I have to say it was great value, a beautiful razor and fantastic service obie is an absolute gent, best of luck with the shaving it really is habit forming
Hi bootstrap nice to hear from some one this side of the pond. Is there anywere to buy razors strops etc. In ireland or is everyting across the water. Iv only been able to find 1 site based in dublin but very pricey with there stuff
I haven't heard of anywhere over here that deals with them. I can only go on my own experience and I think I made the right choice in buying a quality reasonably priced sr from a trusted vendor on this site. I bought the poor mans strop from Larry and it was okay he seems like a decent fella, recently though I bought a 3 inch strop and I must say I much prefer the larger size. The other option is to start off with a razorette with disposable blades you would be able to buy them over here easy enough, my local Turkish barber sells em
Boots,
Try Shaving.ie ( Fine Shaving Products for a Smoother Closer Shave - Shaving.ie ) in Ireland. I have dealt with this vendor many times. Owner Chris carries a limited number of straights, but at least it's a place for you to visit.
did you buy the 3inch strop from larry? was it any good because that's the one I was goin to buy from himQuote:
Originally Posted by Bootstrapbill
My first straight was a Whipped Dog. Having a blade properly honed when starting out is vital and if it comes from them, it is properly honed.Quote:
Originally Posted by madpaddy
I bought a "sight unseen" last year. It arrived promptly, I rinsed it off and had a nice shave. The blade had lots of patina which responded to metal polish and looks pretty good, but certainly not new. The pins were snug and the blade centered in the scales. I'm happy with it and I recommend whipped dog. I got a usable razor for 1/3 or 1/4 the price of a new one.
I just received my unseen from Larry today. Nice razor and I'm quite happy with it for the price.
Kevin
I had a great experience with Larry. I bought a flawed sight unseen razor to use for travel and received a shave-ready but tarnished Crown & Sword with some surface rust. 10 minutes with some Maas and it was shiny. A nice shaver. But for your budget, you could find a new Dovo or Ralf Aust that would be a great first razor. If you do decide to go with Larry, though, you can do so with confidence.