Thread: New to straight razor shaving

I have a full beard and want to start using a straight razor to get a more defined trim line on my beard and need some insight on how to get started. What would be a good razor to start with. Should I purchase a kit or purchase everything separately. Don't want to have a lot invested at the start until I determine this is something I can and will do. I currently do my own beard using a double edge razor. Any insight will be greatly appreciated.

I am going to assume that you are doing a very limited area, probably on the cheeks and part of the neck to shape things up. That is not going to be a lot of area to develop your muscle memory on making shaving strokes. However, since you already use a DE, I would suggest starting with a shavette. They are shaped like a straight razor but use 1/2 of a double edged blade. Shavettes are less forgiving for a new SR user, but you already probably can feel the proper angle from the DE. The advantage here, in my opinion, are 1) lower cost to get into SR. You won't need a strop, shavette handles are less expensive and you replace the blades so honing is not an issue. I assume you have all the other wet shaving supplies for the DE like a brush, good soap, you know how to make lather. 2) Shavette blades are shorter than a full SR blade so when trying to trim around a beard it will be easier for you to find the direction, angle, etc.
When I grow the occasional beard I can trim it with an SR, but I already have practice getting the direction I want, especially if I don't need to use the whole blade on a stroke. If you get comfortable with a shavette you can move up to an SR and will have more understanding how to trim around your beard.

Is there a particular brand of shavette thats better than the other. Is there one you would suggest or have experience with.

I only have experience with the Dovo shavette. I use this when I travel since I can't fly with a full SR in my carry on bag. It works for me. Others on this forum will have experience with other brands and can comment. Take a look at the Shaving with a Shavette section of the forum. Probably lots of opinions over there already.

Hi and welcome. You are starting out the same way as I did just shaving the lines of the cheeks and the lower neck. You should be able to get setup from about 60 to 150 pretty easy depending on if you want new or vintage. You should already know beard growth directions and stroke direction so it should be a easy transition

Thank for your input it is great for starting out along with the wealth of information on this forum.