Thread: Thinking about giving it a go....

Greetings!

I visited the site over a year ago thinking about wanting to start doing straight razor shave. Then I chickened out. I did switch from the "disposable razors" to a nice Muhule DE Razor. Love the shave I am getting with it. I have been using that for over a year now. I think I am ready to give the straight razor a go now. I am seeking input on which brand to get, etc.. New vs. Used? Any advice is welcomed and appreciated.

Cheers!

Brandon

Brandon, welcome to the forum. There are several very nice straight razors in our classifieds. Some of these would be perfect for you as a beginner. You are welcome to ask me about any one you may like in particular by private mail here and I will give you my thoughts. These razors will save you money and after some use you will be able to make up your mind to either stick with straight shaving or just stay with your DE. Best of luck to you.
Oh, and stay away from the fast buck artists and do not buy a razor you can't even see a picture of.

Bob,

Thank you for offering your assistance! I appreciate it!

Brandon

Originally Posted by lz6

Oh, and stay away from the fast buck artists and do not buy a razor you can't even see a picture of.

Not to disagree but there have been many many beginners who are please with their whipped dog unseen razors. I've never tried, the debate is endless and I cannot agree one way or the other.

some other routes are:
1) Brand new dovo, ralf aust, boker
2) Old Vintage where ever you might find them, you will need to research which razors are worth buying.

In either case, ideally you want to buy them "shave ready" or make sure they can be made shave ready by a honemiester. Take this into account with regards to the pricing.

Start by asking around, grand fathers, uncles, then any local antique stores, though antique stores/ebay might not be best for a complete beginner unless you know what to look for.
As a beginner myself I started talking to my barber (of 20 years) and he's going to give me his personal razor, strop and hone for free since he moved to DE shaving. He said the SR is 50-60 years old in great condition.

EDIT: furthur notes
classified is an awesome resource, if I lived in US I would probably take advantge.
straightrazordesigns comes honed by the best in the business with another free honing voucher to use at a later date.
Shave ready Gold dollars, somewhat of a taboo subject I've discovered. A true shave ready GD at a low price is worth considering, I have one that is not shave ready for £2.75 shipped to UK that is ugly as ****, will try to find someone that can hone it.
Until you have more experience, razors stamped sheffield/ solingen are probably a good sign of a quality razor.

Originally Posted by arbeaner

Bob,

Thank you for offering your assistance! I appreciate it!

Brandon

You are very welcome Brandon. You made a great choice. Let me know how it all turns out for you, and again, welcome to SRP.

I'd go for a used razor myself, from any reputable vendor or a good hobbyist.

Not sure if anyone has already said this or not, but the SRP classifieds are an excellent place to start looking for your first razor.

I agree with other posts, that there are a few gems in the Classifieds right now (one from "right across the lake" from Obie in Milwaukee), and that SRD Dovos or (better yet) Ralf Austs are available with a free re-honing when you need it.

Originally Posted by arbeaner

Greetings!

I visited the site over a year ago thinking about wanting to start doing straight razor shave. Then I chickened out. I did switch from the "disposable razors" to a nice Muhule DE Razor. Love the shave I am getting with it. I have been using that for over a year now. I think I am ready to give the straight razor a go now. I am seeking input on which brand to get, etc.. New vs. Used? Any advice is welcomed and appreciated.

Cheers!

Brandon

I would not by anything " sight unseen", it just does not make sense.

Originally Posted by nun2sharp

I would not by anything " sight unseen", it just does not make sense.

It makes sense for the seller I guess. If he has buyers he must be doing something right.

I probably wouldn't buy one myself. Don't get me wrong, I am not recommending, just pointing out whippeddog has many happy customers but this is not the place to discuss, there is a thread below discussing so I'll leave it at that.