Greetings to the forum and newbie question

Printable View

04-22-2007, 01:13 AM
rhever

Greetings to the forum and newbie question

Hello to everyone on the board!

My situation:
I am currently shaving with mach 3's and after receiving a badger brush and proraso soap as a gift I instantly started getting better shaves. It dawned on me that maybe other traditional ways of shaving are superior to this fancy plastic gizmo that costs me an arm and a leg.... sure enough after scouring the internet researching (as is my tendency when i have time to kill :)) I got hooked on the idea of shaving with something else.

My question is really concerning that 'something else'. Naturally I want to jump right in with a straight razor and my researching brought me onto this site....

Anyways, my question is: based on personal experience which of the following options would you guys suggest is the best way to natural progress into straight razor shaving? (again granted I am still a 'newb' using a multiblade)

I have boiled down the options to:
A) going with a DE razor -> testing the waters -> then trying out the DOVO shavette or a straight
B) going with the dovo shavette -> testing the waters -> then going to a straight
C) jumping into the deep end and getting a strop, a straight honed by someone experienced -> then getting a waterstone in 6 months if i decide to stick with it
and as a starter:
C1) getting a vintage blade off someone on the forum 30-60?
C2) getting a brand new blade off classicshaving or whatnot 60-120?
C3) going the ebay or flea market route?

To be honest I don't want to invest a large sum of money at first. Option C seems to be $100+? i also realize if in the long run I do eventually decide to switch over to a straight from whatever it'll cost me more to "test" the waters. Currently, I am sort of torn between option B and C. For $30 i can pretty much try it out... i need some guidance! :shrug:

Cheers,

Rob
04-22-2007, 01:22 AM
jaegerhund

Hello there Rob --- I went straight from shaving gel and cartridge razor to straight razor, brush and quality soap. So it can be done that way. Have you decided for sure the amount you want to spend? Decide on that first and that will limit some options. And then you can ask others with far more experience than I.

Justin
04-22-2007, 01:25 AM
AFDavis11

There are a million options aren't there? In my opinion a straight is a straight, NOT a Feather or a shavette. You wanna try a straight, then try a straight. If it were me, and I was feeling cheap, I'd post where I lived and figured out if there was someone within reasonable driving distance I could learn from and borrow a razor from.

That be me anyway. If you buy a razor from someone here and a strop, you can always sell all the stuff to someone else . . . say the next guy in your situation. There will be another one posting in about two days.
04-22-2007, 01:39 AM
ohlookaneagle

I went straight to the straight, but the call is yours. Some might recommend a DE first, but I haven’t looked back from my choice.

If you want the whole kit and caboodle, Tony Miller offers some starter kits of great renown.

I have heard actual straights are more forgiving than the shavettes, but I cannot speak from personal experience on this. You can get a sharpened razor for reasonable, affordable prices on the forum.

Personally, I bought a strop from Dovo (would probably get a Tony Miller strop if I was doing it over: cheaper, better, and comes with a starter strop for learning, so perhaps I wouldn’t have as many nicks and scratches on the edges of my main strop as I have now) via Classic Shaving, I bought a razor for $30 off the forum (pre sharpened), and started off using Williams soap and a boar brush from Wal-Mart. Still using the boar, but have tried a few soaps/creams since and at the moment the products of the Soap Mistress Colleen are winning by a country mile. She is under the weather at the moment, bum knee, but when she is back on her feet, whatever else you do, hasten thee to The Gentleman’s Quarter and pick up some Leatherneck.

My advice? Strop from Tony and a used but sharpened razor from someone on the forum. If you are don’t get anything fancy for your first razor, should cost less than $100 (strop + razor). After a while, pick up a Norton 4k/8k (c. $70) and an e-bay special to practice (c. $20), perhaps a pasted strop (don't have one yet, living off newspaper for the moment). You can put that off for a month or so, lessen the $$ burden. Use the newspaper trick to touch up your razor for the first month or two, so far that has worked well for me.

My $0.02 and nothing more, as always.

Good luck and welcome,
Michael
P.S.- Whatever anyone tells you, don’t succumb to the urge to shave “Commando.” It may be liberating, but it could liberate more than desired… ( :P )
04-22-2007, 05:32 AM
xman

Welcome, Rob

Choices A & B have been made by some, but they both require learning skills which are somewhat different than a traditional straight razor. If you want to learn to shave with a straight razor, then do it. I did.

C1 is the best first step you can make. You'll get introduced to a proper edge. Don't worry too much about the cost. If you decide in future not to stick to it, you'll be able to sell the gear again for nearly what you paid for it.

Check the vendors Links for all the options, but many guys will recommend Tony Miller for his strops and kits. I'd be one of them. He's also a great guy to deal with and a regular contributor to this site. I think he's on a bit of a vacation right now so be patient for his reply.

You can do it. it's easy.

X
04-22-2007, 05:39 AM
jaegerhund

I'm with X ---- Tony's kits are great --can't go wrong.

Justin
04-22-2007, 05:43 AM
JMS

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaegerhund

I'm with X ---- Tony's kits are great --can't go wrong.

Justin

..Dittos!!
04-22-2007, 03:54 PM
rhever

it seems unanimous

i guess i'm jumping *straight* in!
something about option c makes me think 100 usd is a very conservative estimate
:hmmm:

anyways, will keep checking the forum for used razors for sale...
thanks for the nfo

cheers,

rob
04-23-2007, 02:39 AM
junkinduck

If you are serious then spend the twenty on Lynns DVD. If I could start over I wouldn't change a thing. Jim at vintage blades for a razor with a shave ready sharpen job (in stock). Hit Tony up for a strop, well worth the money even the cheep ones, I still use the practice I am afraid of scuffing the heirloom 3". See if Colleen will send you some soap this makes shaving more of a treet then a dread. I used a boar brush for years with a DE then I bought a badger I will be using my boar in the gun room for dusting from here on out.
04-23-2007, 04:15 PM
rhever

so far so good

Is the reason you guys suggest going with tonys strops moreso because there is an option to buy one get a 2nd practice one for free?

Or is the quality of his strops far better than the ones available through classicshaving.com, specifically, the 39.99 illi one?

I am asking because I was thinking of purchasing the dvd/cream/styptic off classic anyways and could save on shipping.... and my guess the order will run me 90 usd
whereas the 2 strops from tony would cost 80 usd by the time it reaches my door.
04-23-2007, 08:59 PM
junkinduck

Quote:

Originally Posted by rhever

Is the reason you guys suggest going with tonys strops moreso because there is an option to buy one get a 2nd practice one for free?

Made by a true American craftsman. This is an endangered species. I do what I can to support such people. The small shop hand made item with such a strict attention to detail will not be found in Wal Mart. Aside form the quality I nicked my strop a couple of times learning the rhythm. Sure glad it was the practice and not my beautiful red heirloom #1 3”. I still don’t feel worthy to strop on it. Maybe in a couple of weeks.
04-24-2007, 12:43 AM
gratewhitehuntr

I agree to get Tony's strops

you don't have to get the best strop but YOU ARE ALMOST GUARANTEED TO NICK YOUR STROP LEARNING.

I did and most people will admit that they did too at some time or another.
That extra strop sure might be nice.

Sticks are like $6 in Wally World.
04-24-2007, 02:28 AM
Ron A

I favor option C for you.
If you buy cheap or old and used equipment, the best you can get is a shave that is "cheap". I think it would be difficult to not only become an accomplished st8 shaver with old and used, but it would be more difficult to enjoy the process. If you do buy used, buy a high-quality, shave-ready razor from someone who knows the business. Give yourself the best opportunity to learn correctly and enjoy the experience.
Good luck!
04-24-2007, 06:15 PM
Jonedangerousli

Quote:

Originally Posted by junkinduck

Made by a true American craftsman. This is an endangered species. I do what I can to support such people. The small shop hand made item with such a strict attention to detail will not be found in Wal Mart.

What he said. Tony's work is stellar and I'm very impressed with his "above and beyond" attitude. You won't regret the few extra $ you might pay. You'd probably just waste it on some non-shaving related junk anyway, LOL. J.
04-24-2007, 07:26 PM
JMS

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jonedangerousli

What he said. Tony's work is stellar and I'm very impressed with his "above and beyond" attitude. You won't regret the few extra $ you might pay. You'd probably just waste it on some non-shaving related junk anyway, LOL. J.

This is a step in the right direction jonedangerousli, but maybe you could take it a step farther by starting a new thread about the quality of his work!?
But I must commend you for even bringing Tony up in your post. a lesser man would have pretended nothing ever happened!