Thread: Budget beginner

I wouldn't discount Japanese razors, they are some of the most well ground productions with great steel. Just stay away from Pakistani and Chinese RSO's and you'll be safe. Like has been said you may find some in decent shape on eBay but then you still need to have it honed which is an additional 20-25.

Whipped dog. May not be pretty but fully shave ready for thirty two if I remember right.

Originally Posted by dmnc

Whipped dog. May not be pretty but fully shave ready for thirty two if I remember right.

This. If I had to do it over again with a smaller budget, I'd probably have gone with a sight unseen whipped dog razor. Probably would've made the same strop, bowl, and brush choices, but for my needs a whipped dog probably would do me just as well as the new razor I bought while costing half as much.

I haven't heard anyone who has purchased one say they didn't like the quality of their Whipped Dog Sight Unseen. I emailed half a dozen messages with Larry. He took my skill level [ total straight Newb ] and the ideas I had about what I wanted into account. Being "Sight Unseen" means you won't know what it looks like until it arrives. It will be honed and stropped to an acceptable edge.
It may not be beautiful, but as your first tool it will work as well as most. Certainly better than razors sold by unknowledgeable ebayers.
Even Brand named New razors will need honing in most cases.
So watch the classified section here. By Peer Review folks here have great standards, and know what a true "Shave Ready" razor is. You get an itchy trigger finger, look up Whipped Dog!

Originally Posted by DeObfuscate

I haven't heard anyone who has purchased one say they didn't like the quality of their Whipped Dog Sight Unseen.

Part of the reason for that is because vendor "bashing" is not allowed.

For the OP, please understand what a $30 razor involves. You are basically paying for a honing and restoration job and a razor is thrown in for free.

Yes, cheap razors can be had, but the guy selling it to you either bought it online, and paid something for the razor and the shipping, or he traveled around to antique stores, again paying for the razor as well as gas and time. A razor in the classifieds has been cleaned up, honed, and tested. It also has been photographed so that you can see exactly what you are buying. All of those things take TIME.

That should be worth a few dollars more than a random razor.

Another budget tip for a brush and soap would be try the 3 pc. Van Der Hagen set that consist of a brush, lathering bowl and a puck of decent soap, you can pick up higher quality stuff later. You can buy this set for roughly $10 at usually Walmart, maybe CVS or online at eBay. I still occasionally use the boar brush, lathering bowl and soap I purchased years ago.