Thread: I wanna start. But how?

Hello there everyone, how are you?

So, I've read a lot and also saw a lot of videos regarding straight razors. You guys got me convinced, I wanna start!

But I need help from the awesome community.

What do I need to begin? And most important, how can I begin with the least amount of money, but still have the best shave?

Where can I buy a great (but not so expensive) razor? (EBAY? I like Dovo and Thiers Issard)

Which one is a good Shaving Cream, and After Shave?

A good leather strop?

What about a badger brush, is there any good one that's not that expensive?

Is there anything else that I need, or that you guys recommend?


Thank you very much for the help! It's indeed much appreciated.
I was doing a good search online and finding good products but I'll leave up to the pros in the final saying.

Please help me in finding my gear without spending an arm and a leg...


Once again, thank you, and may we all have the closest shave ever!

Another welcome here.

Be sure to get a complete outfit that includes a good shave ready razor. Get a good strop as well. IMHO the brush isn't that important to begin with. Any decent one will do.
As for soap/cream just read the posts. There are a lot of them.

You might check out the classifieds on the site. If you get a nice razor from a known members you can be sure to get a razor that's shave ready.

Hello. Welcome to Straight Razor Place, Nielcf!

A good place to start is this guide here at SRP.Beginner's guide to straight razor shaving - Straight Razor Place Library

There is no easy answer to your question about where to get your gear. You could buy new from a reputable dealer selling new razors that are shave ready. Straight Razor Designs is the go to place if you are taking this route. The next option is to buy a used razor from the classifieds here at SRP. You will probably be able to find a serviceable razor starting around $50. There is also Whipped Dog that sells vintage razors that hav been cleaned up and sharpened for fairly cheap.

Besides a razor you will need a strop, brush, and soap. You can get these from the two vendors already mentioned or buy them separately. If you are going for the most economical you might pick up a boar or synthetic brush. Witch Hazel astringent is a good aftershave as well as Nivea balm.

For now it is best to stay away from ebay. There are a lot of crapppy razors and strops there to get tricked on.

Van Der Hagen has a set you can buy at Walmart, CVS, etc. that contains a brush, lathering bowl and soap, usually for around $10, nothing fancy but sufficient for sure. You will also need a strop to use before/after shaving, check out Larry's Poor Man's Strop Kit, contains every thing you will need to maintain your razor for a long time and not that expensive.
Whipped Dog Straight Razor Shaving Equipment. Later if you decide to stay with str8 razor shaving you can purchase a better strop. If you do decide to shave only and not collect str8 razors you will need a barber hone to touch up the edge when the Poor Man's Kit doesn't work anymore. As far as a razor goes make sure you buy a razor that is truly shave ready, one that has been honed by a pro. Most razors claim to be shave ready from the factory, they will shave but don't give a smooth shave like one that has been honed by a pro.

There is a large learning curve involved with shaving with a str8 razor. Watch plenty of videos, take your time, concentrate and avoid distractions. Good luck on your str8 razor shaving journey!

Welcome!

For openers, stay away from ebay until you know what you're looking for and what a "reasonable"
price is.

You need a razor, a strop, some soap or cream and a brush. You can buy a kit that contains all
of that, or you can assemble your own.

The advantage of buying a kit from a reputable dealer is that you are pretty much guaranteed to
have decent equipment at a "package" price. Furthermore, you can get a new razor in truly
"shave-ready" condition. That's a big plus.

If you want to assemble your own kit, check the classified ads on this website. There's a nice looking
strop and a bunch of razors available. You can get a VanDerHagen soap/brush/shave bowl at your
local CVS/Walmart/Kmart for about $15-20. You should be able to get started for $150 or less.

Be sure to read the articles in the Library here. Then practice for 6 months before you buy anything
else.

Come back here anytime with your questions.

Good luck!

Welcome to SRP! Starting off on the right foot is the best way to insure you are going to have a better experience. Many members here myself included may of had a few mishaps in the beginning with regards to equipment and blades not being shave ready. We hate to see a new guys start off wrong and go through the pain of correcting purchasing mistakes. Most important look at your budget and focus on buying a good razor that is shave ready cant stress that enough. If you want to buy a new razor I suggest purchasing from Straight Razor Designs your guaranteed to get a good product. The classifieds here on SRP are also very good if your in the market for a used razor. They are all good and if the seller says its shave ready you can be sure it is. Second most important is a strop you will need this to keep your blade shaving well. SRD has many good economical choices for the beginner I suggest you take a look at them. Shaving Bowls and mugs can be improvised by using household items large coffee cups small ceramic or glass bowls work fine. your first brush need not be expensive a simple omega boar brush or synthetic or pure badger can be used they all work. Soap and cream is huge topic around here and folks like to complicate things with their preferences for them. Read about them to get some idea of what to expect but most drug store brands will do the trick Van der Hagen or Pacific, Prorasso, Nivea also work well. Once you decide and collect your gear the fun begins. Until then I wish you luck and pleasure in you new endeavor.

Welcome to the forum.

The questions you pose have been asked many times in the beginners forum and in the forums specific to razors, soaps/creams, brushes and strops. There are many opinions and no easy answers. It might be best to give use a budget that you have to work with to help narrow things down a bit.

The most important thing is to get a shave ready razor that is really shave ready. Two is probably a better idea so you have a back up for when you have to send one away to be honed. You likely will have to send one away to be honed in the beginning till you skill level improves and you can maintain an edge longer.

Almost any brush will do for a start like an Omega 10066 boar brush. You have to break a boar brush in to get it to it's beat. A good badger will not be on the inexpensive side. Then there are synthetics that are inexpensive and good too.

A decent leather strop that is no too expensive will do for a start. No sense going all out on a strop because if you are like most of us you will cut and nick your strop up learning to strop properly.

Most soaps and creams out there will not keep you from getting a good shave if you know how to make a good lather. Just pick one from the known brands that is in a price range you want. Yes some soaps/creams are better than others but the difference in cost can be 3X one over the other but I have not felt 3X the improvement, personally.

I would not even worry about after shaves. It is a another case of pick one you like the scent of in a price range you want. Once you get some experience then experiment around.

Bob

I am approximately 2 weeks in (I have poor time judgement so I may be off a week in either direction). I am not an expert. I can tell you as someone still on the beginning of the learning curve, but who already spend some money on equipment what my experience is leading me to believe the ideal budget starter kit is.

1. I recommend a Shavette style to start. There are differences in some ways but honestly I am finding them to be more similar than the impression you get reading the posts from different camps. The reason I recommend it is from my experience it is less forgiving so you have to develop good habits. I find the technique I am learning from the shavette produces the best results from my razor. Also you don't have to worry about the honing, or if you did something wrong with your strop or if you didn't check the blade properly and slightly dulled it, or you dropped it or hit the faucet during a rinse because you were starting to get flustered during a bad shave. Etc. There is always another blade that is sharp. Also the whole set up can be found for around 30 bucks that would be a shavette and 10 razor blades.

2. Go ahead and get a strop but don't worry too much about which one. These are replaceable blades after all. Stropping can make a shavette blade last a lot longer than it would otherwise but because it isn't necessary you can reserve a blade to practice with. If you get one of the ones with a spine they actually strop basically the same. Now here is the thing, there are a lot of mistakes you will make when you are learning to strop as well so if it isn't necessary it won't affect your shave but you can practice all you want. Also if you cut up the strop (which by most accounts you will do on your first one without question) it won't affect the shave, and because you got a cheap one you won't feel as bad that you had cut it up. In a little while when you are getting good results you can get a good razor and Strop and be able to jump right in.

3. Van Der Hagen set for the brush and shave soap and bowl. The brush is cheap with a plastic handle but that means you don't have to worry about it too much. I like the soap. It may not be the best there is but it smells decent and lathers well and the bowl is a bowl so that works like you expect it to (you know a container that holds stuff). If you don't want to spend the money you could actually just use any shaving cream really. There isn't anything magical about the shave soap or the brush.

4. Get some Lavender infused witch hazel. This is not cartridge shaving, it isn't rocket science, it isn't as complicated as you think, it is frequently over thought and over stressed which leads to a longer learning curve than necessary, but you will have to relearn shaving as you know it. You will nick yourself as though you are 14 again, and you will get razor burn. The worst shave i have had in the last 2 weeks or so left me red all over with nicks all over the tops of my cheeks, a little lavender oil and witch hazel and in less than an hour you would have never known it. I am considering it magic and will either have to burn my wife or join her for suggesting it.


I have been thinking about my experiences lately and the expense. I really think that a Shavette, a cheap strop, a Van Der Hagen set, and some lavender infused witch hazel is the best learning kit for the budget beginner. I bought a Gold Dollar #208 razor on Amazon from a vendor that sells shaving equipment and offers lifetime honing. It shaves well. I did not have near the trouble with razor burn or nicks with it as I did with the Weck Sextoblade (I believe the forums call that style a Shavette). The Straight razor let me get away with all kinds of stuff, putting the razor to my skin at a 90 degree angle (why I don't know it's like I wasn't ready but I did it anyway). The Weck had no tolerance for messing around. It forced me to think about the process and what I was doing. My first shave with it left me burned and bleeding but the witch hazel saved me. The Weck was one my wife found in her Great Aunt's bathroom after she went into assisted living. The Gold Dollar cost me 31 dollars shipped and I only pay shipping there and back to get it rehoned when needed. They did a great job. I did some basic leather working so if I had it to do over I would make my own strop but that is only after receiving one and seeing what it was. The Van Der Hagen set is fine. One day I will replace the brush. I really don't care about my bowl or mug it can be anything that holds the soap and lets me build up a lather but the bowl is ceramic or something. Similar to my little desert bowls only more colorful on the inside. The soap is soap that builds a decent lather. We already had the witch hazel and a ton of essential oils.

You will get a lot of mixed reviews on Gold Dollar razors. They are cheap. The scales are plastic. The blade is decent but has to have some work beyond basic honing to really be useful. I chose the one I did because the seller had a higher rating than the others and they offered a guarantee on the hone. For starting out a professional hone is important and the guarantee just made that bonus. It won't be one you will be able to resell really. It most likely won't be one you will want to use the rest of your life. You may want to keep it after you get higher quality ones later on to learn things like honing or building custom scales or something. I don't regret buy it at all it has been a very good shaver. It just seems to me that I would have been better to put it off until later and just use the Weck until I got the hang of it and then get a straight razor I could afford. Then again considering my first shave with the Gold Dollar versus my first shave with the Weck I am not sure I would have continued my journey if I hadn't already found out that it wasn't as scary or complicated as it seems.


Just 2 cents from another noob. I think my whole kit was less than 100 bucks and that included the Gold Dollar, 10 razor blades for the Weck, the Vand Der Hagen set, and the Strop.

I contacted Whipped Dog and bought a "sight unseen" shave-ready razor. Larry from Whipped Dog will work with you to find what he thinks is best based on what your personal situation is. I received a nice razor that was, most importantly, honed and shave-ready. I also got a strop kit, brush, and soap from him. All of this for about 100 bucks.

I recommend trying co bigelow by proraso that you can grab at most local malls that haveva bath and body works, they are about 5 bucks but often on sale like buy 2 get one free etc

Also you may want to grab a stiptic (spell err) pencil from your cvs, walmart etc for any cuts....