Quote Originally Posted by jigane View Post
My first razor was a dovo all stainless. Its nice since its all metal, and all stainless. The steel they use is most likely similar to uddeholm aeb-l, but maybe a krupp variant or similar. If lest neglected this razor will not rust. And thats good a for a beginner. Personally I would never get a carbon steel razor if a stainless variant was available. But thats just me.

Also factor in strop and hones. Many people here seems to like the naniwa super stone 12k as a finisher. I'm getting one soon. You will need a DMT Coarse (325 mesh) for flattening all your stones.

Don't trust anything that is supposed to be shave ready. You will have to do this yourself. Easy as that. Then you know what you did to the razor.
Funny how everyone's opinions can vary so much - I would never opt for a stainless razor if a carbon steel variant was available. All of which to say, there are advantages and disadvantages to both. Again, personal preference is key and finding what works for you is much more important than what I say works for me.

The importance of having your first razor arrive completely shave-ready cannot (IMHO) be overstated. With no experience with a truly shave-ready razor, how is a beginner to know when he has arrived at a good shaving edge? It's like hitting a target that you can't see. That's exactly what I did at first, and I had a miserable time of it for months until a faucet ding forced me to send it to a pro for repair and honing. When I got that back, I then new what my honing goal should have been.

Starting shaving with a straight razor is a process filled to the brim with variables. Different razor, water, soap, brush, skin, beard, pressure, angles, alignment of planets (which incidentally will be a pretty cool thing to observe soon, but that's another story...), etc., all play into the process of arriving at a good shave. Starting with a professionally honed razor eliminates one of those variables.

This is why folks are often advise to at least start with a pro-honed blade. Then, once you're comfortable using the thing, learn how to hone. And by pro honing, we are not referring to some guy at the knife shop at the mall. Knife sharpening and razor honing are two different processes and being good at one doesn't ensure being good at the other. I'm guessing from the prices given that the OP is in the UK. There are several SRP members who would be happy to help you out when it comes to honing.