Choosing first NEW razor, assistance required!

Having decided upon a new tool for the first shave I am now bedevilled with selection anxiety syndrome. I have a shortlist of what I understand to be good entry level razors, what would the experts choose?

all in a 5/8 and prices are approximate.

Thiers Issard basic black - £90
Dovo Best Quality - £75
Revisor 5-0000, Starter set with basic strop and razor oil - £90 (seems best deal just for strop, however I am thinking I'd prefer a paddle)

I have read numerous criticisms and counter-criticisms about each, what can I reasonably expect in terms of quality of build, shave readiness etc?

If you want a new production razor, have only heard good things about Ralf Aust razors. That is what I would go for. The main thing is you purchase from a reputable vendor so what ever you choose arrives shave ready. Factory edges are subjective.

Add ralf aust to the list. If buying from the factory he has a reputation for being shave ready, those ones don't. From the ones you've mentioned I would pick revisor. Purely personal preference, they look nicer. If buying from straight razor designs or a firm that hones well, they will all be shave ready.

Revisor if requested will send them honed and ready, I've inky bought one razor from them and it was ready, as to the list as long as it's shave ready it won't matter, personal,preference. But how about a lower priced one from the classifieds to start and find out if you want to do this? Just a thought. Tc

I'm with TC on this one. Shave ready needs to be the first consideration.

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Originally Posted by TomP30

Having decided upon a new tool for the first shave I am now bedevilled with selection anxiety syndrome. I have a shortlist of what I understand to be good entry level razors, what would the experts choose?

all in a 5/8 and prices are approximate.

Thiers Issard basic black - £90
Dovo Best Quality - £75
Revisor 5-0000, Starter set with basic strop and razor oil - £90 (seems best deal just for strop, however I am thinking I'd prefer a paddle)

I have read numerous criticisms and counter-criticisms about each, what can I reasonably expect in terms of quality of build, shave readiness etc?

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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.

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Originally Posted by jigane

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.

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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.

I don't think you'd go wrong with any of them. Just pick the prettiest one that you can afford. I have the Dovo BQ and it's nice. Not the fanciest of scales, but the blade is pretty and is as sharp as a ... ah ... razor.

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Originally Posted by Cangooner

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.

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While i fully agree that a pro honed razor is worth much but its not like you have to search for long to find out that many razors that are supposed to be shave ready are infact not. My Iwasaki was obviously sharpened at the iwasaki HQ but still that sharpening was not up to par imo.

I guess for a total noob "shave ready" is good, then you have some kind of a baseline.

But in reality the user would sooner or later need at least 3-4 stones and imo its better to learn to use these instead of trusting that the razor is infact shave ready. I mean I could have stropped my iwasaki until the cows came home but it would never have been comfortable FOR ME, for the person at iwasaki maybe it was good but for me it wasnt good enough.

Basically it think it works like this "define shave ready".... could be anything.
And as we say around here: if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.

As a noob its only a matter of time anyway. Sometime quite soon you will be forced to do it yourself.

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Originally Posted by jigane

While i fully agree that a pro honed razor is worth much but its not like you have to search for long to find out that many razors that are supposed to be shave ready are infact not. My Iwasaki was obviously sharpened at the iwasaki HQ but still that sharpening was not up to par imo.

I guess for a total noob "shave ready" is good, then you have some kind of a baseline.

But in reality the user would sooner or later need at least 3-4 stones and imo its better to learn to use these instead of trusting that the razor is infact shave ready. I mean I could have stropped my iwasaki until the cows came home but it would never have been comfortable FOR ME, for the person at iwasaki maybe it was good but for me it wasnt good enough.

Basically it think it works like this "define shave ready".... could be anything.
And as we say around here: if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.

As a noob its only a matter of time anyway. Sometime quite soon you will be forced to do it yourself.

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All of which is exactly why we recommend buying from recognized vendors who have a proven track record of shipping razors that are truly shave-ready, i.e. razors that are not shipped with the edge put on in the factory.

TomP30, where in the world are you? If you're in the US, then you should consider SRD for your first razor. It will most certainly come shave ready. If you're in Europe, then you could still use SRD, but Revisor may be more convenient. You may also have a member nearby to act as a mentor.

That's exactly our point "most factory set edges are not shave ready". And yours coming from the factory wasn't. But if bought from a reputable source that hones them before shipping you can trust the edge, that is unless your edges are that much better than say Lynn's? Or Glen's ? So let's not tell the man something that is not true, he can get a truly shave ready edge in the classifieds also, I,m pretty sure I know a great shave easy edge, after 48 years of shaving. Tc

The Dovo you are looking at is machine made, and may not be shave ready if bought from a retailer who will not inspect and, if necessary, enhance its edge.

So, Revisor, or Aust. Both will come shave ready from the manufacturer*. Friends of mine have sold hundreds of them, and there never was a problem.

Just for the record, both Aust and Revisor carry stainless steel razors if required.

* The term "factory" is entirely misleading. Aust and Revisor are two of the three remaining Solingen manufactures, whereas Dovo is actually a factory.

I,ve purchased 6 ralp aust in the last three months . All of them came shave ready and I think the poster may be from the uk. Ralp aust is a very nice razor. I think the 5/8 round point with plastic scales cost in sterling £85 . If you can afford it go for the extra cost treat your self to his upgrade scales in a wood of your choice.

Thanks guys, I opted for the Revisor eventually and placed the order today. I went for the starter set with what Revisor term their 'classic' razor, it's plain but my thinking is it will be good for learning all aspects of shaving and maintenance, including honing.

Let us know what you think of it when it arrives... and post a few photos. We love photos! Good luck.

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Originally Posted by wayne394

Let us know what you think of it when it arrives... and post a few photos. We love photos! Good luck.

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Will certainly do so, who doesn't love photos!

Revisor is a nice choice. I really like their product and the variety they offer. The stampings, enameling and scale choices are the best out there among the modern makers. I own quite a few razors and of the 3 I use the most on a daily basis, two are Revisor's.

Some have commented on how shave ready they are but I have found that with stropping they have a great comfortable edge and have never felt I had to improve on the ones I received.

The owners are great to deal with and stand behind their wares

I'm very happy with my choice and am eagerly awaiting the arrival of my new purchase (think 8 year old at Christmas Eve!). I am reading a lot of literature on straight shaving and one thing in particular leaves me unsure of my preparedness, that being whether or not I should be thinking about acquiring a hone. I have read that in Europe we focus more on stropping with paste to refresh the edge of a razor, whereas in the US the preference is for a finishing hone. My Revisor kit comes with a leather and canvas strop, will this be sufficient to start with? Should I buy paste for the strop or should I buy a finishing hone?? I do want to be able at some point to learn all these things but would love to simply shave and strop first off without worrying about honing.

Your much better off learning to strop and how to shave, this is the most important aspects of keeping a shave ready edge, don't need to confuse yourself at this time with Honing. Right now it's easier to find someone close to you to help one on one or just send it n to be honed the first time or two. I,m 2 years + and. Still send mine n, but they go months before I need anything done to them. Your getting a great razor to start. Tc

Thanks for the straight advice TC, much appreciated.

Reading back through the threads it is noteworthy that I ordered the Revisor only last Thursday, hey presto it has already arrived at my office in Cumbria this morning, I was expecting it to take at least a week to get here. Yes it is hardly exciting but seriously, when I order anything from a domestic UK supplier it takes longer!

Without pics it never happened. If I weren't enjoying wedges more nowadays would probably have ordered a revisor.

Another view point when buying razors is, sooner or later, you'll probably own all three!

I'd lean more towards pastes/sprays for now. Keep the variables to a minimum and master one thing at a time.

Pics as promised! I am quite impressed with the strop, it seems to be a better quality than some of the other starter strops I have seen.Attachment 226903Attachment 226902

Nice looking starter set. Looks like a Herold strop. They make strops for many including Dovo I believe. Nice pieces of leather.

Very nice Tom. Looks like a good choice. Let us know how it shaves.

The strop is top Qaulity leather. It's the top of the range cowhide .