Thread: Beginner in need of guidance

I'm no good at introductions so I'll just jump right into it. I've wanted to get into using a straight razor for a while now. I've never used a straight razor so I'm looking for something not too expensive and preferably a complete setup to get started. I am a bit of a knife collector, though I'm not a professional knife sharpener/honer by any means. However, I can get a knife sharp enough to melt through the hairs on my arm like butter. I look forward to trying my hand at honing a straight.

So anyway, I've been lurking around researching and I came across this;

$100 Off Buffalo Horn Damascus Straight Razor and Luxury Shave Set - StraightRazors.com

and this; Shave Ready - Gold Dollar Straight Razor With Premium Shave Kit - StraightRazors.com

What do you guys think? Good deals or no? I'm not particularly interested in the Damascus show piece. These seem to be the best full setup for the best price I could find so far. I like the idea of a more precise shave, so a squared end would be optimal. I'm trying to keep the cost under 120$ or so. Any tips or help pointing me in the right direction would be much appreciated. Links are more than welcome.

Thanks

-Sunny

As mentioned give that Damascus a miss .

The go to answer is Ralf whatshisface.

If i was you I would go to classicshaving.com.
Buy the cheapest 3 inch strop and a Hart Steel 6/8th razor, choose your tip and scales.

You wouldn't regret it.

GOOD LUCK

Do you mean classicshaving.com?

Originally Posted by Sunshine1

Do you mean classicshaving.com?

Yep. Classicshaving.com

The "damascus" prop isn't a razor at all, it is labeled as a "Practice/Blunt Straight Razor" meaning it is purely for "practice" shaving/stropping without actually cutting any hair (or your strop)... I'm certain it isn't really Damascus steel and wouldn't be surprised if it's not steel at all but instead cheap tin or aluminum. I can understand the psychological need to "practice" with something blunt prior to taking a razor-sharp blade to one's face, but honestly think it's a waste of money. You're better off "practicing" with a butter knife and saving those extra dollars to spend on a better quality razor. Either way, "practicing" on your face, wether with this faux-razor or with a butter knife, doesn't really achieve much, except give you a false sense of security that may actually be detrimental... If you're using a fake razor or a butter knife to "practice" shave, how do you know that your technique is actually appropriate and will really cut your whiskers? ...or that your poor technique would actually be cutting you, but you have no idea, because of the blunt edges, so when you take a real razor-sharp blade to your face your false sense of security ends in a blood-bath baptism for your new blade? I think it's much better to go through the tutorials on this site and follow the mounds of great advice available, then take a shave-ready blade... with appropriate respect... and follow it, one step at a time. There MAY be some benefit in using it to practice your stropping... but again, how do you know if you're building good habits or bad ones and when you take your actual sharp blade to the strop you've been flipping the blade too soon before you change direction? and how do you know your stropping is being effective with a fake blade?

You're much, much better off buying a razor from the classifieds here or the Ralf Aust or Hart Razor previously recommended.

Welcome to the forum. As in the knife world Damascus blades do not come that cheap. Honing a razor and sharpening a knife are similar but different enough that you will likely still find honing a razor a bit difficult at first. Razor honing starts at 1K or 3K and goes up from there depending on how bad the edge is. A square tip and/or hell on a blade is not ideal for a beginner to learn to shave with. It is far to easy to cut yourself with so a round nose is normally recommended as a starter razor.

I would read the forums library Straight Razor Place Library - Straight Razor Place Library first.

Bob

Welcome to the SPR.
Check Classifieds, there can be nice shave ready razors. also you can check Straight Razor Sets

Here you can get complete set for 100$
Whipped Dog Straight Razor Shaving Equipment

But personally I don't recommend to start with low priced staff, as you latter will need to upgrade it. Good razor and strop is all you need for a start.

+1 to whipped dog

Another option is classic edge, based in Canada. I've only purchased one new razor and it was from them, because they had the dovo I wanted for the cheapest. Get some Van der Hagen soap at Walgreen's/Woodman's, you can usually get a set with a brush and scuttle for under $20

Customized Gold Dollar 6/8 Straight Razor Round Point
Read the description, they seem to do a substantial amount of work to make a Gold Dollar the best it can do.

A couple other strop options:
3" Black English Bridle Leather Stropping Board
https://ruprazor.com/store/index.php...mart&Itemid=32

Yea, don't do that Sunshine1. Most wet shavers do so because they want shaving to be a pleasant experience and I don't think the choices you listed would lead to anything remotely pleasant. There is definitely a start up cost to beginning straight razor shaving and "expensive" is a relative term. I have learned the ugly lesson that trying to save money by buying cheap stuff always ends up costing me more than if I'd just bit the bullet once, gotten the good stuff and been done with it. What ends up happening is I buy the cheap stuff, it doesn't work worth a darn and then I end up buying what I should have bought in the first place. Instead of saving money, I'm out the price of the cheap stuff and no better off for it. So I don't do that anymore.

So, you can certainly get well set up somewhere like Straight Razor Designs dot com (SRD) for under $300 for an excellent razor, a nice 3" strop, razor oil, storage pouch and 2 free honings and be set up for the rest of your life. If you don't want to spend that much money, but want to have a straight razor-like experience to see if you like it -- luckily there is a low cost solution. For about $30 you can get a Dovo Shavette or different brand shavette. It looks like a straight razor, shaves almost exactly like a straight razor, but it can use 1/2 of a double edge (DE) razor blade, or longer single edged blade designed specifically for the razor. It doesn't require you to buy a strop, since you just change the blade whenever it starts to get dull. You can easily get a 5 pack of DE razorblades for $2-$5 and since you only use 1/2 a blade in a shavette you're actually getting 10 blades. Now all you need is some shaving cream or soap and you're good to go. If it turns out that you like it, you can continue to use it forever (many do) or down the road you might consider getting a good quality straight razor and the associated essentials for maintaining it.

That's my 2 cents worth.

Thanks for all the replies guys! I think I'm going to get the 'go-to' recommendation. It seems like the smartest move I can make. So I'm going to get a Ralf Aust - Solingen 5/8" Black