Thread: Starting on a tight budget

You will find it to be a very helpful giving community here. Any omega boar brush and a arko or palmolive shave stick will be fine and quite cheap off ebay. Newspaper, nylon webbing etc work well and cost little. A search for strop substitutes will bring many options. As said a shavette or de will give you the basics of prep and how to shave without the need for a strop or honing and provide a back up when honing is needed. A de will be far better shaves than a disposable. You will be better off getting a couple decent items at a time and making a start than buying low and upgrading later.

Looks like you are sorted with a razor. I've got a shaving brush, creams and balms I will send out, and I've got an unused replaceable bed for a Supex paddle strop too. You will have to sort that out by attaching to a block of wood in order to make a bench strop or something similar.

Question is, what do you then do with your $50 budget. There are two things you need to keep in mind. You won't hit shaving nirvana eventually. It is a journey to get there. You will nick your strop, roll your edge and become thoroughly despondent at times with the progress you are making. That is ok, and each little set back is a lesson and you get better. However, it does mean that you have to factor in costs to deal with this - honing costs when you roll the edge on your razor, and replacement strops etc. Keep looking in the classifieds for a back up razor for when you have to send your razor away.

Take up every generous offer, great bunch of gents here. Best of luck.

You have already received many generous offers of help; an unparalleled aspect of this community within the internet! I wish you well on both of your journeys: recovery & straight shaving. I'm willing to bet that you will find similarities between the two. Things like patience & sticking with something that seems difficult now, but will feel good & enjoyable & rewarding later on.

In considering getting started on a budget, I have heard nothing but good things about Larry over at Whipped Dog.

Whipped Dog Straight Razor Shaving Equipment

A "sight unseen flawed razor" will cost $28, + $3 for shipping to Canada. And a "Poor Man strop kit" will cost $25, + another $3 for shipping to Canada. The razor would definitely qualify as an "ugly duckling" by our standards here, but you can bet your that it will give a decent shave!

Slightly beyond your budget, but still a good place to start for the money. Also a bit redundant after other members start mailing things off "because the breeze hit the back of their neck"... lol. Still an option to keep in mind for later.

Thank you again for all the great support and advice here. Thanks to the generosity of this community I will have everything I need to get started here in a few weeks. I'm excited to start this journey and look forward to contributing more on this forum and also to keep returning for advice as I learn the trade.

Crawler, I will definitely hold onto that link. That looks like a great option for getting some low cost supplies, I'm sure it will come in handy.

Originally Posted by Crawler

In considering getting started on a budget, I have heard nothing but good things about Larry over at Whipped Dog.

Disparaging of vendors is not allowed.

Welcome to the forum. If you want I will hone up a razor so you have a back up and give you a barber hone to refresh your edge. Just do some research on using the hone before you attempt it. I would hate for you to ruin the edge. This should keep you busy between learning to shave and strop. Send me a Pm with your address. Good luck.

Originally Posted by Utopian

Disparaging of vendors is not allowed.

Heard nothing but good things about SRD, but never see this kind of "reminder" when praise is heaped on them....

Yes. I am clearly and unapologetically a Whipped Dog fanboy! I spent $100 to get started and have had an absolutely wonderful experience! Spent $300 on shiny new stuff to get my son started and he had an equally wonderful experience! I just had $200 more to spend on cool stuff later...YMMV