My first razor was a whipped dog sight-unseen and easily the best $43 I could have spent at that time. It was a no-name razor (TS Stewart & Co) and the spine has significant hone wear, but it arrived ready to shave, for real.

Knowing the razor was good to go, I was able to focus on getting my lather to the right consistency (bad lather can make it feel like your razor is dull), and work on stropping skills.

Once you get a good shave going and you aren't slicing up a strop, you can move up to a higher end razor.