Thread: Suggest me my first straight

Thanks for all the responses. What about Dovo Best Quality vs Boker King Cutter? Similar price range.

Honestly, either is fine.... pick the one you like!

Please do purchase from a reputable seller that will hand hone the razor before shipping to you. Factory honing is hit and miss with mostly misses from what I hear.

SRD is the only dealer I've dealt with.... They will ensure the razor is "shave ready" before shipping to you.

Personally, my choice would be to purchase a razor from our Classified section... I've bought several from there and all arrived well honed and ready to go. Shave wise, vintage razors are every bit as good as reasonable priced *new* razors, at a much lower cost, in most cases. And, as I have said several times in the past.... if you are really going to switch to straight razors, be prepared for a learning curve and get TWO razors.... One is none, and two is one.... meaning, if *anything* happens to a single razor, requiring honing or repair, you will have zero straights to shave with. If you have two... the other one will keep you going while you wait for the first razor to be done. Even if you do your own honing, it's still nice to have more than one razor!

I have a dull pile and a sharp pile.... and rarely enough time to do any honing! <grin>

If you are just dipping your toe in the water, I would suggest even stronger that you start with a vintage blade.... Lower entry cost and the resale value will still be there if you decide it's not for you. A brand new blade can loose value, unless it's a custom blade, in which case it is also in a whole other realm, price wise.

There are the cheap crappy useless blades, and there are good blades. If you are choosing to purchase a good blade, it's all about what you like/want, and not what is *best*. If you chose to purchase a bad blade... well... they are all bad and you'll never get a decent shave out of it without major heroics in the honing dept. In either senario, you are paying for appearance, not capability.

I have low cost antique store restores and I have a custom razor, made to my specifications and both shave me well. In fact, most days I'll reach for the junker as I never worry about it. I can't say the same for my Joe Chandler 7/8" custom.


Regards

Christian

When I was looking for mine my final decision was between a Boker and a Dovo.

Since I wanted to make sure that I got one that was really shave ready, I went to Straight Razor Designs.

Being an absolute newbie, I also needed a strop, so I looked at Razor & Strop Sets and found that there were no Bokers available as part of a Razor & Strop Set deal. I also got the DVD which contains a wealth of information that you will appreciate -- especially when you get to honing your own razor, some razor oil (to prevent rust) and a protective razor sleeve.

The whole deal went for $149. In my opinion it was well worth it.

Don't forget that, in addition to an initial honing and stropping, you get a certificate for 1 more free honing!
SRD has the best deal on honing that I have found to date with a cost of $25 without a certificate.

I chose a Dovo Best Quality Black 5/8".

I started with a Aust from SRD. It was about $100 and it was honed with a certificate for a free honing. Since then I have purchased 2 more Austs, Mastro LIvi's, Bokers, Dovo's and more. I still think for the money, the quality and the maintenance on the Aust beats all of them except the custom Livi's. The 5/8 Aust will serve you well.

I'm partially torn between the Boker King Cutter and SRD Ralf Aust. Problem is I live in Canada, can one expect import charges when ordering a straight from SRD when shipping to Canada?

Originally Posted by Justino14

I'm partially torn between the Boker King Cutter and SRD Ralf Aust. Problem is I live in Canada, can one expect import charges when ordering a straight from SRD when shipping to Canada?

I am afraid so.

Here is a link to Aust
http://rasiermesser-manufaktur.de/en/home/]OXID eShop 4 | Online Shop[/url]
I talked to him over the weekend and he's on holiday for a week or two (no email/orders) His English wasn't bad at all. Seemed pretty cool.
I read a post somewhere (can't tell you where must be in the 100's over the past couple of days) that there was no import/customs charge for a member from Canada to order direct.

I really want one as my first, but I'm strap for cash and keep lurking in the classifieds hoping someone is parting with one of their cheap vintage.

It's entirely hit and miss on getting dinged by Customs Canada. It does not really matter where you order from, though some places appear to be flagged for closer scrutiny.

As long as it's sent via the Post Office of whatever country you purchase something from, so it is delivered by Canada Post, you are not going to get hit with a ridiculous "brokerage charge" as sometimes happens when shipping with courier companies. With Canada Post it's a handling fee of $9.95 + whatever GST/PST or HST on the declared value if it gets dinged.

Naturally, on small items it hurts more, but if the item is less than CDN $20, there is no collection of taxes.... BUT, if the value is CDN $20.01 or more, they can demand taxes if they wish.


I'm big on the used razors in the Classified section.... I've only ever bought 2 razors brand new, and neither shave me any better than my sub $20 junkers when well honed.

There are also Canadian dealers online. I have no idea if any offer shave ready razors, or their honing quality, but if you wish to avoid the possible hit from crossing the border... they are an option too. Do remember, even used razors from outside Canada are subject to the handling fee and taxes on their value, if Customs decide they want to collect.

Regards

Christian

How about Portland razor co. I was considering getting one from them myself.


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Well there's Brian Brown, and his grinding is in a better league than PRC so look at the numbers and decide, besides brian there are several custom makers here in the USA, but there isn't many who offer better craftsmanship. Tc