Hairy Like A Bear, Show Me That You Care

Hi all, new to this site but I wont bore you with details.

Looking for my first straight razor and need some suggestions. Heres some prefs...

Experience: beginner, never straight shaved a day in my life. been using a top of the line Norelco trimmer since day 1, ready to branch out

Budget: ~$100

Hair: coarse, nothing crazy but definitely nice thick flowing facial hair, grows very quickly

Style: I usually sport a chin strap, along with a mustache that hugs my upper lip line. occasionally grow the beard all the way out

Looking for: a straight razor that I can use to keep the neck and upper cheeks clean, and maintain a nice tight line along the chinstrap. I use scissors on the stache. need something that will be easy to learn on, easy to hit all the neck angles, and wont break the bank. Im ok with buying vintage/used if that means I get higher quality for my buck.

Any advice is much appreciated! Let me know if I can provide any more detail to help you make a recommendation.

Ok there is a place called the classifieds here on our site, your best bet to receive a shave ready razor on a budget, just keep checking ill something catches your eye, look for 5/8-6/8 round tip or square if you really want to get adventurous. Then read all there is in our library n beginning users. Don't forget a strop and leave the honing till you learn to strop and shave, until then you won't really know what your looking for.

You must already have a brush and soap so those two items is all you need, then pick up a second razor for when your edge needs help again. Once you have the shaving and stropping down, your edges will last a while. Go slow and try to stay away from all the AD,s. Tc

Welcome,

Newbie myself. Check out the library (top tool bar). Lots of good info there.

I would imagine there is going to be several experienced members respond with their suggestions...it'll all be good stuff. This board is legit!

Since I'm new myself I'll limit my suggestion to this for now...listen to these guys about starting gear. They won't steer you wrong.

Hit me up if you need anything...I probably won't have an answer but I should have a pretty idea who/where to go.

Oh, you might check for members in your area. These guys have driven to meet up with new guys or set up mini meets to help get you going!!!

Be safe,

Jer

Thanks for the tips. I have seen the classifieds I just dont know what Im looking for, so besides judging based off of appearance I have been like a lost puppy when combing through the razors for sale.

Ill make sure to go through the library as well.

I dont have a brush or soap or strop but ive read about them and think I have a good idea of what I want on that front.

Gonna start with one razor before I shell out the dough for a second.

So a good beginner razor is nothing extreme. They are also the most common razors. 5/8 or 6/8 wide, full or half hollow grind, round or square point but not a spike point. A spike point is similar to a square point except that a square point has a very slight round at the tip, very small. A spike on the other hand comes to a very square sharp point right at the tip. They are loved by some shavers but not many people start with them for what seems like obvious reasons. As far as new or vintage that is personal preference. There do come up often in the classifieds well within your budget. In the US straight razor design is a pretty common place to buy from, and they have a very good reputation for shave ready. Which is actually an important thing to consider. Not all new blades are hand honed before delivery and are not always shave ready. A strop a brush and some nice soap is needed to get a quality shave. There is a ton of stuff that different people do as part of their shave routine and a lot of it is personal preference.

I am a beginner myself and I thought that it would probably be best to start with a rounded point.

Being brand new, I didn't want to have a pronounced corner with a cutting edge on it (like you get with a square point, Spanish point, or French point) that might gouge out a trough if I did something wrong.

I also figured that I could put a better edge on my razor (via stropping) if I used a full hollow ground.

I may just be talking through my hat, but those are the conclusions that I came to based on my preliminary research.

Here is what I did.
Went to an antique store.
Chose a razor
Found a honemeister to hone
Asked a million question
Got sent to this site.

I suggest go the reverse order. The members here have been so kind to a newb, I can't express how good they are.


Personal thoughts.
Go vintage, I think a few more experienced members can steer you clear from the duds. Don't forget about the strop. It's mandatory equipment. Drop your razor budget if you have to but get a strop. The classifieds look good, saw a few examples for less than the bay.

Just my 2 cents. Ymmv

That's why I said the classifieds here, you may not know what your looking for but the sellers will, stay in your budget and it doesn't matter what it is, it will be shave ready which is the ONLY important thing about the razor at this point in time. Tc

Good advice given so far. Be warned: making the switch from an electric trimmer to a SR is going to make for a very steep learning curve. Don't despair, we are here to help!

Getting good at this, when starting out, is very much about eliminating variables. Pick one decent soap & brush, and stick with it. And don't worry about honing your own edges for a while. One of the best tips I can give to any noob is to lather (then shave there) in sections! Those sections being: each sideburn and cheek area is a section, each side of the neck & under the jaw, then the goatee area. When we start out using a SR, it takes us longer than expected to shave, and the lather always dries out.

I will leave you with some quick links that I think you will find enlightening.

Here, I share a "hard knocks" lesson.
http://straightrazorpalace.com/begin...nd-points.html

Here is a thread by a fellow who had also only ever used an electric, but he basically did the opposite of any advice given.
http://straightrazorpalace.com/begin...ble-shave.html

My response in that thread, where I also reference (with links) his original thread where he blatantly did the opposite of any advice given!
http://straightrazorpalace.com/begin...ml#post1611027

Good luck! And I hope this was helpful!!

The section lathering is a great recommendation. Had that problem myself!

Hi and welcome. Check to see if there is someone close to you. Members will generally be happy to meet and can help with choosing gear to suit you and your budget and can gove tips and hands on help which will cut the learning curve. Good luck and any questions feel free to ask