Thread: new member saying hello

Hi, totally new to the forum and also to straight razor shaving, never tried it nor do i have anything yet, however been thinking about it for a while now! but going to give it a bash, on the cheap first, then if i can manage it and it's for me, i will then buy better kit and what i need! some might not agree with this, but been there before buying the best of the best to try something and never liked it, so not going to do it that way this time lol.

My plan was to buy a good condition used straight razor first, and maybe get someone to hone it for me so its shave ready, then just buy a leather strop, brush and some paste or spray for it and that was it to see how it goes.
what do any of the more experienced folk think?

thanks Grant

Grant, Welcome to Straight Razor Place.

Buying a used razor is a good idea if you want to try it out. Be sure to SRP classifieds. There are good deals on a regular basis. Also, under the members services section you can find honers.

Yep, stay simple till you get it, and the classifieds here are a way to get a starter ra or that's already honed ready to shave, you will need a brush and soap too. Tc

Hi and welcome. A razor from the classifieds will likely be shave ready then all you need is a strop, soap and brush. If you want to use pastes you will need a second substrate for that as you need your daily strop paste free. Good luck and any questions feel free to ask

Welcome
You have come to the right place
+1 on the classified just make sure it is shave ready in the description

Welcome! Your approach is a good one. The classifieds is one of the best places to start. Make sure you get it honed by someone who knows what they're doing.

Welcome! Be careful about "on the cheap" - you will incur more cost if you go for cheap. That said, you can get into this very inexpensively by shopping smart. If you get a vintage razor from the classifieds, you can get a high quality razor for a very low price if you're patient. If you're less patient, you can go to someplace like WhippedDog.com and take advantage of a sight unseen. You won't know what you're going to get and it probably won't be gorgeous, but it'll be shave ready and won't break the bank.

Honestly, I've found that the most savings to be found is in the brush. You can get excellent quality boar brushes from Semogue or Omega for less than $20.

Soap is pretty much get what you like. Order a sample set from Maggard or somewhere like that and try a bunch out. Soaps go from surprisingly inexpensive to however much you want to pay with excellent soaps to be found all the way toward the bottom.

As far as a strop goes... If you're just starting out, get something like the Poor Man's Strop from WhippedDog.com. It's inexpensive and functional. You're going to cut the crap out of your first strop as you learn, so make sure it's one that isn't going to cause you grief to replace. Once you've got the technique down, invest in a better strop from a reputable source. You'll be glad you did.