Thread: Looking to buy my first Straight Razor!

Hello!

So for about the past week and a half I have been researching and looking into buying a straight razor. I've googled about every starter kit and set, have read through threads on reddit, but I wasn't really getting anywhere so I decided to get professional help. Ideally i would like to get a set with all the essentials for around $70 and add from there as i get more and more addicted. I thought about starting off with maybe a Dovo Shavette or something of that sort, but read that they are not as forgiving as traditional straight razors. through research I keep coming across this Gold Dollar straight razor and looked it up and found one review that said it wasn't bad for beginners. I have seen plenty of sets with that same razor and different strops, brushes, bowls, and soaps that come with it. But I guess at the end I'm asking the age old question, what should I buy as a beginner, and yes i have looked through the beginners guide but still need help.

Thank you for your time and any help!

you need to just pick a beginner razor from the classifieds, there are some deals there at times, or go to Straight Razor Designs and get one of their sets. it will be more than your 70$ price range but sets in that range will be with crap razors. and you cant learn to shave with a bad razor. strops can be had reasonably an Illinois 827 is about 35$, soap is cheap get an Arko stick and a cheap boar brush.

maybe put your location in your profile you might get more help that way. Tc

Welcome to SRP!
There are a lot of great folks and info here, do as TC suggests and you'll be way ahead of the game.

Enjoy and have fun!!

Welcome to the forum.

I think you will have to up your budget some in order to get into straight razor shaving with some decent gear.

You will need shave ready razor, even brand new razors can't be counted on to be shave ready. So, as TC has said, the best bet is to by a vintage razor from the classifieds or a reputable retailer that sends them out honed/shave ready.

You need a decent strop but not too expensive as you will likely cut up the strop learning to strop and in the process dull your blade in the process. Be prepared to send out your razor for honing fairly frequently in the beginning because of that and poor shaving technique.

Again as TC said, a good boar brush like an Omega 10066 for about $10 will do nicely but give it a couple of weeks of everyday use to break in and the tips to soften. Alternatively there are some pretty good synthetic brushes out there in the sub $20 range that need no break in.

Arko is about the most inexpensive soap that is still very good performing and plenty in the sub $20 range.

Realistically, I think I would budget $100 to $150 for all that.

Do a forum search, search box top right of page, for Gold Dollar to see what has been said about those razors. After reading those you may want to reconsider the idea of getting one of those or not.

Good luck and if you have more question be sure and ask.

Bob

Originally Posted by Nicolas0103

Hello!

So for about the past week and a half I have been researching and looking into buying a straight razor. I've googled about every starter kit and set, have read through threads on reddit, but I wasn't really getting anywhere so I decided to get professional help. Ideally i would like to get a set with all the essentials for around $70 and add from there as i get more and more addicted. I thought about starting off with maybe a Dovo Shavette or something of that sort, but read that they are not as forgiving as traditional straight razors. through research I keep coming across this Gold Dollar straight razor and looked it up and found one review that said it wasn't bad for beginners. I have seen plenty of sets with that same razor and different strops, brushes, bowls, and soaps that come with it. But I guess at the end I'm asking the age old question, what should I buy as a beginner, and yes i have looked through the beginners guide but still need help.

Thank you for your time and any help!

You can buy that gold dollar set for about $70.

You will be buying a razor available on ebay for $4. It will be honed and it will shave. It's not great, but it's not bad.

I have no first hand experience with anything else in that set, but my impression from the opinions of others is that most of it will end up being replaced if you stick with this and discarded if you don't.

If you really want a gold dollar, I'll sell you one for the cost of its honing. It will cost you less, but I still don't recommend it. There are many better options in the Buy/Sell/Trade. If you find that straight shaving is not for you, then you always can sell it there again.

There are some good recommendations listed in previous responses. No matter what razor you purchase, but sure you purchase it from someone who can put a true shave ready edge on the razor. Many people claim that the razors they sell are shave ready, but not all are. Many of them may be sharp enough to shave hair; but if the edge is uncomfortable, you will lose interest in straight razors.

What you have heard about shavettes is correct. The replaceable razor blades used in these razors are generally sharper than a straight razor. That means that any deficiencies in your technique are likely to lead to cuts, nicks, or weepers. Thus, they are not recommended for beginners.

The first razor I purchased was a Gold Dollar 800 that was honed to shave ready condition by Wet Shaving Place. The GD 800 is stainless and is one of the better GD razors. Honing a Gold Dollar is not easy as you have to correct some deficiencies in the design of the razor, so you have to get it from someone who knows how to fix one. While I got a razor that was properly fixed and shave ready, there are those who have purchased GD razors advertised as shave ready that were not even close. The cost of properly honing a GD razor is as much or more than the cost of the basic razor.

Once they are properly honed, Gold Dollar razors can shave well. They may not hold their edge as well as a higher quality razor. The scales on the razors are not very good, but what can you expect for an inexpensive Chinese razor. Even though I have multiple razors now, my GD shaves well enough that it remains my razor rotation.

When you are ready to learn how to hone razors, purchase a few hones and a few dull Gold Dollars and get at it. If you ruin destroy a blade while learning, you aren't out much. That will give you confidence when you later try your hand at honing an expensive razor.

For leather strops, there are many options. Although many recommend a "starter" hanging strop, another option is a paddle or bench strop. That can be as simple as purchasing a piece of leather from your local hobby store and gluing it to a piece of wood. Although I have a couple of nice hanging strops, I have several DIY strops using various types of leather. Some are glued smooth side up and some are glued suede side up. They each have their place.

In my opinion, a gold dollar will put you further behind. Yes, you can get a gold dollar that is shave ready, but the steel is of lesser quality than a good vintage, or a well made new production, and therefore will not hold an edge nearly as long. Now you have to think about cost of honing. I'm not exactly sure what the going rate is for honing these days, but I think it's around $15-20, plus shipping there and back. How proficient are you at stropping/maintaining an edge? Honing cost is going to kill you during the learning process.

There's 2 key things that are going to make or break
your experience. Stropping properly, and shaving properly.

Buy a good quality vintage thats shave ready (cause they're cheaper and better IMO) Get a brand name strop, and really concentrate on learning to strop properly. Nice and slow is key at the beginning.

Welcome. Everything mentioned above is spot on. I recommend two things (as a Newbie myself...started last June)

1. Listen to the advice above. These guys know what they're talking about!
2. Find someone in your area that can mentor you. I'd bet if you put your location in your avatar you'll get a PM in about 24 hrs. This is a GREAT bunch here always willing to pass their experience on.

The only other thing I'll add is: once you get set up and start shaving angle, angle, angle, and shave the lather!

Welcome! For my first straight style razor, I bought a Parker shavette for $20. It's ok, but not really enjoyable and just collects dust. I followed that with a Feather AC which is also a disposable blade and super sharp. I really like the Feather, and it cost me right around $70 plus blades (I already had the rest of my gear thanks to DE shaving)--I use the Feather regularly and can get excellent results with it. Finally, a friend of mine who owns a knife shop took a Thiers Issard on trade one day--it's a beautiful razor with rams horn scales; it retails new for $300 and he sold it to me for $100. I bought a cheap strop and cut it a few times while learning, but not so much that it isn't usable. I've sent it out for honing twice and paid $20 each time.

Learning the skill of straight shaving takes some time and patience, and I'm still not at a point where I get consistent results. However, it's really enjoyable and brings a smile to my face--even those days when I use a DE razor for a cleanup pass.

After all of that, I'd recommend you save up a little longer to get gear good enough that you'll have a good learning experience. A vintage from Whipped Dog plus a poor man's strop kit can be had for about $70. You can get an inexpensive boar brush or synthetic for $20 or less, and a good cream or soap for $15 or so. Oh, and another $5 for a styptic pencil is recommended. That all adds up closer to $100, but, IMO, you will have a better learning experience. Good luck!



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Try to keep in mind that you're considering putting one of the sharpest things known to mankind to your face to scrape off hair. It would be in your best interest to obtain quality shave gear. You can skimp on most shave supplies and be fine. But the last place you want to be cheap is the razor. I would say at least expect to pay $50 for a honed vintage from whipped dog or the classifieds here, or $100 on a Dovo from SRD that's honed to be truly shave ready.

If you start with a good sharp razor and an Illinois strop you'll probably stick with the hobby. If you start with cheap junk, you'll probably be ready to throw it all in the dust bin in a month or 2 and forever be confused how anyone can stand to shave like this.