Thread: The high price of buying a straight razor kit ????

this or similar may be else where on here, but I see it as a common question on many sites & forums
New Guy / Gal wants to get into Straight shaving for whatever their reason and a common theme of questions follows like so:
looking for a cheap str8, cheap brush, cheap strop or cheap hone etc

Note: Thrifty & Cheap are no the same

Nothing CHEAP is usually good, but being expensive is not always better either

OK so you are off to a good start if you are here on SRP, now hopefully it is before making your purchases so ensure you so do your research & ask questions prior to buying anything

Now the initial outlay of getting set up with a good quality kit can be and is daunting to many, but if you take into account the following guidelines you will be better off and shouldn't go to wrong and the true value of your initial investment can be realized


[B]Straights are and will always be the cheaper option so don't skimp on your initial outlay & you will be set for at least a lifetime[B],

but you need some guidelines, so stick to these 10 easy steps:

1 Don't get sucked in by the hype and get RAD, SAD, BAD, HAD or SSAD etc - one of each essential item is enough to survive,
2 DON'T GET SUCKED IN BY THE HYPE - Seriously 1 Brush, 1 Razor & 1 Strop is all you need to survive ( unless you damage one of them )

3 buy 1 good quality Brush ( $50 - $200 budget )
4 buy only 1 good quality razor "shave ready" - preferably a heavier grind wedge to 1/2 hollow as it will last longer ( $100 - $300 budget)
5 buy 1 good quality strop with a natural second ( linen, cotton etc) ( $100-$200 budget)
6 paste the inside of the linen strop ( $20 budget )
7 never look at any stones, as they only make your bevels flat
8 learn to strop properly and strop 20 plus laps on clean linen & clean leather prior to every use, then strop 10 plus laps on clean linen & leather after every use,
9 strop on pasted linen, only as required to keep the edge keen as this will eat your steel over time,

10 if you find yourself questioning your options for any of steps 3 to 7, refer to steps 1 & 2 again.

I intentionally left the soaps & after shaves out of this as they are a consumable and a decent puck of soap ( $20 budget ) and a nice after shave ( $50 budget ) can each last up to a year, so don't look any further one soap & aftershave really is enough to survive, if in doubt refer to steps 1 & 2

Now the true cost of your investment can be calculated

divide that $700 high end kit outlay by the number of shaves it gives?

lets say you start shaving with a straight when you see the light at age 40 & use it until the age of 80 (40 years)

So you use the razor for every shave for the rest of your life as you want,
along the way you pass on your insight to all your Grandchildren, so they start shaving with a Str8
the whole kit which is now a family heirloom and gets passed to your youngest grandchild to use for their entire life (60 years as a number age 20 to 80)


so 100 years of shaving an average of even once per week, gives you 5200 shaves
that higher end $700 outlay is divided by 5200 shave that equals
less than 14 cents per shave once a week or less 5 cents if 3 shaves a week average are had

now then if you treated the investment with care & looked after it, in 100 years the value of the kit is possibly the same if not higher depending on luck, condition & current market (if there is one at all) and your investment could even be sold off to the highest bidder, getting your initially cost back so technically your whole kit didn't cost anything at all in the long run & there was a century of shaves received from it

So if you can follow these simple steps & not get seduced by the lure of shiny blades with rare scales or softer tipped brushes with fancy handles or an inclination to join the national geological society to help you look for smoother and smoother rocks or the requirement to use a different scented soap or aftershave every day - let the rest of us know how you did it

so best of luck and remember this is JMHO & YMMV


I have managed to stick fairly close ( I use this term rather loosely ) to these steps still after 4 years nearly with:
1 initial cheaper sacrificial strop & 1 high end strop for the long run
1 best badger brush to start & then 2 vintage brushes I re-knotted with Silver tips
a couple of barber hones to start found these futile then moved to a decent set of a 400/1k Diamond plate, 3 quality synthetic hones 1K, 4/8k, 12k with 3 natural stones mid to finishers ( I don't like rounded or frowning bevels )
the Str8s went a bit pair shaped with over 100 in the kit but now thinning the herd back down the keepers
and enough soaps, creams & aftershaves to last 5 years, oh well my young fella helps deplete these is my excuse

Straight razors in fine condition can be found here in B/S/T and on eBay for around $50 (+/- $10) if you are patient. For newbies, members will often offer a free honing to get someone started on the right foot as well. I really don't care to see beginners dropping nearly the same amount of money for "sight unseen" razors; it's not the best route for an initial razor purchase, IMHO.

No one has to spend $100-300 on a razor before they know that they will truly enjoy this sport.

I agree Speedster the $100-$300 is a high end or new razor more to show the point it does not have to be anywhere near the higher price
but just don't look at it as a short term cost
JMHO

I would say the entire budget could he tweaked downward. SRD has very good strops for half that cost. Even with a Dovo brand new from SRD, brush, bowl, and strop all in you'd likely be under $250. Good puck of soap and some aftershave at 20 bucks each, you're ready to hit the ground running for just shy of 300 bucks.

Throw in a Naniwa 12k or Norton 4/8 when the time comes to learn the final component and you'll never need to send a razor out for honing again. Even with pastes at some point you'll need a proper refresh. Just staves it off for a good long while.

If I made one mistake starting out, it was spending too much time on Amazon and Ebay, not enough time looking at SRD or the classifieds here.

I just got a set from SRD for 138. That's including upgrading from a 2 in to a 3 inch strop and the "free shipping". It is definitely reasonable when comparing how much a Mach 3 costs over a year.

I agree with most of what you wrote, but...

Originally Posted by Substance

4 buy only 1 good quality razor "shave ready" - preferably a heavier grind wedge to 1/2 hollow as it will last longer ( $100 - $300 budget)

A full hollow can last well over a hundred years too. Honing up into the thicker part of a wedge or half hollow just leads to more problems, but of course it always can be re-ground.

Originally Posted by Substance

7 never look at any stones, as they only make your bevels flat

I like flat bevels.

Originally Posted by Substance

a couple of barber hones to start found these futile

I've used them for 15 years on the same razors and they still work just fine.

Originally Posted by Substance

a couple of barber hones to start found these futile then moved to a decent set of a 400/1k Diamond plate, 3 quality synthetic hones 1K, 4/8k, 12k with 3 natural stones mid to finishers ( I don't like rounded or frowning bevels )

This seems to contradict the above when you said "never look at any stones, as they only make your bevels flat." I don't know what a frowning bevel is but I don't like rounded bevels either. That's why I touch up my razors on hones.

You'll only really need a good quality shave ready razor and strop to start with. 100 USD will do for that. Decent barber hones can be had for 30 USD if you want to hone your own.
Any supermarket brush and any shaving soap or cream will get the job done. For many years I have used Palmolive shaving cream and an Omega boar brush. I never used a bowl or scuttle. Just a sink with a plug.
Any after shave cream or balm will do as well.
I started off with a 5/8 Heljestrand (easy to hone) and loom type strop. And an Arkansas surgical. I wouldn't recommend an Arkansas as they are slow.
Everything more expensive than can be classified as luxury, not necessity.

I agree with your comments Utopian
A full hollow May last just as long as a heavy grind

The barber hones work but the lap count I found when using them especially on my early straights mostly heavy grings (not full hollows), is what loses the appeal for them, let alone to try doing repairs with them.

I say Don't look at the hones because it can be another whole potential money bucket if you are after cheap
But I also too do like flat bevels on all my str8s

By frowning bevel I just mean a frowning edge from the pasted strops worn wear

To clarify
The purpose of the original post was not a budget setter because there is a multitude of lower cost options to suit any budget,
but it was more just to highlight that even if you go to the higher end of a kit, it is still a cheaper more thrifty option and you are going to be way ahead in the long run if you stick with it, compared with the disposable options.

My only issue with the OP's position is that in my observation most beginners really need to experience different grinds to determine their preference (size and weight are other considerations as well). I feel the same way about brushes; a new user should have an opportunity expose themselves to badger, boar and synthetic to determine if a preference exists. One kit for life, no matter the cost, is to me selling wet shaving short. I understand wanting to caution against RAD, SAD, etc., but that's like telling a child he can only have one M&M. Most children will disobey just as every newbie I've worked with very quickly develops the "disease" and fully submerses themselves in the "hobby". My best advise is moderation in all things including wet shaving. Unfortunately I can't seem to follow my own advise.

Learned this the hard way. I got a clearance special on a shaving kit from Colonel Conk. The soap was mediocre. The brush is constantly shedding and last light dropped a huge chunk of hair. But hey, at least I still have the brush stand (which I had to modify in order for it to hold the brush).