You are quite right to be cautious. Lots of crap out there billed as "shave ready", in particular, from sellers who do not even shave with a straight razor.
Yes, vintage is the least painful (financially speaking) way to get started, and a genuine actual shave ready vintage is the least frustrating way to get started. There is ONLY ONE WAY to get a shave ready razor, and that is to buy from a business or individual that is a member of the straight shaving community. There are known and trusted vendors out there, and this, and other, straight shaving forums have "BST" subforums, for "Buy, Sell, Trade". Members thinning out their collections, or those who make a hobby of restoring ebay rescues, often post their stuff for sale. The super good stuff gets snapped up immediately so you need to check it often. The thing is, a forum member has a reputation to protect, and you don't keep a good rep if you sell a razor and say it is shave ready, when it is not. So, if you see a member offering a razor listed as shave ready, it probably is.
What is shave ready? It is a state of readiness in all respects to deliver a decent shave, a shave that is as close and comfortable as your ability allows. A very sharp and smooth edge, with no major chips or dings or burrs. No cracks, no major pitting near the edge, or any at all right on it.
Many curious wannabe straight shavers think the obvious path to shaving excellence is buy razor, make it sharp, then shave and keep shaving until you learn. Unfortunately you simply cannot judge an edge when you do not yet have experience shaving in the manly manner. A lot of newbies shave their forearms and say, yeah, sharp, but that is pocketknife sharp, not razor sharp. Big difference. And trying to teach yourself to shave with a razor that you are trying at the same time to teach yourself to hone, is a perfect storm of frustration. You won't know what to blame, your shaving or your honing, so neither one will improve any time soon. You BEGIN with a shave ready razor, then learn to strop it and shave with it, along with learning to prep your face, and when you are comfortable with the process and getting good results, THEN you are ready to learn to hone your razor.
Most guys will recommend starting with TWO shave ready razors, actually. Shave with one. When it is dull, send it out TO A BONA FIDE COMMUNITY MEMBER, for honing, and shave with the other. Or get the tools you need to hone the dull one, and have a go, while you still have the other one sharp and ready to shave with.
You will need a strop. There is a recent thread on the subject. You will also need a puck of shave soap or tube of cream,NOT the stuff you squirt out of an aerosol can. And a brush. Best is badger, and Silvertip is the best common grade. There are other grades, like "pure" and "best" and "black". Black will be somewhat scratchy and I do not recommend. Boar is cheaper but also scratchy and doesn't hold product as well as badger, BUT after a month or two they do break in somewhat. A brush can cost a few bucks for cheap boar in a molded plastic handle, or $300 or more for a fancy pants old school quality brand made from absolute best materials by expert craftsmen. Obviously you want to start somewhere in between. I suggest a large to larger, 26mm to 30mm, silvertip brush in plain plastic handle from Larry at
www.whippeddog.com. Best bang for the buck unless you figure out which Chinese maker is making a decent brush THIS week. They come and go, crap shoot. Used to be Frank Shaving, then Virginia Sheng, now, who knows. Don't waste your money. Larry charges a few bucks more than the Chinese makers, but he won't ship a brush that obviously sucks, because... why? Member of the community, that's why. Reputation to protect. Really great value for the money. I have three of his big 30mm tall handle ones and I really like them. For a strop, you might ask Tony Miller at
https://heirloomrazorstrop.com/ if he has any entry level ones on hand. Not super cheap, but good solid workmanship and good solid components. Avoid the $10 special China or Pakistan strops. Some will recommend a belt but I can't. A belt is simply not made for stropping razors. Ditto newspaper. Either will work in an emergency, but simply not having bought your first strop yet, is not an emergency, just lack of planning.
Soap doesn't have to be expensive to work, just expensive to have a fancy odor that lingers all day. Cheapest I can recommend is Arko, a Turkish shave stick type soap. Doesn't smell so nice but the smell goes away almost immediately and it lathers pretty good. Better is Godrej Rich Lather, a cream that comes in a tube though they also have pucks. Get it at your local Indian shop if you live in a big city, or online. I used to get this in Dubai for like 75 cents US per tube, so I stocked up any time I was in the Persian Gulf area. Expect to pay several dollars in the US but that is still cheap, as proper soaps and creams go. Truly great stuff. Slightly upscale is Proraso, AKA C.O. Bigelow, as rebranded in the US. Cella has devoted fans. These are good solid middle shelf products. You can go upscale and easily pay $20 or $30 or more for a puck of soap, and you might like it enough to consider it a bargain, or you might not.
The reason I am pushing brush and soap is this... before you even get your first straight razor, you can be working on your prep, the biggest part of which is making a good lather with plenty of lubrication and cushion. Edge or Gillette Foamy or even classic Barbasol won't cut it. Learn prep, and learn to map your face and control angle and pressure, and even your current razor type will give you an improved shave. When you are ready to put naked steel to your face, you will already know a big chunk of it.
For your first shave with your first SHAVE READY razor, no need to strop, but every other shave thereafter will suck progressively worse if you don't strop first. Youtube is your friend. So is Tony Miller. An Illinois strop will do. Vintage can be okay but only if it is not stiff as a board and not cracked or wrinkled or all cut up. A truly great strop will cost well over $300, but don't go there because you will probably destroy it while learning. Tony will sell you a replacement body if you slice or nick yours, and the first time, you can just swap ends to put the damage over on the left hand side. Stropping does not "sharpen" in that its use is not honing, i.e. no metal is removed. Instead, the extremely fragile edge, which is easily deformed on the microscopic scale, is realigned or straightened, restoring much of its cutting ability and comfort. After a few weeks or months, the razor will need actual honing, but that's another time and another topic.
For now, check BST,
https://sharprazorpalace.com/razors-blades/. There are trusted vendors on Amazon and ebay but I don't have a list handy. You can always ask on this forum or others if a certain company is known for good products and service, same as fleabay sellers. Don't post links to active AUCTIONS, for obvious reasons, but Buy It Now offers are fine, AFAIK, as are seller names, or pics of a listed razor.
Good Luck, and Happy Shaves.
