What is your advice

I have used a double edge for the past year and have managed to get the technique perfect. I managed to shave in the dark, during an eletrical outage at home with my double edges, and it came out excellent no blood no nothing. I think that the straight is the next challenge for me. I do not like the price tag on the whole set of hardware all at once $132 from a local shop. I have noticed that classic shaving sells a shavette with a disposable blade for the beginner. for $40 I get a stright to experiment with while I am learning the craft.

What is your advice about the shavette from Dovo as a starter? Would it be a better idea to go with the whole startup hardware and forget about the shavette? Is it a good idea or a bad idea?

JB!!!!!!!!

Those two are different beastes. I would go with a Dovo to start off with. You dont have to get hones and what not till later....but.....its a good investment....A one time sticker shock that will last you a lifetime

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Originally Posted by IsaacRN

JB!!!!!!!!

Those two are different beastes. I would go with a Dovo to start off with. You dont have to get hones and what not till later....but.....its a good investment....A one time sticker shock that will last you a lifetime

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I'm assuming that above you mean Dovo straight as opposed to the Dovo shavette about which he asking? Don't mean to nitpick, just wanted to clarify. :)

JB, I agree that you should skip the shavette and start with a real straight. You can get a great shave-ready razor from B/S/T here for around $40 and a beginner strop from Tony Miller for about the same price. So, you'll have everything you need (for a while, anyway) for less than $100.

And, if you decide you don't like it, I suspect you wouldn't have any problem recovering the start-up cost right here in B/S/T. But I seriously doubt you won't like it.

Yeah....i meant the straight rather than the shavette.

What he said.

If you buy in the BSt forum, you should be able to get a shaveready straight for ~40$, and a strop for less than that, new, on www.thewellshavedgentleman.com
from Tony Miller.

And the resale value would be good, so if you change your mind, you won't lose much money.

I have a shave ready Genco Old Dutch that
I'd be willing to sell you for $40. That's pretty
much what I paid for the blade and mahogany
scales, plus shipping. It's finished to a mirror finish.
Let me know before I post it on B/S/T. I can send
pictures too.

John

A Dovo shavette is not a straight razor, it is a disposable blade holder in the shape of a straight razor. They are completely different from a real straight.

Thanks all for you helpful advice. I have chosen to do business with a local shop that I have done business with before, sort of a comfort level. I am going with a black Dovo as Isaac recommends I do. Going to leave the strop and hone for a while until I shave once or twice with the straight. Again thanks all for your help.

You might want to make sure that the razor you buy is actually "shave ready" before you use it. Factory shave ready and actually shave ready are two different levels of sharpness. You will be able to get around having a hone for a while, but you will need to strop the razor before each shave. Good luck with it.

I was in your position a few months ago. I was strapped for cash and didnt even know this forum existed, so I bought a shavette. I cut myself regularly in the first few weeks, but got much closer shaves than a cartridge. I learned how to handle a straight safely, and figured out that I would probably like to use a real one.
So I got a real one, and it shaves sooooo much smoother ( Not really closer, but with much less irritation). The shavette was good for figuring out if I could actually live with a real straight but I think the process would of involved less bloodshed and time if I had of opted for a straight from the beginning. I still cut myself occasionally with the shavette, but have yet to cut myslelf on my new straight.
I didn't know this forum was here when I started, so I didn't know there were nice peeps who would sell shave ready razors for cheap, so I was pretty much stuck with the shavette for cost reasons. But, now that you have found this place, I would take the offer above, and get a tony miller starter strop, (I don't have one, but that seems to be the prescription for noobs like us).

Good luck. Connor

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Originally Posted by jbcohen

Thanks all for you helpful advice. I have chosen to do business with a local shop that I have done business with before, sort of a comfort level. I am going with a black Dovo as Isaac recommends I do. Going to leave the strop and hone for a while until I shave once or twice with the straight. Again thanks all for your help.

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Yep as it was said before me - the only thing that matters is that the edge is honed properly and relying on the factory honing is pretty much a gamble. Hopefully your local shop would know how to hone it for you, but that may cost you a tad more (seems like start up cost is an issue for you).
Skip the hones, but get a strop - you won't get a decent shave without one, unless your face skin is actually leather, in which case save your money and proceed to shaving with your favorite kitchen knife :w

I can run out and get a strop first thing before the first shave, that's not a problem. I was hoping to leave the strop until I got a shave or two under my belt.

Pick up a good vintage shave ready here on the forum. It is a great way to get a good blade 'ready to go'.

Martin

The only real reason to buy a shavette is if your a barber . I have to use one for work since the shop I work at does not allow us to use a regular straight . As for using it on myself I wouldn't know up until a few days ago I had only thought about using one on my face . I can try the shavette out tomorrow when I go to work and get back to everyone on how its like if there is an interest in that.

A shave-ready Genco would be tough to beat. I have one and mine shaves extremely well. It's one of my top 3 favorites.

You all have been very helpful to me. I have managed to add a strop to the order. I am going to pick up a book to show me how to use the hardware.

I have a 3 1/2 year old son who will eventually want my hardware and he is welcome to it as long as he allows dad to teach him how to use it. I intend to get him on a progression: fusion, mach 3, sensor, super speed, tech then finally winding up on the straight. I intend to start a family tradition here.

How similar are the skills needed to shave with a striaght to the skills needed to shave with a double edge?

The lathering-up skills and other pre-shave prep can be identical. Actually shaving with a straight is a fairly different skill set from the DE. You constantly control the angle with the straight. I enjoy the "straight process" more.

For me, I get more irritation and more nicks from a DE than a straight.