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I went with good razors of the same thinking that I could ruin one training. But I never managed to ruin the first one so now I'm stranded with an extra of those dovo buffalo horn 1 pin razors. I was going to trade it with another person here but I havent heard from him in a long time. If he doesn't pop up I'll probably give it to one of my brothers as a gift. So if you're still out there mate give a shout =).
Anyway what I wanted to say was that honing is not quite as hard as I immagined it would be, might be due to the stories I have read about trials and tribulations.
And the ease with which it went might also in turn be due to all the reading.
So.. err read on and try! I sure as heck did not regret honing myself. So keeping in mind that trying to have at least 1 professionally honed as a benchmark, if you plan to stay with straights you might as well learn sooner rather than later. I would buy something you will want to keep.
But chromium oxide stropping is easier than honing for all beginners I think. And it really helps when the honing skill is a bit lacking in the end.
I probably messed that up due to frequent editing and working in the meantime.
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Although a newbie to straight razors I have been shaving for more years than I care to think about. I use a Vulfix #2235 (a "super" badger) brush I purchased at Classic Shaving. It took me a bit to figure out about brushes before purchasing. The very best (if you can tell the difference, with a higher price tag) is silver tip badger. Next would be super badger (basically a bleached tip good badger hair), then pure badger. There are also boars hair and synthetics. The boars hair is a stiffer bristle, which didn't appeal to me. I have absolutely no knowledge about synthetics so someone else can provide info on those. Basically you are looking for a brush that will retain water to lather up the soap (or cream) and get a nice amount of it transferred to your face. I like the feeling of the hot soap/brush on my face as it is applied. NO MORE AEROSOLS for me!! Basically you are going to have to decide what will do the best job you are looking for within the price range you want. If you want the "very best" then go with a silver tip badger, but expect to spend well over $100 (US) for the brush itself. For super badgers Classic Shaving has a really good selection (this is not a commercial plug for them, just my experience when I was looking for a good brush).
I use their regular mug soap cakes and am very pleased so far. There are several scents to choose from. I also use Taylor of Old Bond Street aftershave (Mr. Taylor's scent).
Hope this helps...
Dan
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MST water stone+straight razor SFK Wapienica 5/8 +strop - eBay (item 130245323885 end time Aug-22-08 07:26:24 PDT)
This ebay seller is a reputable guy, I've purchased from him as have many other members here.
The stone (Muller Thuringian) and razor (Wapienica) that he's selling are known to be good items, the strop ought to be as well, do a search of the forums to see what people say about the razor and stone.
A nice package if you want to go the all in one route.
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Alright guys I bought two razors for the classifieds
5/8's Spike Point German Keen Kutter "Shave Ready" PRICE REDUCED - Straight Razor Place Classifieds
The one I plan to use for shaving.
A.W.Wdsworth & Sons 5/8 - Straight Razor Place Classifieds
Which I'm going to use for figuring out honing.
I've been reading up on honing. Around the forums and the scanned barbers school books.
Anyways I'm going to purchase the rest of my stuff right now.
Also thanks again guys for the help and suggestions; I'll be back at first shave; i'll probably end up looking like Heath Ledger (joker) in Batman though.
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very good, looking forward to your posts on shaving and honing.
