Thread: Howdy!

I discovered Badger and Blade today, and through them, you guys! I thought I'd introduce myself. I hope you can forgive me for recycling my introductory spiel!

I'm Hugh, a student at a small college in Iowa, and for my whole life I shaved with an electric razor. It got the job done. To keep from being long winded, though, I'll just leave it at moving to a manual, loving it, hating the shaving cream, then stumbling into an Art of Shaving store near my house while home this summer.


I was absolutely hooked.


I love the experience that I now get every time I shave. Slowing down for 10-15 minutes in some hot steam is unspeakably delightful. On top of that, I'm also captivated by the dexterity, design, and style of straight razors. (Being a student at a liberal arts college means that reducing my disposable blade waste is also of interest.) With all of that in mind, I'm eager to continue my education and move on to a straight razor.


I feel like I'm perfectly positioned to have the time to learn how to shave with a straight razor now, as I don't shave every day and have spare time to dedicate to my education. I've been reading up for the past couple of weeks and while I'm definitely cowed at the buy-in I'm looking at, my face (and overall life experience) yearns for me to make the leap.


My realization on reading the materials on B&B and SRP was that shaving was no different from anything else and that I could actually do more harm than good going for a dirt-cheap initial setup. So here are my questions/pleas for direction:

1. I will always choose a high-carbon steel knife over a stainless steel, but I'm thinking that I might be better off with a cheap Dovo over a Thiers Issard, given that y'all say that a cheap of the former is superior to a cheap of the latter. And while I'm a careful person, and well prepared to look after my purchases, I know first-hand the kind of care a carbon steel implement requires. Anything to make my first straight more forgiving seems like a good idea to me.
2. Where am I best positioned to buy a shave-ready blade online? I don't have any local resources. (Within reasonable driving distance.) ((Small-town Iowa can really be a drag at times.))
3. What kind of strop/paste/stones should I be looking at picking up?
4. Will my Art of Shaving kit and brush work well with whatever blade I get? I've had fabulous results with my skin and these products, but I don't know if there is a difference for moving from a safety to a straight.

Thanks in advance for all of your help! I'm looking forward to a lifetime of damn good shaves!

After looking into your BST section, I found this razor. This is perhaps more than I need to spend, but it sure is a fine looking instrument!

Welcome Shibsky. You've come to the right place for information, experience and opinions.

I'll leave it to our local experts to answer a couple of your other questions. I just wanted to chime in and say that the 5/8 Dovo Tortoise was my first razor, and I think I'm in good company. It's very attractive, very affordable, in comparison to other new razors, easy to hone, and an excellent design for any experience level.

Keep us posted on your progress and acquisitions.

Welcome Hugh,

Check the stickies esp. in this section as they will likely answer a lot of your questions. The Dovo Special is one of the better Dovo razors (I personally didn't care for their cheaper models).

Originally Posted by Shibsky

1. I will always choose a high-carbon steel knife over a stainless steel, but I'm thinking that I might be better off with a cheap Dovo over a Thiers Issard, given that y'all say that a cheap of the former is superior to a cheap of the latter. And while I'm a careful person, and well prepared to look after my purchases, I know first-hand the kind of care a carbon steel implement requires. Anything to make my first straight more forgiving seems like a good idea to me.
2. Where am I best positioned to buy a shave-ready blade online? I don't have any local resources. (Within reasonable driving distance.) ((Small-town Iowa can really be a drag at times.))
3. What kind of strop/paste/stones should I be looking at picking up?
4. Will my Art of Shaving kit and brush work well with whatever blade I get? I've had fabulous results with my skin and these products, but I don't know if there is a difference for moving from a safety to a straight.

1.) Stainless is easier for maintenance, it has different feel (which doesn't matter when you start as you can't tell anyways). Both Dovo and Thiers-Issard can be very nice, but TI start more expensive than the Dovos do.
2.) If you want a brand new razor and a Dovo, I'd say straightrazordesigns. Otherwise in the Classifieds you can find a lot more variety and the prices are lot cheaper than what such quality of razors would cost new.
3.) You need strop right away, stones can wait. Many possible answers, Tony Miller's are the standard recommendation here, but certainly not the only one - most any strop will do the job just fine.
4.) Yes, no difference between preparation for straight and safety razors - the sorfter your beard the better.

That Dovo is a great buy! Get a strop and you'll be set, if the razor is shave ready you wont have to worry about stones for about 4-6 months and all you'll need is a swaty barber hone to keep its edge(20-30$). Trying to keep it simple and effective for you , the layout isnt that much to get started, its what happens later(acquisutions and restoring) that will suck the wallet dry!

Welcome aboard the straight train Hugh... glad to share the ride with you!!!!
Gugi pretty much summed it up for ya there already....

Welcome to SRP!!!
Glad you have joined us.
Gugi had some great recommendations.
The Dovo razor you have selected is a great razor. However, if you are looking to save some money and get into straight shaving with a quality razor, I would recommend picking a a razor from the classified section or one of the razors that Kenrup carries. He has both Double Arrows and Wapi's. Between the two, I would go for a Wapi.

I saw a really nice Griffon Carbo Magnetic and Krucius Bros. in the Classifieds. Both are excellent shavers.

Lynn