Newbie looking for a first razor

After a bad experience with Mach 3 cartridges I have been considering switching to a straight razor. The last pack of cartridges I bought was absolute garbage - all the blades were set at different angles, felt like dragging a broken coffee mug across my face. I complained loudly and they sent me a new set but I'm still fed up with spending $20 a month for mediocre results and a lot of waste.

I've done some reading on this site and others and it sounds like a pre-honed used razor is the way to go if you're looking for a decent blade in the $50 dollar range while the rest of the necessities can be picked up from Classic Shaving or a similar site rather cheaply.

Can anyone provide any recommendations from the classifieds or ebay for a good, shave-ready razor? Again I'm aiming for around $50 but if I can't pick anything decent up at this price I'd be willing to go higher.

Thanks for the help in advance, I think I'll be spending a lot more time on the wiki/forums.

i can't give you any real recommendations as far as what brand, but this site covers those anyways. i will say that i was in your exact same situation about 6 months ago and i can't go back. i have had to shave with a Mach 3, or whatever is in the drawer that my girlfriend uses on her legs, and it sucked. i used a DE also and it was better but not nearly as good and the straight, and i am still learning. i also like the fact that i am not throwing razors away constantly.

also i looked into some kits that seemed like a pretty good deal in the vendors corner. they are done by Kenrup. if i didn't already have 2 razors i would have already ordered one of the kits.

You can contact Kenrup as the previous poster said, or check the classifieds here and ask a lot of questions of prospective sellers here, unlike ebay and elsewhere, you are pretty much garunteed a decent razor if you buy from one of the SRPmembers, everyone here has a reputation to protect and not a product line to promote, a very good site, with good people.

I would third the recommendation for Kenrup. He is a reliable member of the site. Depending on what he has in stock, you can get a combination of a razor, strop, and a brush for a very reasonable price.