razor as a gift?

*salutes*

hello all. very new to the world of straight razors. however, they're very pretty, and i'd love to learn. [especially after perusing the ladies forum. so tired of disposables!]

my S.O. is quite keen on learning to use a one [both of his grandfathers used them, and its how his dad learned to shave]. i'd like to get him started, but don't know if its a great plan.

not knowing much [anything at all] is it a good idea for me to gift him with his first razor? is a man's first straight razor a more personal purchase? :shrug:

I think through the advice of the members here at SRP, that you would be able to provide him with an amazing start -- and i don't think the first purchase is "personal". Most of us end up with so many razors we don't remember what our first purchase was.

That said -- you would also have to be prepared to plunk down enough money to get him everything he needs to kick the cartridge habit.. Strop, Honing Service, Razor, Brush, and at least a puck of soap and some aftershave/balm.

Plus, if he has an addictive personality or really enjoys his hobbies, you may be opening a can of worms, so, that should factor in to your decision.

welcome first off,

When I started I didnt know jack about razors, so they were all the same, my sensibility for the different types of razors only came with more practise and knowledge. So effectively I would argue that when learning your likely not going to go wrong. Although I am sure others will say certain preferences apply to certain beard types.

The most important thing though, IMO is to get it pre-honed. this is vital

cheers,
Alan

I think it's a great idea, but also agree that if you want him to get the most out of it, you might want to consider getting all of the accompaniments that go along (as mentioned, at least the razor, strop, soap, brush). Unfortunately, this significantly ups the price. If you want, I'm sure I speak for everyone when I say that we would all be happy to make suggestions for each item to fit any (reasonable) budget, and you can buy each item individually and put together a kit yourself. Or perhaps you might want to consider a premade kit from one of the vendors, such as this one here Vintage*Blades*LLC*::..., which comes with everything, ready to go. If you can let us know what you were thinking for a budget, we can try to help you maximize the gift!

It would be an amazingly thoughtful gift. And the fact you're doing a little research means it will actually be a useful gift as well. He's a lucky guy!

I can appreciate the thought however unless you are sure this is something he really wants to do and/or he would enjoy I would probably discuss it with him first.

Most guys in the world do not use a straight and never would.

thanks for all the feedback!

and the link to vintage blades. i hadn't had a chance to peek there yet.

and if i did want to fit him with the whole kit, what all would i need to get?

To get started you probably want, at a minimum, a properly honed razor, a good strop,a badger brush (made w/badger hair, not a brush for badgers) ;), shaving cream or soap and a styptic pencil. You can use a regular mug, small dish or the palm of your hand in lieu of a scuttle or specialized shaving bowl.

Of course, there is a mind boggling array of other products like aftershaves, balms, pre-shave oils etc that may come later. You might even encounter the dreaded "AD's" or acquisition disorders that tend to dog most of us. These take shape as RAD (razor acquisition disorder) SCAD (same thing for shave creams) or even HAD(hones used to sharpen the razors).

I agree,

At the very minimum you want razor and a strop, but a soap and brush would be very helpful. Since he is interested to doing so I'd say you can't go wrong by getting him the equipment. He wouldn't know more than you do anything about grinds etc, and you probably know his taste well enough to pick something he would like.
You can always ask us when you narrow down the options a bit.

I would have loved to have a girlfriend buy me my first razor, I did just recieve a nice one as a gift, when I first started shaving with a straight razor I was using a disposable blade straight razor. Then I bought a couple of razors off ebay. These razors were very cheap and i could never get either of them to give me a good shave. A quality razor is a must, good luck.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by OHooligan82

when I first started shaving with a straight razor I was using a disposable blade straight razor. Then I bought a couple of razors off ebay. These razors were very cheap and i could never get either of them to give me a good shave. A quality razor is a must, good luck.

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Quality razor is indeed important, but the ebay price has nothing to do with the performance. Most of my best razors have come from ebay in price ranges from $10 to $200. I'd take any of them before any current production Dovo.

Here's a link to some gift sets you may be interested in as a beginning: Gift Sets & Gift Ideas

If you are on a budget, like I always am, I would suggest the following:


A Shave-Ready razor from the SRP Classifieds or one of the vendors that advertise here. That would run $40 - $150 depending on your tastes (but more expensive doesnt necessarily mean better shave!)

A sample pack of soaps from Colleen: Customer Comments, criticism, encouragement cost: $16.00

A "Tweezerman" Badger brush, available at Amazon for around $15.00. There is no reason to invest too much into something you're not sure he'll take to..and this is a pretty darn good brush for the money.

Some Nivea Aftershave Balm, available at most department stores for around $5.00. A lot of guys use this stuff, even after having sampled more expensive stuff.

As for the strop, Maybe someone else can recommend a good cheap strop for her? I wouldn't know.. i splurged on the SRD 3" red latigo.. lol :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gugi

Quality razor is indeed important, but the ebay price has nothing to do with the performance. Most of my best razors have come from ebay in price ranges from $10 to $200. I'd take any of them before any current production Dovo.

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Just to clarify for the op, yes, there are plenty of ebay razors that CAN be very good, but they usually need to be cleaned up and most importantly professionally honed. As others have said, this is the most important part for any razor you end up buying. You will need to either buy it pre-honed from one of the vendors, buy a razor from the classifieds here that is marked "shave ready," or send a razor you've acquired, that is not yet shave ready to a respected forum member here to have it professionally honed. (Check the member services section of the classifieds to find a honemeister).

So, as far as what you need, again, you need a razor and strop, at least. He could probably use some canned shaving cream or gel if a good brush and soap/cream aren't in the budget, but I wouldn't recommend it. At the very least, I would stop buy your local Whole Foods, or similar, and check out some shaving cream like "Kiss my Face." Though I haven't personally tried it, I've heard it's a very good cream that you can apply without a brush. It would run you under/around $10, I believe.

Here is a sample idea of a starter kit with everything he would need:

-The razor. Just about any "shave ready" razor you could find in the classifieds on this website that is within your price range. Alternatively, you could order a razor that is prehoned from one of our fine vendors.

-The strop. A strop such as this one RupRazor - The Filly is a good value, IMO, and a good starter strop. There are plenty of other options that go up in price accordingly, up to around $100 for a very very nice strop. But he doesn't need that right away.

-The brush. If you can locate a Crabtree and Evelyn best badger brush, that would be a great starter brush, but they have been discontinued and are not available at most stores. You can call around or try hard to find one online, but if not, you might look at the Kent BK4, or a Rooney style 3, size 1 (small) in pure badger, or, if you can afford it, the best option IMO would be the Rooney 3/1 in super (this option is pretty expensive, though, so you might want to be darn sure he really wants to stick with it if you are going to buy this one!). For a much cheaper option, that isn't generally as highly recommended, but there are definitely some big fans of them, you could grab a boar hair brush, such as an omega boar brush. They are not quite as luxurious, generally speaking, but reportedly do just as good of a job creating lather, and some people actually prefer them! The cost would be on the order of $15-20.

-The soap/cream. A good quality soap or cream. I'm partial to soaps myself, and one of the soaps that I personally really like is mama bear shave soaps (Mama Bears Soaps , Mama Bears Shaving Soaps and Bath Products for the Discerning Gentleman and Lady) - you might try ordering a scent or two that sound interesting (they are all very good!). Also, for a bit cheaper option, many of the vendors carry col conk soap, which is actually pretty good for a low price. And really, pretty much any of the soaps (or creams!!) the advertised vendors carry would do him well. Another very very cheap option would be the VDH shave soap you can find at walmart. It's not fancy, but it's definitely good enough to get the job done, and it's only like $1.50. Keep in mind that these shave soaps and creams do require a brush, though (well, except kiss my face, but even that one is best used with a brush).

Make sure that after you gift him, you tell him about this site so we (well, everyone else, lol) can teach him the ways!

Those four items would be a great start for your S.O., IMO of course :) Pick and choose according to budget. Really, with any of the items I've mentioned, I think he would be very happy. But there are sooo many options out there, feel free to search around and ask questions about whatever you find! Also, if you are going to start buying some of the higher end, higher priced items I've listed, you really might want to find out if he's going to stick with it or not, because as someone pointed out, it's not for everyone.

Good luck!

If he has shown no real interest or only talks in passing about how 'bad ass' cutthroat blades are, do him a favour and find another gift. My FIL expressed mild interest so I hooked him up for Father's Day. He ruined the edge on his first stropping ( I mean broke it off!) so I had to go and reset the bevel. Then he cut the tip of his index finger off before even getting to the shave. I have the gear back in my own possession now.

IF he has shown serious interest in straight razors, you will be the queen of his heart!

X

thank you to everyone for all the info!

i did let it slip about the present, and he's really excited. i told him since he's the one using it, he get to pick all the acoutrements. good thing i have until june. it may take that long to decide!

thanks again, all! :y

Stay tuned to the classifieds here. There are great deals on shave ready razors, but they don't last long. If he sees one he likes, buy it immediately.

X

Well since he gets to choose it I would agree that the classifieds is a pretty good option. Depending on his taste there are some great vintage razors that can be had for about the same price as a brand new Dovo, sometimes even cheaper.
I assume that since it's a gift it would likely have to be in excellent condition cosmetically as well. If you had to make the choice yourself I'd have probably gone with a new one, although personally I prefer vintage razors.