Trying to do this on the cheap?
I was thinking how much stuff I bought over the last three weeks, I thought this might be interesting for people trying to get into straight razor shaving on the cheap. This is everything I have bought in 3 weeks, there is everything I need there, and extras as well.
http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n...0042009185.jpg
The strop was an ebay job, cost about £11 delivered. One side is pretty beat up, but the other is fine. Seems to do the job, keeping my razor keen anyway.
The two black pots are the products I had been using for the first couple of weeks, before I had a brush. The top one is a latherless shave cream, full of oils and totally natural, hand made in fact. I will be replacing it when it's finished. The bottom on is a aftershave balm, also very good. 100% natural etc. Together they were about £15.
The brush was from boots it's a 'men-u' effort, and seems to do the job. No doubt it's not the best, but it was cheap and came with the small tube of cream, which I won't rush to replace as it seems a bit - I dunno - modern. The brush is synthetic, so even if/when I get a badger brush, it will still be useful to travel with. £9
The pre-shave oil and the nivea balm were bought on the off chance because they had a 3 for 2 offer on when I got the brush, I quite like the nivea balm and the pre-shave oil is nice as well, though I'm not sure it's strictly nessercery. They cost me about £4 (3 for 2, the oil was free)
The little pot I had lying around, so that was a freebie, I think it's quite good for lather. Maybe a little shallow.
The shavette came with the blades, speaks for it's self really, served me very well, I think it's as good a way as any to get into the whole gig. Will keep it as a travel razor, and for those odd occasions I'm too short on time to strop. £11
The other razor is a german number, bought shave ready off a member here. It's fantastic, I don't see my self getting rid of it. £24
So there you go, the whole kit and cabodle for £74 ($108). My initial outlay, which had me shaving happily for nearly 3 weeks, was £26 ($40). If you're worried about cost, as I was, then buying things over a slightly extended period, and not worrying too much about aesthetics means you can get quite a lot of bang for your buck. Hope this is useful for someone.