Thread: General Newbie Questions

Tweezerman is the cheapest badger no doubt, but you could go with the VDH brush/bowl/soap kit for $10 bucks too.

Thanks to all who posted responses and sage words of wisdom. After further online research, I made my initial purchase yesterday on Straight Razor Designs (after comparing prices with other online merchants):

Dovo Black Micarta Inox 5/8" Straight Razor Set; for $349.98 it includes:
- 3" black latigo leather strop
- Simpson Beaufort B4 Pure Badger Shaving Brush
- Black onyx marble covered soap dish
- Sandalwood soap
- World of Straight Razor DVD
Pinaud-Clubman Styptic Pencil (1 oz.) for $2.49
Camellia Oil (8 oz) for $13.49
For a total of $365.95 (shipping free)

From eBay I purchased Truefitt & Hill luxury shaving soap in a wooden bowl for $29.99.

I figured this was the best compromise between cost and nice to have and your advice and info in the wiki saved me from a few potential mistakes on eBay. I'm watching other potentials on eBay and being very selective, but this way I got a great starter razor and the initial setup which should last me a while and can go from there. This was a little more than I'd intended to jump off with, but i figure it's worth it to get a good running start with high quality gear.

Thanks again to all who replied, and fair lathering and following strokes.

--Mike F. (EdgeWorks)

Making me drool here!
I think you're going to really love that inox blade. I got my first SS blade (a Dovo Renaissance 6/8) just a month ago and it's a marvelous shaver, even though some of the 25 or so carbon steel ones I have are very fine blades.

Congrats on all your gear! Yeah, I think we all spent a little more than what we originally intended to starting out, but I'm sure you'll think it's worth it.

Good luck, keep us posted

Yeah... thats not just a great starter kit. I bet that will serve you well for a long time, even after you buy more blades...