Thread: General Newbie Questions

I'm a newb, much like yourself (just had my first straight shave two days ago) but what I did to find a starter razor(s) was to go to the classifieds here, find a cheap one I liked the look of, and get it. I asked the seller to give them a quick hone for me so I could forget about honing and focus on the basic mechanics of it for the first few shaves. I read up a little on the forums before doing it, enough to learn that a hollow grind is best to learn with, as you have better feedback from it (in terms of sound - you can hear better when it's cutting, compared to the silence of a wedge). Point style is a matter of opinion, I have two round points, two square points, and a barber's notch square point, simply because I liked the look of those. Some shavers prefer a point style, and TBH there's various thing to be said for each type, but for me it all boils down to personal taste.

Regarding travel, if you're travelling, you can do one of three things.
1. You can take a cheap disposable razor (ew) in your checked luggage.
2. You can take a shavette in your carry-on and check the blades - they're not that hard to find.
3. You can take a straight in your checked luggage. I'd recommend if you pick this option that you make said straight a cheap one that shaves well (again, check out the classifieds here) that you can afford to lose and aren't too attached to.

I second the styptic, and if you're after a cheap strop and brush, I'd recommend you buy the Tweezerman brush from Amazon.com, and the Fromm strop from the same place (made by the Illinois Strop Co - a reputable company, and only thirty-odd bucks)

Hope this helps! Happy newb-ing with me!