Thread: Finally took the plunge

So after getting quite a few straight razor shaves from my barber over the last year or so I finally decided to get my own. I figured it'd be helpful for some of the other new guys if I posted what I finally ended up getting and the costs.

Fromm tazor strop 2 1/2" x 23" - $36
Tweezerman Men's Shaving Brush - $11
2 different types of Colonel Conk shaving soap and 1 styptic pencil - $10
Last but not least a J.A. Henckels #78 9/16 razor I picked up from Altima55 on ebay for $58 (I kept missing the ones I was interested in on the classifieds on this page. Plus a few others on here liked the razors they got from him.)

So my total cost with shipping came out to be about $140 give or take. Here are a few pictures of the razor I should get either late next week or early the following. Hopefully I don't cut myself up too badly My barber makes it look too easy.

welcome, and keep us posted

Welcome. Those boys of your yours will keep things clean !

That's a lovely looking razor. I'm going to look for one of those myself now!

From what I've read you need at least two straight razors when starting out and you alternate between them if shaving daily. Can someone clarify this for me? Maybe I'm just using that as an excuse to buy more razors ...

Welcome. You may need to take the time to check out the wiki before putting that razor to work. As a newbie I have learned many valuable lessons from there. Also rermember this is not a racer it's a razor slow and steady is the way to go. Str8 shaving is an art in itself, learn to enjoy the experience,I am. Do not get discouraged if you don't get the shave you expect as with anything worth while it will come in time. Good luck and again welcome.

Welcome. Beauty razor!

Welcome to SRP. You did well with the kit you got. Take a look around the site, maybe indeed starting with the Wiki links in my signature. And do keep us posted on your progress.

Good on you for taking the plunge. You sound like you have a great setup, and that is a BEAUTIFUL razor!

Originally Posted by dannywonderful

From what I've read you need at least two straight razors when starting out and you alternate between them if shaving daily. Can someone clarify this for me? Maybe I'm just using that as an excuse to buy more razors ...

You do not need two razors. There is an ongoing debate whether razors need a 24hr rest between shaves, but I do not subscribe to it.

That said, one good reason to have two razors as a beginner is to have both professionally honed (see e.g. the honing services offered in the Classifieds), and keep one as a benchmark. That way, you will know when the razor you actually use needs a touch-up.

Another good option is to keep trading razors. I actually bought too many, because I wanted to do everything at once. But I recently traded a bunch of 4/8ths with Sharp&Shiny for (amongst others) some wedges, and I glad I did it. Not only do I really like them, but I also found out that I do not like smaller blades at all (the sole exception so far being Engels, F W "Special" 9/16 - Straight Razor Place Wiki which I got from oldblades, and which I love dearly).

So my personal problem with RAD is that I ended up with about 10 razors I like looking at (and therefore don't really want to sell), but hardly ever use. Which is counter productive, because if we all did that, prices would get even higher than they already are (and they are, generally speaking, too high already).

That's my kinda razor!

nice setup you have, good luck and don't be afraid to ask questions.

RE having two razors, it makes sense if you damage one to have a spare. You wouldn't nessercerily have to alternate them though.