Thread: I don't know anything about ANYTHING...many questions need answers please help!

Originally Posted by BeBerlin

Haha wow you guys are hilarious. I really hope I end up buying those things and start straight shaving when I get back to Toronto because I can just tell I'm gonna have a lot of fun on this site. I wasn't raised in North America, so I'm assuming there's a cultural or Westerner bias involved with this whole "acquisition disorder" concept, I find it thoroughly amusing. Thanks a lot for clarifying on the simplicity of this whole endeavour guys, it was very reassuring.

Originally Posted by JFD

I'm assuming there's a cultural or Westerner bias involved with this whole "acquisition disorder" concept,

Nah, it is a global phenomenon among straight razor shavers. Nobody is safe. You've been forewarned.

Even without AD, I would think that after you shave for a few months and are more experienced you may want to consider buying 1 or perhaps 2 more razors. It's just a practical matter.

If you have 2 razors honed shave-ready and use just one for a month, then start using the other on an every-other-day basis, then the first one will finally need to be honed about a month sooner than the second. Even if you have your own hones, you don't want to get halfway through a shave one morning and discover that your only razor is finally too dull to shave well with. And of course, if you chip or ding the edge, you may have to send it off for a repair and re-honing.

The third razor should be for travel (presuming you do that) and kept pretty sharp and unused except when you suddenly have to pack and go. It should be a plain, very economical razor, which will ease the pain somewhat if it's stolen from your checked luggage. (Realize that TSA will gladly confiscate it if you try to carry it on the plane.)

On the matter of cheap or not, I was shaving my first 2 or 3 months on a kit that cost less than $50. If I wanted to continue, add a barber hone for touch ups, so +$10-$20ish, and maybe a second razor to alternate, so, +$15-$30ish. That would be all I needed to shave for life. Now on the other hand, I like COLLECTING razors. I don't think I have RAD, just I-Wish-I-Had-That-Disorder, as I'm too cheap to shell out much for a razor. My only two razors that cost more than $15 were because they were deals I couldn't pass up ($200 razor going for $35, and a real beauty at that!, $100-$200ish razor going for $80 that I really really wanted). I just spent some money on a barber hone and a few finishers, and am about to buy a basic workhorse set so I can sharpen my collection. But all that is definitely not necessary, and by no means a rush. I save for a couple weeks, then buy a razor or a hone.