New/wanting to get started

Well, I'm in college 19 not too much money to spend maybe 100-150 dollars on a straight razor and any other supplies. I am completely new, I stopped by an antique shop in Ames, IA and they had some older blades but looked in decent condition from what i saw. I didn't want to make a move because even though they cost $18 dollars i would like something that i can truly cherish for a long time. Does any one have a suggestion on if ebay, classifieds, websites, or antique shops are the better choice? Any other advice would be fantastic!!! thank you!


CALIFORNIA BORN :borg:

Try RupRazor - Straight Razors

You can get an entry level razor and strop for $60 and that should set you up for a month or two until you can get some additional supplies.

You can go two ways for an entry level brush...CVS has a boar brush for $8 or you can get a badger for about $35. Soaps will be about $10.

hope you don't catch the bug

So, you want something you would 'cherish', but what is that is important to you? Brand new razor, that's only been honed - get one of the Dovos at straightrazordesigns. A great vintage shaver - get something in the classifieds. The cheapest new razor that can be made to shave - get the GoldDollar from ruprazors....
You get the idea, the best way is to figure out your priorities and that will narrow down your choices. Your budget can fit any of these.

Another possibility. You can get an American vintage razor, shave ready and a strop for $55.00. I don't see this mentioned much here, but it seems like a good deal for someone starting out.

The Perfect Edge

Yeah, I did state " cherish" but also thinking about it a newb razor would be a good start to get some practice in. Might also be convincing some buddies to make the switch with me.

So I took a trip to an antique shop to look at two straight razors they had and two were in decent conditions with no chips and not much rust. Here are the stats:

#1) $18
Diamond Steel

Box Said:
Our Very Best
Hibbard, Spencer, Bartlett & Co.

Notes: Super sharp flicked off the hair on my arm when I did a quick test.

#2) $18
Has UNIVERSAL printed on the blade.
The shank says Landers Frary & Clark
warranted
New Britain *Conn*U.S.A looked like Conn...

On the box: The Original & Only True Pipe Razor
Manufactured Only By George WOSTENHOLM & Son Limited
Sheffield, England

NOtes, Somewhat sharp, will need honing. Didn't flick off hairs as easy as the other.

Pictures will be attached Later when I have time to post them. But if anyone has any info on these two blades please help me

Very nice. If you want to experiment with cleaning up a blade and/or making your own scales, I recommend getting a junker off of ebay. I paid under $10 for one on there (vintage, not a new piece of junk) and instead of being able to play with it, it actually turned out to be a decent razor. I am a college student too, so I had limited funds to get set up. I definitely recommend the deal on ruprazors.com, although its not the path I went, I kind of wish I had.

the Geo Wostenholm is a well known vintage brand.
if you buy that and send it out for honing by a hone master and a little bit of clean up, you might end with one great razor.
The VDH soap+brush+cup is cheapest to buy @ Walmart.

+1 for ruprazors.com ken is a great guy who is very helpful reasonable and skilled. i had the pleasure of meeting him and looking over his inventory. i send him things i pick up and he restores them for me. here is a link in the wiki for srp. there is a list of the good the bad and the ugly (not really but i couldnt pass it up) a lsit of good bad and definatley stay away from manufacturers. if you find a blade on the "good" list with minimal to no pitting and or other obvious damage.... maybe pick it up and have it restored. that is usually around $50 for restore.. polish hone and shipping. heres the link...
Frequently Asked Questions - Straight Razor Place Wiki

i am a fan of vintage myself. i love "singing" razors and full hollow! good luck and happy hunting!!!

So i've been mentioning the idea of starting up straight razor shaving and have gotten mixed responses from my Fraternity...i.e. "your crazy", "You know you can really cut up your face" and "hey maybe you can start giving people straight razor shaves and charging at the house". The funniest one is about straight razor shaving at our house, but the only question I have is about shaving a group of people. How many razors should I have? How Long should I shave until i'm proficient enough to shave others? what can i do to sterilize/clean my razors? Where can I get a set of razors later if i decide to start shaving groups of people? Parents might "help out" as a gift for christmas if i can make some money off it.

you need one razor, you can use barbicide, if you'll be barbering and making money you may need to get licensed and then you'll have to use a shavette type of razor.
how long to wait - depends on how brave your customers are. may be you should revisit this question once you can shave yourself blindfolded and get a great shave without nicks and irritation.
if you want to make money better get a real job.

Haha I got a job right now, not making a ton of money. It is something though, I'm only a college student but there happens to be two barbershops down the street and maybe I can see if they use straight razors and ill see if i can get licensed if i do try and go about that path

As a fellow frat boy I tell you what they'll make fun of you for a few weeks, then it starts becoming curiosity and/or awe.

Got an awesome fresh razor this thursday with the philly strop combo. For m
y first realshave with a sharp razor it was amazing. I am also glad I got the philly strop because for my first stropping experience I see how much I need to work on my stropping technique seeing that I knicked the strop a lil. Only knicked my face once! So excited, thank u Ken

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Balboa

Got an awesome fresh razor this thursday with the philly strop combo. For m
y first realshave with a sharp razor it was amazing. I am also glad I got the philly strop because for my first stropping experience I see how much I need to work on my stropping technique seeing that I knicked the strop a lil. Only knicked my face once! So excited, thank u Ken

---

Small nicks you can use sandpaper or a pumice stone to smooth out. I used a barber hone one time to take a few small nicks out of the strop edge as well. If you get a cut you can use rubber cement to bond the edges together. Glad your shave went well. :)