Ok guys, thanks for the advice so far! I went to my local Antique store yesterday, and picked up an old single edge safety razor. Its an Ever-Ready. They had a SR for a resonable price but i think i'll get one from the classifieds. So for my safety razor, i got some blades from walmart. A few questions though. How do i get the razor shave ready? And will the walmart blades work as well as really old blades made by gillette for the razor? Do i need to clean anything before use? As far as a brush goes I found a set at walmart with soap, a bowl, and a boar hair brush. will this work ok to start me out? And finally what would be a cheap and easy way of getting a strope? Thanks!