Thread: What to buy and some simple questions

I have been shaving with a straight razor for a few months now, I started with a worcester straight and the filly strop, what razor you get, make sure its genuine straight (forged in solingen germany) and that its shave ready. The filly in my opinion would be the best strop to start with, its not expensive (only 20 dollars in the US) so when you nick it (which you probably will, god knows I have many times) your not destroying alot of money.

I have yet to get a nice set of hones although I do have a barbers hone a buddy sent me. Barber hones as I understand are just for touch ups, you cannot go buy a dull razor at an antique shop and make it shave ready with a barbers hone although you can use your barbers hone as a finisher, instead of spending 60 bucks on a 12k hone.

Water Stone Kit

This is what I'm looking at for when I have enough money to get a nice set of hones. It comes with everything you need, 220/1k hone combo, and a 4k/8k hone combo. Plus a lapping stone, as I recal you need to lap your stones before you use them for the first time, as they do not come to you prefectly flat. I also understand you will need to eventually, lap the lapping stone, which I believe you can do with a fine grit sandpaper.

I hope this helped!


-Zach

Hello, Pugglop,

Welcome to SRP, the domain of gentlemen shavers.

Although you will receive differing opinions from a large cast of straight razor experts here, the knowledge imparted will be backed by experience and a generous heart. That's what makes this address special. The Wicki, which I am sure you have consulted by now, also has a world of information.

For what it's worth, here are thoughts from a straight razor pilgrim:

You will need:
Razor — pre-sharpened by an expert.
Strop — quality, but inexpensive
Brush — quality, but inexpensive
Soap/cream — the best you can get for the money
Styptic pencil — a lifetime friend

If I were starting out, I would make it simple for myself and buy a starter kit from any one of the vendors advertising at SRP. They will sell you what you need and give you plenty of advice. If you have questions, they will be more than willing to answer them.

Of course, you can get a razor here, a brush there, chasing all over E-Bay and some other places of purchase. That's fine, too. There are many reputable dealers with good products. It is up to you.

Or make it simple for yourself at the start so that you can spend your time and energy on mastering the craft of straight razor shaving. By the way, I would wait on the hone, because there is plenty of time for that.

Good luck.

Regards,

Obie

I have re-read your original post, and fear that you were looking for more distilled information than provided. So... the following is what I would do if starting again and wanted new gear.

Between the two combo's you referenced I would get the Dovo. It is of good quality, from a great vendor, and will be honed to perfection. The strop is of better quality also, and comes with a fabric component that the other choice lacks.

Since you are only interested in maintaining your razor that will be purchased shave ready, I would get the hard balsa strop with chromium oxide here: Hard Balsa Strop with Chromium Oxide It will come with great instructions that, if followed, will keep you shaving for some time before needing to send the razor out or learning to hone if you choose.

Speaking of sending razors out to be honed, that is a good reason to have 2 razors. If funds allow, buy both sets you referenced, the balsa strop and you will be set for a long time indeed. No need for hones, and you can concentrate on learning the art of shaving with a straight.

Originally Posted by shooter1

Since you are only interested in maintaining your razor that will be purchased shave ready, I would get the hard balsa strop with chromium oxide here: Hard Balsa Strop with Chromium Oxide It will come with great instructions that, if followed, will keep you shaving for some time before needing to send the razor out or learning to hone if you choose.

Not a bad idea, keep in mind though - the hard balsa strop is for occasional maintenance in place of a touch-up hone. It does not take the place of regular pre-shave stropping.


As for razors and strop - my advice is to keep as cheap as you can for your first trip around the block with a straight. Why not just grab a $20-30 shave-ready razor off the SRP classifieds and the $20 Filly starter/travel strop from RupRazors rather than diving right into a $120 set?

That way, once you're ready to try another razor or two -- and if you like your first few weeks with a straight you can be sure the bug to try others will strike you -- you'll still have $60 of that original $120 to put toward other razor(s) as you experiment more to find the size/grind you like best.

As far as razors go: i went with a dovo special (about 105.00 at vintageblades)and havent been happier, however be careful for the newbie mistakes , on my 2nd shave i chipped the blade on the faucet and had to get it honed out, so i suggest not getting the best blade u can afford, also if you dint like straight razor shaving you can always sell it on the classifieds for close to what u bought it for

As far as hones: From what your describing it seems as though you just want to maintain your edge for right now , and for that i suggest getting a barber hone, go on the hones forum and just type in barber hones and you well get some info on what names ect r good.

Strops: The filly hands down its such a great starter strop for 20 bucks because you will nick your first strop, and it is really a great strop, also while im on the subject Ruprazor sells the filly with a gold dollar( that kenrup has re-pinned honed to shave readiness ) for like 60 bucks which is a great package and since he fixed the gold dollar , ive heard its a great starter razor
hoped this helped, and Welcome!!!!

Everyone's pretty much pointed out the important stuff - get a shave ready razor from a reputable place. The two options you posted meet that requirement. I have the Filly strop, and for the price I thought it was a good starting strop since I've already nicked the snot out of it.

I would say save your money on the hone. You're only gonna have one razor, right? When it comes time to hone you won't even have a sharp razor to compare to make sure you did it right. That doesn't even mention the learning curve involved.

Focus on your stropping and shaving technique and you should be good for about 6 months. Once your razor gets dull you can send it out for a honing for about $20 and have a pro do it.

Welcome to SRP and good luck!

I'm just short of 6 months shaving with a str8 so my experience is limited but would like to share what I've learned so far.

Buying you first razor is all a matter of preference and taste and will most probably be a learning experience no matter which way you go. If I were to give any advice to a first time buyer of a straight razor, it would be to get a round point razor because (in my opinion) it is cheaper than most other point styles, easier to learn with, less chance of nicking or cutting yourself as you can with a spike and other point styles & easier to strop and hone because the blade's edge is straight. I started with a round point that I shaved with for the first couple of months. After which, I bought a vintage spike point and feel like it was more difficult to use. Since your not so concerned with restoring and/or vintage razors you can get some very nice round point Dovo's that are fairly inexpensive (under $100.00).

Strops are all a matter of taste and experimentation. I've been using an Illinois strop with the linen weave back strop and it has worked out well for me. However, I just ordered a new strop from SRD. It's the Red Latigo with the webbed fabric back strop. I figured I could keep the Illinois strop packed in my suit case as a travel strop.

As far as hones, to start with, you can get the 4/8K Norton stone for blade maintenance. The 4/8K worked for me for the first 4 months or so but I just found out where the 220/1000 comes in handy because of buying vintage razors. besides, if you ever nick or damage your blade, you will need a course grit to re-hone it. I bought the 3 stone combination kit from Norton (220/1000, 4000/8000 & lapping stone) to start with and am glad I did.

You may want to consider buying your first razor from SRD because they send it to you shave ready with a certificate for a second free honing. This way, if you have a hard time honing the razor for the first time, you can send it to them to hone. You can also choose from some really nice strops and the Naniwa honing stones.

Just beware, once you shave with a str8, it can be addicting! I started with 1 razor and now have 11! I hope this helps you some in your decision. Good luck and happy shaving!

With a strop, you can keep getting great shaves for a while. Make a pasted balsa strop or use newspaper to strop if you like as well.

When those no longer work, send it out and have it touched up. You should be able to shave for several months before that happens.

Hey guys,

Since I want to be able to perform most upkeep on my razors (basically with the exception of restorations, repairs to chipped / damaged blades), I'll go with the Gold Dollar and Filly combo. It's not exactly feasible to ship out razors from here for every little thing (not many honemeisters in Canada, let alone around here. Shipping / customs / tariffs from the US add up quickly).

I figure if I'm gonna learn how to upkeep my blades, if I'm gonna damage one (or strop for that matter ) it's probably best to do it to cheaper stuff, instead of a nice Dovo or TI. Then, once I'm experienced and know what I'm doing, upgrade to nicer stuff if I like.

Thanks for the info guys, god knows I'll be popping in here tons for advice and questions.

-Pug