Thread: Razor budgeting

Originally Posted by Jasongreat

The only advice I have to add is that it would be a good idea to get everthing at one spot or you will probably be sitting around for a week or so waiting for everything to arrive. Having a shave ready razor in hand and waiting for a stop to arrive is one of the longest weeks I have ever experienced.

I agree, I am waiting for the strop now.

It sounds like my reasons for using a straight are similar to yours. When I started a few years ago there weren't any decent starter kits that I could find, and so I set myself up at a flea market with vintage stuff. In retrospect I really got lucky considering how often I hear about failing vintage strops, and razors that need a lot of work to bring back.

If I was starting out now I would probably go for the Ruprazor set, or maybe a honed Gold Dollar from mysteryrazor.com, and a cheap stop like the Ruprazor. The razor from mysteryrazor.com is stainless so the edge won't suffer as quickly from oxidation as a carbon steel blade.

The Gold Dollar razors are not very pretty to look at, but the two that I have shave very well.

Originally Posted by hornm

...Becuase your using 1/2 a double-edge blade you end up with a spike point on both the heel & toe ends of the razor so it's pretty easy to nick or full out gouge yourself. Even with the fine edge a true str8 has it has a bit of rigidity to it keeping the blade edge straight basically wherever you're at. The shavette blade with it's "flexability" will bow here and there and while your learning your angles can have a tendency to reach out and bite you. Also with a true str8 you can pretty confidently (with respect) go over areas that have minor blemishes and the like with out generally causing too much damage whereas the Shavette....your gonna bleed. I'm not trying to say that they are a bad thing but after you learn to use a shavette and move up to the real deal you have to re-learn some of what you thought you knew. The angles between the shavette and tru-str8 are different. Because of the way the handles are made you can only get down to a certain angle leaving more room to get bit. A tru-str8 can pretty much lay flat on your face which can be more usefull in some hard to reach spots during shaving.
If you want to try one no-one is stopping you but i have to agree with most others here that it would be in your better interest to get one of the "begginers" sets from a reputable vendor or classified listing.

Good luck

This is so true. I started with a shavette, and it was ok, it got me away from the cartridges, and the shaves were better than the cartridges, but a traditional st8 is so much better, the corners on a DE are not forgiving at all. If you can swing one from the classifieds, you will be much happier.
and let us know what you decide to do.

Oh thanks guys for all the help... I've decided that as of right now I'll suffer my gellet mac 3 and spend money on things that are more practicle for where I am currently in life like a durable point and shoot camera, new sleeping bag, day pack, chisels, hammers... You know all those luxuries that a geology student needs to have on hand when he is teaching himself on a "down" semester. But I may try a gold dollar set up but I'm thinking I'll try to squeeze some blood out of my wallet and buy a Dovo starter set. I want to start out with something I know I can keep. I'll pop in in the future but man... shaving like a man is more than I can afford to jump into.

"Razor" and "budgeting" are not words I usually associate with each other

I can understand the budgetary constraints of a student though. When you do decide to get into it, I would recommend getting as good a quality setup as you can afford.

Good luck!

James.

It sounds like you will be back before too long. You might want to at least start with a brush and soap, and maybe a double edge. This way you can get some of the fundamentals down before you get your straight. Once you have a good shave with a straight you won't want to go back. I occasionally still use my Gillette red tip DE, but I can't remember the last time.

As for the Dovo, you can't go wrong with it for sure. Right now I'd have to say that my Dovo shaves as well as my Gold Dollars. The Dovo that I have is finished nicely, and stands out as a higher quality razor for looks, but doesn't shave any better. We'll see about how the chinese razors hold their edge over time, but I'm already impressed with the stainless one.

Good luck.

Originally Posted by Jimbo

"Razor" and "budgeting" are not words I usually associate with each other

I can understand the budgetary constraints of a student though. When you do decide to get into it, I would recommend getting as good a quality setup as you can afford.

Good luck!

James.

I'm with Jimbo here. When I started, I bought a new Dovo, a new strop, etc...I still have them. The razor was honed by Lynn, so I knew it was me that wasn't using it correctly. When you buy new, you cut out the "is it the razor" possibility. The old saying, "You get what you pay for" comes into play. There are some deals to be had, but I'd wait until I had some experience under my belt. You can get a good razor, A Dovo for under a 100.00 new, A good strop, around 50.00 give or take, and you'll need a brush, and some type of mug, bowl, scuttle, etc...

Just stick with it until you get the hang of it. don't get discouraged as many do. It takes some time to learn, but it's so worth it. You'll get the closest shave ever....

If you're handy and frugal, it doesn't have to be expensive at all.

You can pickup decent blades with broken scales for 2 or 3 dollars on e-bay, if you watch for the right deal. If you have access to a few tools, rescaling a razor is not difficult at all.

A nice supple leather belt makes a great strop. Shop around any thrift store and you can probably come away with a belt that will work well as a strop for a couple bucks. I have a couple real strops but my favorite and the one I use daily, is a Calvin Klein woman's belt. It is real nice soft leather and it is wide enough to strop a blade without an X pattern. The best part is the fact that I picked it up at a surplus sale for $1.00.

I have a boars hair brush that I picked up for $2.99 at a budget online site. I rarely use it because I prefer my badger brush. But it does work and seems very durable.

You will probably want an old barber's hone at the very least. You should be able to find one for 10 - 20 dollars I would think.

So with a little effort, you could definitely have a good setup with a couple good razors for less than $50.

So you buy these, right?

Buy Gillette MACH3 Refill Cartridges Online at drugstore.com

I'll sell you a (not shave-ready) razor for $20, shipped. That's 5 bucks less than what you pay for 12 cartridges on your current setup.

I'll sell you an almost-new Omega 20102 brush for 10 bucks.

Now, I can't hone worth a damn. But maybe somebody will jump in and volunteer. If not, honing prices in the classifieds start at $12, maybe less.

So, for the cost of about 6 months of cartridges, you will have a shave ready razor, and a good quality boar brush.

All you need is a strop and some soap. ruprazor.com has the filly for $20. Soaps from Ogallala are less than 5 bucks a puck.

This setup will last you for over a year.

It's time to shave like a man, my friend!