Quote Originally Posted by red96ta View Post
Let's take a look at the best you can get in each catagory...

Dovo razor: $100
Best boar brush: $8
Best strop: $85 (if you tear it up, replacement leather is $20)
Best soap:30
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That's about $220 for the BEST stuff out there

Having said that, badger brushes are IMHO a luxury. You don't need luxury to get started, you just need the best...or alternatively, something on the side of the ruprazor stuff for $60. 105 years ago, many of these razor companies were turning out ten-thousand razors a DAY. Not only that, if everybody on the planet is using a straight razor, there were surely those out there trying to sell cheap junky strops and brushes. If we brought it into today's thinking, the book is simply asking you to buy a genuine Gillette Mach 3 replacement blades instead of knockoff's from China...that's all the book is really asking you to do in order to avoid the problems.
Quote Originally Posted by avatar1999 View Post
Get a razor from the Classifieds cheap.

You don't need a super badger brush. Boar brushes work just fine and you can get one at your local Walmart or drug store for less than $10.

Good soap can be had cheap. CarrieM makes great soap/cream and a big tub of it can be had cheap as well. You don't need to buy $30 tubs of soap/cream.

You could easily get a razor, brush, and soap for under $100. Heck, you could probably even get a decent cheap strop and STILL come in under $100 honestly.

Just make sure the razor you buy from the classifieds will come shave ready. Most of the sellers are good about doing that

Then when you get more cash flow, and you want to try out the more expensive things, you can. But you certainly don't have to. Personally, I doubt I will ever buy a shaving soap that costs me $30. I love what I get now, and runs me 1/2 or 1/3 the price.

Good luck!
Compare the aforementioned prices to the continual purchase of disposable blades. You'll find that very quickly str8 razor shaving becomes economic also.
I never changed my face prep to accommodate str8 razor shaving, only what I used to shave. If your switching from electric shaving to wet shaving there may be a bit more of an expenditure involved. If you wet shave now, and you prep your face properly now, all you need is a new razor and strop.
I decided to pay the professionals to hone my razor for at least the first year. This way the blade is shave ready and all I have o learn right now is using th str8 and stropping. I'll worry about honing another time.