Thread: How expensive would it be for a starter

Welcome to SRD. You can't go wrong with much of anything from the classifieds. At least you are avoiding the ebay thing. Check our vendors as well. SRD and Kenrup sell great starter sets. Just remember, there is no such thing as a "starter" razor. Some razors may be kinder to a beginner (like a 5/8 or 6/8 round point) than others, but all are straight razors.

I started using a straight a little over 7 or 8 months ago, my starter set was a Gold Dollar set from RupRazor for about $60 (razor and strop), a cheap brush and soap set from Walgreens for about $8 and a redneck scuttle from Walmart for about $2. So that put me at around $70 total, I did upgrade my razor after about 3 months but the Gold Dollar shaves good although it did get chipped a few weeks ago by room service at a hotel. I upgraded my razor not because the Gold Dollar was bad but I may be developing a bad case of RAD.

Originally Posted by livingontheedge

IMO the most important thing is a decent shave ready razor, you can start with a makeshift strop (leather belt or old denim) and you can get an inexpensive brush at most pharmacies, you can use a mug from your kitchen and Williams soap is less than $2 but you will not want to get a crappy razor or your shaves will be poor and uncomfortable. Once you see how much you love straight razor shaving you can then upgrade all your other gear.

thanks mate, you're right and that's is definitely what I've been thought, I'm planing to buy one by one and I guess a good blade should be a starting point

Originally Posted by MistressNomad

You could definitely get yourself rolling for under $100.

A nice vintage razor (shave ready) doesn't need to cost more than $30 or $40 bucks. RupRazor makes a beginner's strop for $20 - no frills, but good leather.

You can pick up a brush at Walgreen for $8 or so, and decent shaving cream or soap for under $10.

So, that's $70. Maybe even a bit less if you keep a look-out.

And the only part of that you'll need to replace anytime in the relatively near future is the soap or cream when you use it up. A soap is probably better value for money if you get a big puck. Mama Bear sells pretty generous amounts of great soap at a great price, and it lasts forever.

As far as the razors you saw, YES the SRP Classifieds is a great place for a beginner to look! Stay away from eBay. It will eat your soul.

Good luck!

EDIT: About the Gold Dollar - they can shave. I have one I just tried out, and it shaves just as nice as my Soligen. Admittedly, I'm a newb, and maybe a pro would disagree, but the point is I can get good shaves from it.

Gold Dollars are made of decent steel, it's just that they sometimes have manufacturing flaws. RupRazor goes through their Gold Dollars, and if there's something minorly wrong, they fix it, and hone it properly. If there's something majorly wrong, they don't sell it.

My personal opinion is that it isn't really fair to write off the Gold Dollars entirely like that. They're great starter razors, as long as you buy them from a good vendor. They're cheap and they shave fine.

You're right about the GD, I know that wiki ain't say so, but in my very perspective, I guess you could buy an inconsistent brand from a trusted shop, and probably that's what I've been living on...I'm kinda thinking buying from ruprazor for a while, all because several kenrup's comment on gold dollar thread and that's kinda convincing, anyway I've decided to get a good blade for a start and should not be expensive, whether it a vintage or new , thanks for that calculation add it now to my list.

Originally Posted by dward

Welcome to SRD. You can't go wrong with much of anything from the classifieds. At least you are avoiding the ebay thing. Check our vendors as well. SRD and Kenrup sell great starter sets. Just remember, there is no such thing as a "starter" razor. Some razors may be kinder to a beginner (like a 5/8 or 6/8 round point) than others, but all are straight razors.

SRD starters, to be honest, they're very appealing, but not on my current finance condition , have been checking on kenrup also, but it doesn't provide the kit for now (maybe), yeah a blade is a blade

Originally Posted by dgvnsa

I started using a straight a little over 7 or 8 months ago, my starter set was a Gold Dollar set from RupRazor for about $60 (razor and strop), a cheap brush and soap set from Walgreens for about $8 and a redneck scuttle from Walmart for about $2. So that put me at around $70 total, I did upgrade my razor after about 3 months but the Gold Dollar shaves good although it did get chipped a few weeks ago by room service at a hotel. I upgraded my razor not because the Gold Dollar was bad but I may be developing a bad case of RAD.

thanks mate for sharing


anyway just one question, if a blade has some problem with the round point, say...there's small nicks there, would it be a big problem? should it be easy to fix just by honing it?

---EDIT: not really a nicks, just problem with my understanding about the blade point

thanks guys! you've been very helping so far, what a community!

Do you mean nicks on the rounded end itself, or on the blade?

Due to the curvature of the blade, I don't think you could chip the rounded end if you tried, and either way, you don't shave it with it it's all cosmetic.

As a rule of thumb, if you can physically see a nick on the cutting edge of a razor, you need to send it to a honemeister. Even micro nicks can cause problems. One big enough to see might require a fair amount of TLC.

You shouldn't have to worry about that, though. Buy a razor shave-ready, and be careful around hard surfaces, or when rinsing the blade under a faucet (I've read plenty of stories of people dinging the blade on the faucet - ouch!).

Do you have a pic of this that you can share?

forget about what I've asked before it's just my misunderstanding...I guess I really need to read more hehehe

@nun2sharp: I've replied your PM, thanks mate