Thread: Beginner Razor

I purchased a razor a while back on eBay and it is clearly a garbage no brand razor. I am looking to purchase a beginner razor. I have been seriously considering purchasing one of the RupRazor Gold Dollar, 84, 200, or 208 model razors. Before i make a purchase i am looking for any advice. if you have any other ideas or a better deal that would be better for a beginner i would appreciate it very much.

Thank you,
Jacob

have you looked in the classifieds here??

+1 on the cassifieds, Also have a look at the dovo best quality, Its a top notch entry level razor.

You do take a big chance on ebay that you will end up with something that needs a lot of work doing to it. I have 3 razors now from members on here and everyone came shave ready and i find it hard to choose between the 3 as to which is my favourite so they all get used as much as possible.

Saying that, however i do have 3 other razors of ebay that i absolutely love too but they took some getting ready, one i sent to Gary Haywood for honing as he's local to me, the others i practise on myself.

Re cap - buy a cheep one and hope it can be honed into a working razor or buy one from the classifieds

ian

I would suggest taking a close look at Shopping list for beginners - Straight Razor Place Wiki.

Personally, I always used to ask myself the following questions:

1. 'Do I want to keep the razor, or is there a high chance of me selling it at a later stage?' I was willing to spend a bit more on potential keepers. Those I expected to sell, I skimped on.
2. Which brings me to, 'what is the re-sale value?'. Gold Dollar razors have received extremely mixed reviews. Apparently, there are good ones, but there are also complete failures, which has earned the brand some notoriety. That alone is a strong incentive for me not to buy one.
3. 'Is there an alternative that will perform equally well, but offer better re-sale value?' From what I can see in the market, the re-sale value of a Dovo "Best Quality" is a lot higher than that of a Gold Dollar.

So, the USD 30 or so that the Dovo costs more will probably pay off eventually. Not to mention that the look and feel of the Dovo are in a different league (beauty being in the eye and all that).

Happy shopping,
Robin

+1 on the previous advice. Personally, I would opt for a low-end Dovo from a reputable vendor as a beginnner. They are a well-respected, good quality razor that delivers excellent shaves and have a secondary re-sale market too. Buying froma reputable vendor also means that if you encounter a problem with your razor, it can be resolved quickly and fairly easily.

As someone who was quite recently in your shoes, here are a few thoughts:

I started with a GD, and cheap accompanying strop. 3 months down the road, I have replaced both in my rotation. The GD is OK, but I find the old Sheffield blade (Wostenholm & Son) I picked up holds a much nicer edge, and is easier to hone myself--something that was of concern because I managed to roll the edge of my razor while stropping. The strop I still use as a pasted strop, but have since added a Latigo...now I'm starting to look at maybe getting a Premium 1 as a finishing strop as well.

Now, some of this may just be ADs of different kinds, but there was a pretty clear difference to me between my Sheffield and my GD, even though I had to hone to Sheffield myself.

As in all things, YMMV, but if I were you, I'd buy a razor out of the classifieds here by someone who has clearly been here a while and knows how to hone. Then I'd buy a second razor to use for when you roll the edge of your first and have to either send it away to be honed, or learn to hone yourself.

Best of luck, and enjoy!

Oh, and as some were suggesting, a new DOVO would be a good choice as well; I know if you buy from SRD, it should be sharper than you can imagine, and I think you get a second hone job free, as well. That's probably more money than a used razor, though.

While I applaud your efforts to acquire a first razor on which to learn the fine art of shaving, I must tell you there is no such thing as a "beginner" razor. It is either a straight razor, or it isn't. They don't come with training wheels. Some are thought to be better for the beginner than others. Razors that are a 5/8 or 6/8 with a round point tend to be a little more forgiving than a spike point, but many of our members learned on spike points.

Your selection of Kenrup is a great one. He has many great buys for the person starting with straight razors. Do not overlook SRD, though. Lynn and Don will do you right as well. The classifieds are good place, too. You will find good quality razors at attractive prices.

In any case, welcome to SRD!!

+1 on all the advice already given.

All I'll add is razors are like any other tool. Good quality tools will probably be better to use, probably give better results and almost certainly will last longer.

Good luck and keep us posted!

if you wouldnt mind learning with a square point this would make a nice razor to learn with
Blue Ring - Straight Razor Place Classifieds