Thread: Newbie's First Setup

Im New, and i'm really sick of the multiple blades and the electrics, so i've decided on going for a straight blade, however i have a slightly tight budget and i have to start from scratch, what do you guys think of this setup?

Amazon.com: Dovo Best Quality, Full Hollow Carbon Steel, 5/8", Black Handle: Health & Personal Care

Amazon.com: Van Der Hagen Premium Shave Set (Soap, Bowl, Brush): Health & Personal Care

Amazon.com: Body Toolz Horsehide Leather & Canvas Barber Strop: Health & Personal Care

Amazon.com: Colonel Ichabod Conk Styptic Pencil: Health & Personal Care

Yeah i thought it was really weird finding all this stuff on amazon, anyways what do you men of greater experience think?

Is this a good basic setup? or where should i be looking? And all of this together is roughly my entire budget.

Could you please go back in and re-size your PICS

Thanks in advance

Here are some smaller versions of your pictures.
I also tweaked the exposure on a couple of the darker ones for you.

Thanks for that, i just posted them, then my Girlfriend arrived for our date and i forgot about them.

Awesome job resizing and tweaking, you have my thanks, But what do you think of it? or do you know anything about it, for $25 i thought it was a steal, they also had a really nice almost new, dovo kind of thing(not dovo but a simple clean blade) but it had a chunck out 1/2 cm wide at the bottom of the blade

The Wostenholm pipes are nice shavers. It should be a good razor for you once it's honed and ready to go. It looks like a 4/8 in the picture, the narrower blades can be a little tricky for a beginner to strop, so be sure to watch the videos in the wiki and pay attention to your technique.
I don't know if you want to modify the blade or not, but as a beginner it might also be a good idea to ask whoever hones it to mute that square point just a little bit more.

SRD Also sells full kits that include the brush, which you may want to consider... They come with a basic brush that you can upgrade if you wish.

I'd also recommend upgrading to the 3 inch strop lenght... Much more beginner-friendly.

Cheers,
Jeremy

Trust what gssixgun says!! I thought I would save money by buying a "shave ready" razor from a SRP non-endorsed site and then had to turn around and pay shipping and honing charges. Also look at the SRP classifieds, there are tons of great truly shave ready razors anywhere from $30 - $60! I started straight shaving a few months ago and will never go back. Also welcome to SRP! Trust the senior fellows here, they KNOW there stuff!

I agree with the shave ready part. Just because it says factory honed doesn't mean that it'll do anything (comfortable) for your face. I use a Dovo best quality and I love it. I also have the Van der Hagen bowl, brush, and soap set you mentioned and I love it. It's actually what I end up using most days. I'm sure you could spend a lot more on better soaps, but for a beginner, it'll be just fine. There's going to be a lot of people trying to tell you what to buy, but in the end, it's just their own opinion.
I'd go with that VDH set. If you like it, then it'll be easy to upgrade to a badger brush in the future or maybe another soap. If it turns out that you don't like it, then hey, you're only out 12 bucks.

Originally Posted by Henrib10

I'd go with that VDH set. If you like it, then it'll be easy to upgrade to a badger brush in the future or maybe another soap. If it turns out that you don't like it, then hey, you're only out 12 bucks.

Actually your not out anything, those make a great little travel set and they are $8.88 at Walmarts everywhere

Originally Posted by gssixgun

Actually your not out anything, those make a great little travel set and they are $8.88 at Walmarts everywhere

Just checked the website, its no longer avalible at walmart

But anyways, I have to take shipping into concern if i could get everything from one website that would be sweet, because it really cuts into my budget (130-145) is this budget a little low/unrealistic? for what i want?

I really like the SRD site you posted, but with all the extras 15+ for 3" strop and maybe +18 for silver tip badger bristle Plus shipping (24) on top makes it a bit out of my price range