Thread: Torn on First Kit to Buy

I am assuming that at this point you have never put a straight razor to your face and taken your first stroke.

If that is the case, then you are enthusiastic about this art but don't yet know if it is for you. But you are thinking "If it turns out I love it, I don't want to have to invest in an upgrade from a starter set in 3 months".

So here is MHO. The razor and the strop are your first and main investments that affect the initial success/failure of the shave. Your brush, soap and mug all affect the improvement in the shaving experience.

If you have the money and want to get everything in a kit - do so. But if not, get the SRD DOVO Special and Strop combo and get the VDH soap Brush Combo ($10.00 as Walgreens) and a coffee mug. That is enough to tell you you love or hate the art.

Also, you really will end up with two razors as your baseline. The DOVO
Special 6/8 is a really fine razor. I just used mine yesterday and had forgotten what a great shave it gives. So that is not a beginner razor. It is a razor for your entire life. It can easily be one of your two baseline razors.

So I hope that helps a little. The decision is still a personal one.

You don't need a scuttle. I don't use one and many other do not either. My advice is to try without first, then get one at a later date should you feel you need it.

All you need at this stage is a razor, strop, brush and soap/cream. I recommend you get an alum stone too.

Why not get a shave ready straight from the classifieds? Much cheaper and arguably better depending which one you get. If I had my time over, I wouldn't have bought a brand new Dovo thats for sure!

Originally Posted by Alembic

So here is MHO. The razor and the strop are your first and main investments that affect the initial success/failure of the shave. Your brush, soap and mug all affect the improvement in the shaving experience.

If you have the money and want to get everything in a kit - do so. But if not, get the SRD DOVO Special and Strop combo and get the VDH soap Brush Combo ($10.00 as Walgreens) and a coffee mug. That is enough to tell you you love or hate the art.

Excellent.
I thought of that as well, but given the options he was considering, I figured he would likely stick with the brush and soap (I left out the scuttle in my assessment) whether or not he stuck with the straight. For that reason, I figured he might as well not go to the bottom range for the two things he might keep.

Originally Posted by ElChe

I've continued my SR research here on SRP and I've decided it's time to buy my first kit. But I'm torn!

The "easiest" to buy would be the 6/8 Dovo Special set from SRD and upgrade the strop to 3" and to which I'd add the sandalwood soap. This would come to about $250 including free shipping.

The slightly more "customized" set up that I believe may be more versatile would be:

• 6/8 Dovo Special from SRD
• Modular paddle strop from SRD
• Robert's Ceramic Feats of Clay Small Scuttle
• Mama Bear's Dragon Tears soap
• 22mm Grade A Silvertip brush from The Golden Nib

This would come to about $300 (including about $20 in shipping charges from different stores), but would get me the modular paddle strop and a nicer brush (albeit a non-name brand).

Any advice for a complete beginner from someone more experienced would be appreciated. I know this is largely a personal choice that I will have to make on my own, but I'm finding it difficult to make the choice without having ever used any of these products. It's completely abstract to me at this point.

Cheers,
ElChe

PS. Apologies for the poll, I usually dislike them, but just wanted to test out the feature.

I think the paddle strop is easier to use for a beginner.

Thanks for the advice everyone! You guys really are extremely helpful!

The reason I haven't gone with the SRD monthly special set is they're currently having a sale on the Prima Klang, which I understand can be an "interesting" experience especially for a first-timer.

Originally Posted by Utopian

Odds are that you will continue to use the brush and soap regardless of whether or not you stick with straights and you can always resell the straight and strop for about 80% of what you paid for them.

That was my thinking too, which is the reason I even considered getting a slightly nicer brush.

Originally Posted by narrez

Same thing goes for expensive strops, there's a chance you'll nick it or scratch it.

The reason I was attracted to the modular paddle in the first place is that I'm almost 100% sure that I'll nick and scratch my first strop. I know you can replace the leather on the regular SRP strop too, though.

Originally Posted by Stubear

I'd go for the SRD kit to start off with if you have the money for it. Once you know you like it then you can start adding in other kit like the modular paddle and different soaps, but the SRD kit will get you started very nicely.

That was my initial thinking, thanks.

Originally Posted by MaritimeFanatic

I would also highly recommend staying with the 2" strop. I am JUST learning to not brutalize my strop, (2" latigo) and will be buying a replacement leather(or maybe splurging on a premium 4.....) in another few months. I was amazed to find just how ridiculously easy it it to nick the heck out of a strop.

Why would you recommend the 2"? From what I've read, upgrading to the 3" will allow me to work on my stropping technique without having to learn the "X" technique at the same time.

Originally Posted by ShoreBird

I think the paddle strop is easier to use for a beginner.

That's why I'm considering the 3" modular paddle - I won't have to worry about whether I'm pulling it taut enough or too taut, I won't have to worry about the "X" technique, and I can replace the attachments after I stop nicking and scratching the leather.

Cheers,
ElChe

which dovo razor are you guys talking about?i am also interested in purchasing my first straight razor

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the Dovo Special in Tortoise 6/8. That is a fine razor and you won't outgrow it with experience. I have it, I use it and I get a great shave.

Others that you may consider are the Bismark in Black, Red or Bone. That was my second "new" razor and it is still a favorite.

Here is the bottom line. You just don't know enough yet to appreciate the nuance differences in grinds, and a lot of other features are window dressing.

IMHO - the tortoise is just a classy, old timey, vintage looking razor and gives a great shave to boot.

Like several of the previous posts, I would opt for a complete straight razor shaving kit from SRD--one of the low end "Best Quality" straight razor sets with strop, brush, etc. will do just fine. You can save alittle money buying all of these items as a package, as opposed to a la carte.

Add a quality shaving cream or soap (ie. D. R. Harris, Taylor of Old Bond Street or Mitchell's Wool Fat) and a lather bowl (ie. small dessert or cereal bowl from Wal-Mart, Target or your kitchen) and you're good to go.

You can always upgrade individual items in your beginner's shaving kit later.

Originally Posted by Alembic

I am assuming that at this point you have never put a straight razor to your face and taken your first stroke.

If that is the case, then you are enthusiastic about this art but don't yet know if it is for you. But you are thinking "If it turns out I love it, I don't want to have to invest in an upgrade from a starter set in 3 months".

You summed it up perfectly! That's EXACTLY why I'm torn. That and I also hear that the modular paddle strop may be easier for me to learn on since it's 3" and flat. After I cut it up while learning, I can just replace a pad.

Being new to this whole thing myself I wanted to just get everything I needed at once and went with and SRD wet shave of the month kit. I ended up with the Boker King Cut and a 3 inch latigo strop. Glad I went with the wider strop makes it easy no thinking about the x pattern just up and back. You will not regret getting an SRD kit comes shave ready all I did was take it out of the box and shave with it and it felt good.

But in the end these are all just opinions and it is your opinion that matters most so get what feels right to you.