how much will a decent straight razor setup cost me?!

Hi there everybody.
I am a first time poster here and I hope someone can help me out.
I am not new to the technique of shaving with a straight razor.
in fact I have been shaving with "disposable blade" straight razors for a while.
I use Gillette nacet platinum and I am very happy with them.
I am thinking of moving on to real straights but I need to know how much I will have to pay to get a decent razor, strop and hone.

I am not your "mustache wax and pipe and straight razor with buffalo horn handle" kind of guy!!
in fact I am not that Macho!!
I just like the smoothness and ease of shaving with a straight razor.(all the beard comes off with one stroke in the direction of the grain and you never have beard getting stuck like stupid mach 3s!! )

I am not obsessed with the ultimate close shave either. I only shave with the grain, I have sensitive skin.

I am a broke, loan holding, cheapstake student! and I would appreciate a setup that does not cost me much money.
basically any razor, strop and hone that can get me close to Gillete nacets will do.
so what should I do?!
Thanks a lot. :)

Whipped dog is the place for you. You can get everything you need, razor, strop, hone, soap for low price. He doesn't do full on super perfecto restoration, but just does basic cleaning and sharpening to keep his costs down. If you want to spend a little more on the strop, I'd recommend ruprazor.

If I was in your shoes this is what I would get.

5/8 Shumate Razor $35
Filly strop $22
2 x 5-1/4 Keen Kutter barber's hone $24
4g of Mitchell's wool fat soap $4

Total price, $63 before shipping.

Thank you very much friend.
in fact I think that is cost effective.
I will have a look.
have a great day

actually I just had a look and the razor looks really beat up. is it still better than the new 10$ ebay gold dollar ones?

Great starter set up. For cheap and cheerful soap I would suggest Arko, Turkish shaving soap. Apart from the citronella scent (yes, the stuff that chases mosquitos) I love all its aspects. Can't beat the price.

Gold dollar razors are hit and miss IIRC. If you consider buying one get one from one of our members. They'll sell you a good one.

Ruprazor sells rescaled Gold Dollars. I am sure if you ask him he'll sell you a good one in original scales.

I got my Kropp 5/8th (a Very god vintage razor) for £20 off ebay and got a cheap strop which did the job, for 15-20 too ($55 - $65).

Just be sure to check the pictures for cracks and ask questions, it took me a week or so of searching ebay before i finally found a good one.

hope this helps

yes I have tried Arko shaving creams.
there is "moist" and "cool" as far as I remember and I really enjoyed the cool one in Iranian summers. right now though I live in Canada and it is snowing!!
I dont really care about the scales as I mentioned, as long as the blade is good quality steel I will be fine. I dont know Ruprazor, I am new to this forum.
can you please introduce me?

"I dont really care about the scales as I mentioned, as long as the blade is good quality steel I will be fine."


If you use ebay, search for sheffield straight razor, pulled up alot of VERY high qulity steel vintage razors

If you follow the advice given here and shop around...you may be able to get everything you need for under $100. You won't stop there though.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jcsixx

If you follow the advice given here and shop around...you may be able to get everything you need for under $100. You won't stop there though.

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I probably wont, but considering that I am really broke and my wallet is pretty beat up, I have to start somewhere right?
I know after I graduate and get a real job I will have more money to spend.
what I am sure about though is that I wont pay a penny for "horn handle" or "mother of pearl" or "14 carat gold markings" for a razor.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by danielghofrani

actually I just had a look and the razor looks really beat up. is it still better than the new 10$ ebay gold dollar ones?

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It is, and far better at that.

Here is the deal with whipped dog. He doesn't spend a lot of time on the look of the razor, instead he just gets a good edge on it and stops there. This is why his prices are low. Yes they look beat up, but there are some quality razors on his site (the sumate, robeson, and geniva are all quality razors). The deal with good razor, like the 3 I mentioned, is that if you get a good edge on them they will give you GREAT shaves. You may be able to find cheaper razors, but they won't give you quality at the price whipped dog can give you.

So they may no look so hot, but if you are looking for a combination of inexpensive and quality, those 3 are the best you can get at the moment.

If you want a more fully restored, inexpensive razor, check out the classifieds. The cheapest there is a 5/8th Frederick Reynolds for $37. This will give you the same quality shave, for a little more.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by danielghofrani

yes I have tried Arko shaving creams.
there is "moist" and "cool" as far as I remember and I really enjoyed the cool one in Iranian summers. right now though I live in Canada and it is snowing!!
I dont really care about the scales as I mentioned, as long as the blade is good quality steel I will be fine. I dont know Ruprazor, I am new to this forum.
can you please introduce me?

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Rupert is a member, www.ruprazor.com

of course,
then I should definitely go with Whipped dog.
I think you got the point there that I dont care about the appearance . as long as it gives me a good shave and it keeps a good edge I am fine.
thanks a lot!!

I got my first setup from whippeddog for under 50.00 shipped (for razor and strop kit) his strop also comes with a pasted balsa strop that will eliminate the need for a hone for at least a month or two. The strop is not the fanciest thing out there, your first strop will be covered with nicks, so i started with his and upgraded to a better one after a couple of months. Larry is a great guy to deal with and he will answer any questions you have if you give him a call.

is Larry the name for Whipped Dog?!

by the way have any of you guys shaved with Gillette Nacet Platinum or Stainless to give me a comparison of the typical sharpness of a straight razor to a disposable razor blade?

Whippeddog.com has a little know section where he sells even cheaper razors. They supposedly have scale damage but shave just fine.

I would get a razor from that section: $24
His poor man's strop kit: $20

And then make sure you get some kind of good soap/cream and a brush. Good prep is 90% of the battle.

BTW, the Gillette Nacet is my favorite blade. Don't worry, your straight will be comparable in sharpness.

The coolest thing about Whippeddog is that he'll exchange your razor for the honing fee, so you can try out different grinds or different brands. I've only heard good things about him, and he's doing a nice job helping people get started for minimum money.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by danielghofrani

is Larry the name for Whipped Dog?!

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Yes, Larry Andro iirc. Great guy.

Thanks a lot for the help.
currenty I have a vintage Kabeso razor, Williams soap, boar hair brush and a generous member has sent me strops (which are not here yet).
my razor is not sharp enough to shave, I am waiting for the strops, maybe they will help.

Yep, go to whipped dog. He is a good guy and it is a good site. True, the razors do look beat up but they are high quality razors with cosmetic blemishes - this is why they can be so cheap. The razor edge will be fine. I think that you will have a very hard time finding another place - ebay included - where you can get a high quality razor that matches his prices. Also if you want a better looking razor from him, you can pay a little more and get it cleaned up.

You've been given alot of helpful info allready, so I'll just say this...
No matter what it costs you that first setup will be worth every penny :tu

If your razor is not shave-ready I am afraid stropping alone is not enough. It needs to be honed. If it is a good razor send it out, if not you can afford to practice, but you'll need hones for that.

As a new straight shaver, my advice is as follows:
1. I would not buy old beat up looking stuff on the cheap. You're new at this. Why prejudice what will be difficult at first with a beat up looking razor?
2. Buy a complete set at someplace like Vintage Blades or SRD. You can save some bucks by buying a package instead of individual pieces, and a Best Quality Dovo (for example) is a good solid choice to get started .
3. You don't want to buy the most expensive equipment to start, until you know that you like it and will stick with it. That is a principle for any new endeavor. Example: don't buy the most expensive strop; for one thing, you'll probably knick it a few times until you get proficient at it - so spend 35 bucks instead of 85 to get started!
4. So my answer is about $150-180, depending where you get it and what you get. Call up the above places and ask some questions, see how they treat you on the phone. Then make a decision.
5. Lastly, get a half decent cream to get started. Soaps sort of stink IMO.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by danielghofrani

Thanks a lot for the help.
currenty I have a vintage Kabeso razor, Williams soap, boar hair brush and a generous member has sent me strops (which are not here yet).
my razor is not sharp enough to shave, I am waiting for the strops, maybe they will help.

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How do you know it isn't sharp enough to shave? If you did get it from whipped dog, you can be sure its sharp.

Here is the thing with straights many beginners don't know, it takes more than a sharp razor to get a good shave, but good technique as well. So if you give a beginner the sharpest razor in the world, they will still get a poor shave out of it. If the beginner knows that technique is so important, they will know it is their fault. If they don't known how important technique is, they will often blame the razor.

However, if their first razor isn't sharp, then there are real problems. They don't have the experience to judge it's sharpness correctly and the combination of lack of technique and a razor that isn't shave ready leads to very painful shaves.

So, I have to ask. Where did you get your razor, and how do you know it isn't shave ready?

I got some strops and a razor from Ken on this site and they are really affordable and great quality.

RupRazor - Home

I don't think you can go wrong with whippeddog, but agibble's advice is sound too. As long as you get a quality blade to start with, it will hold its value pretty well. So if you get a Dovo anything, then decide you want something better or different, you can sell the Dovo on our classifieds and not take too big a hit on it. If you start with a Kriegar or other such junk, you'll never be able to resell it.