Thread: Greetings

Originally Posted by Jaygreenthumb

i see i thought if i didn't get the best i wouldn't have a comfortable shave, but am i just thinking too hard about it? i'm terrified of razor bumps etc, but i'll go pick up the less than ten dollar set, thank you for the words of wisdom.

Hello and welcome to SRP! You definately don't need the most expensive to get the best results...some of the most preffered things in shaving can also be the least expensive. The other ones are just fun to try once you get your skills down and decide if you like shaving with a straight

Hello, I'm also very new to this, (as in I'm still waiting on my razor and strop) , 18, but I think I can Help. That is too much for a razor if your not even sure this will work for you. Straight Razor design is a very good company that sells shave ready razors. This means they have been honed and are good to go. That "leather thing" you asked about it called a strop. Look up videos on youtube and in the Wiki on how to use one. you can get a pretty good beginner one on Ruprazors or SRD for around $40-$50. I suggest looking at Ruprazors he has both strops and shave ready razors. If you but shave ready razor then you wont need to hone. Soap and Cream are really up to you. The best brushes are Silver tip badger brush then finest and then pure. Finest is propably the best cost to benifit ratio but is still around $60. You can pick up a decent brush for around $30-$35 but its not going to be the best. Also you may want to look at a Dovo best value for a first razor they are supposed to be pretty good especially from SRD. Good luck and keep us posted

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Devilpup

First of all, Welcome.
Second, most first-timers experience irritation the first time they assault their faces with a straight.
Third, most of your questions can be answered by reading the Wikis and watching Lynn's video. That's the box to the right on the opening page.

Do your homework and if you're still game, give it a shot. We'd love to count you among our numbers!

Or for the same price you could get a Dove Best Quality 5/8 or 6/8 with a strop, mug, soap, and brush from either Straight Razor Designs or Vintage Blades. A good way to start (it's what I did).

Best Wishes.

If you really want to give straight razor shaving a try, visit Whippeddog.com

choose a good looking restored vintage razor, they normally go for around $30-35.
Order the "poor man's strop kit" - $19

then order a cheap badger brush from somewhere... I've read that anything from this seller is good:
Finest Badger Hair Shaving Brush #Tulip Faux Ebony Hand - eBay (item 280605369420 end time Feb-15-11 06:52:52 PST)

which comes out to about $21

so for around $75 + however much you want to spend on soap/cream (~ $3 to $35) for a whole setup that'll last a good long time.


Or you can buy the brush and a $25 dovo shavette with a 100 pack of replaceable blades. $45 gets you a year's supply of close and comfortable shaves without stropping, honing, and guesswork. that is, if you see it as a hastle.

Since most of the advice you seem to be getting is about equipment, let me do something completely different.
Take a good read at these, and that should give you a good idea of what is involved.

Straight Razor Place Wiki:Books/Beginners Guide - Straight Razor Place Wiki

I don't think that it is extremely important which particular option you pick for your tools, once you know what's important and what isn't you can make your own informed choice.

I'd say get a good soap/cream and spend half an hour to an hour making lather over and over so that you get the hang of it. The 99c williams mug soap works well, but since soaps/creams last such a long time, and you're trying to deal with skin problems, this part really is the wrong one to nickel&dime. I actually have never used castle forbes cream, but I believe it's really good one, if that's what you like (i also thought that straightrazordesigns carries the line, so if you're ordering a razor and strop from them, may be more convenient and a bit cheaper to get the cream with the same order).

Originally Posted by LarryAndro

If it is vintage and isn't rusted badly, it will shave and shave well after being honed by someone who is competent.

I think that "badly" and "competent" are pretty broad qualifiers. There are a lot of razors meeting your description with bad hone wear, frowns, ruined tempers, poor steel, cracks, and other problems that are just waiting to take a newbie by surprise.

As tempting as it is to save money, I think the best first razor is one that is new, or has been carefully restored.