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i have been using a cheap deposable straight razor form sally’s and want to upgrade. Don’t want to spend more than $200 on razor, strop, some good soaps or creams and what else might be needed. I have a good brush. i have seen some kits on ebay with dovo razors for under 200 also on the dtraight razor designs. any advice would help
thanks
if you're in the states SRD ot whipped dog would be the ones to go for, both are members on this forum and are very highly regarded, they'll see you ok. Don't feel you have to go for the highest end cork sniffin cream out there, some proraso or something similar will do a great job until you have a little more money handy. Also there's some great little artisan operations in the US selling great quality soaps for much less than the european highend stuff.
As for soaps, I agree, CO Bigelow is available at bath and body works (same as proraso) and the real shave company is available at riteaid.
SRD has some good deals on kits and the razor will arrive shave ready, but you can also get a great vintage razor here in the classifieds as well.
If your looking for a full kit of high quality stuff SRD is the place to go, from what over heard (never used) whipped dog is excellent for those on a budget everything will work just fine for what you need it for but it might not be a pretty as some of the higher end stuff. Also a member here recently opened a shop "straight razors for sale" I believe is the name. I don't think he has any soap but he's got some great prices on brushes, razors, and he has a SRD stop all for great prices, you could email him see if he will put a kit together for you although with $5 shipping for everything the prices are already a steal.
I'll second "Straight Razors for sale" I ordered a vintage razor and a barber's hone from him earlier today.
In talking to a couple of folks in chat, he has a very good reputation. I can't speak from first hand experience YET, but I'll be shocked if the entire transaction is anything other than BBS.
Paul
edited to add, you might want to browse through this part of the forum
Vendors Corner
First off, Welcome to SRP! This is a great place to learn about straight shaving, and there is a definite sense of brotherhood here; it's of everyone's best interest to give you the best help and advice possible.
Regarding your shopping around...
SRD's a go-to vendor. Their kits will get you strop and razor within your budget...might even be able to squeeze in a brush too. Classic Shave is another good one (both advertise here).
Bargain Basement (this is where my budget lets me shop around) would be whippeddog.com (Larry Andro's site) or the classifieds here, or straight-razors-for-sale.com (Eric's site). None of them really have "kits" but you can get razor, strop, and barber's hone for about $70, all of it from guys here who will stand behind what they sell you and do their best to help you out as a new guy. That leaves plenty of room in your budget for an additional razor and brushes and soaps, etc.
Bargain brushes which a lot of us start out with can be found in places like local pharamacies and even some target stores. Van Der Hagen is a common brand and sells a kit with soap and brush and bowl for around $12. It's not GREAT stuff, but it IS good stuff.
Bestshave.net also has brushes on the cheap(and other shave products), though shipping's a little higher, I'm a big fan of their horse hair #6. The handle's a little funky (looks wise), but the brush itself is fantastic.
So there are LOTS of options for your budget. You could spend much less than $200, and you could certainly spend much more.
Whatever you do, for your own sake, stay away from the kits on e-bay. 99 times out of 100 everything in them is junk...and probably 995 times out of 1000 at least one of the items is junk. No matter what your budget it's always best to spend it on items that are of quality.
Peace,
Thanks for all the info i will be look at all the site
I've never seen SRD's kit because we have sellers in the uk, but just had a look and to be fair, that's an awesome deal
The only thing I've bought from SRD is a strop and it is leaps and bounds above my strops from Starshaving and whippeddog. Those are both decently made, serviceable strops, but the srd strop just screams class and quality.
However, the Frank's best badger brush from Starshaving is great.
I'd say the deal that zib posted is your best bet, considering it comes with pretty much everything you could think of. And at $160 it still leaves plenty of cash to buy an additional top end soap or cream.... just putting it out there... :w
Besides Straight Razor Designs--an excellent choice--another vendor that advertises here at SRP who offers straight razor/strop sets under $200 is Vintage Blades.
Check them out. I purchased my first razor/strop set from them. I still use the latigo strop I purchased from them over two years ago. One nice feature of the strop is that you can purchase a replacement for the leather if you slice or gouge it.
Welcome!
There are plenty here with more experience, but my 2 cents... Don't buy an expensive razor first. Plenty of quality razors can be had for under $100. Test it out. Maybe you'll want a bigger or smaller size. Maybe you think a different ground is in order. Who knows? But, by buying a cheaper one out of the classifieds from a reputable member, you will have a foundation to build on, and one to fall back to when your daily shaver takes a time out.
Since beginning, my tastes have changed with razor preference. My newb mind had no idea what I was in for.
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