My First Order of "Real" Shaving Supplies

Hey guys, I am trying to get a my first straight, Dovo 5/8 Special tortoise hopefully soon (I have a spyderco sharpmaker with med/fine stones and double sided stop with black/green compound for maintaining it) and am now trying to figure out some quality but affordable shaving supplies to give me some enjoyable shaves and just experience what sort of creams/aftershaves/scents I might like. Can you experts out there comment on the quality/enjoyability of these as a "startup kit":

Omega #13522 Pure Boar Brush (should I go with something else? Escali Pure badger?)

Taylor of Old Bond Street Sandalwood Shaving Cream Bowl, 5.3 oz

Col. Conk Bay Rum Shaving Soap

Proraso Dioibarba Aftershave Lotion (kinda pricy at 17 bucks, but good reviews)

Clubman Pinaud Aftershave Lotion, Vanilla

Clubman Pinaud Aftershave Lotion, original? any good?

Virgin Island Bay Rum by Clubman, any good?

what else should this newbie be looking at?

Thanks for your suggestions/feedback

I use Taylors Almond Shaving Cream and I like it so the sandlewood would probably be good, but some people have said that the sandlewood scent was alittle overpowering. The Col. Conk Soap isn't bad IMHO and its cheap, but it does dry out fast. If your using creams and soaps then that probably wouldn't be to much of a problem. The other stuff I haven't used, but I have both boar and badger brushes and the boars are alot stiffer. The boars I find will build lather easier with just soap. The badgers are nice and soft, but build lather pretty easy. Once I got better at building lather it didn't really matter what brush I used. I recently got a horsehair brush that was really nice. Stiff as boar but soft as badger. All I can say is that once I started shaving with a straight the first couple items I bought weren't the last. Always seem to be wanting to try other stuff. Truefitt & Hill have a nice sample pack with alot of nice creams and balms.

Instead of that Omega brush, opt for this:

Amazon.com: Omega 13109 Creamy Curved Handle Pure Badger Shaving Brush: Health & Personal Care

Bullet proff reviews right there. I have it and I love it!

I also have the Taylors Sandalwood and I love it. And if you want to try Proraso as an after shave, try this:

Amazon.com: Proraso Pre and Post Shave Cream - 3.6 oz: Health & Personal Care

I've heard its incredible and can be used both before and after the shave. I'm sure the veterans will be along to chime in, I'm just a noob giving my two cents!

I haven't heard of anyone using a sharpmaker to hone razors. Pasted strops are used, but for day to day an untreated strop is the standard. A lot of info here on what to use for hones and strops.

I have had both boar and badger brushes. I prefer the badger for soaps and creams. I don't think you will be dissapointed with the omega boar. I'm sure you will get another brush eventually!


There are lot's of nice creams and soaps plus aftershaves out there. On your list my faves are the proraso AS. I didn't like TOBS sandalwood soap, or clubman.

Enjoy, and welcome!

Michael

I use Clubman Pinaud Vanilla and Original. I love them both. I alternate between them and have never been disappointed. Don't forget the unforgetable and time honored smell of old spice.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mjsorkin

I haven't heard of anyone using a sharpmaker to hone razors. Pasted strops are used, but for day to day an untreated strop is the standard. A lot of info here on what to use for hones and strops.
Michael

---

Personally, I would avoid using the Spyderco sharpmaker to maintain the sharpness of your razor. Depending on the vendor you purchase from (ie. one of the vendors who advertises here at SRP) it ought to be already honed and shave ready.

As mjsorkin recommends, use an untreated strop--50 on the fabric and 50 on the leather to maintain the edge of your straight razor.

Later, get a balsa wood strop and some Chromium Oxide. Cover the balsa strop with the CroOx and use that to refresh the blade of your razor.

Much later still, get a Norton 4k/8k to re-hone your razor. If you treat your razor right, you won't need to hone it until approx. 6-12 months from now.

I also agree with mjsorkin about the Omega badger and boar brushes. Good quality brushes at an affordable price. I have two Omega two-band boar brushes as well as one Omega badger brush and love them

Ok fellas, just made my purchases for my very first straight razor kit:

Dovo Special 5/8 tortoise
Escali 100% badger brush
Taylor Sandalwood cream
Proraso Pre/Post shave cream
Clubman Pinaud Vanilla aftershave lotion

Thanks for all your input, and I can't wait to continue learning and trying new products.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by eneyman

Ok fellas, just made my purchases for my very first straight razor kit:

Dovo Special 5/8 tortoise
Escali 100% badger brush
Taylor Sandalwood cream
Proraso Pre/Post shave cream
Clubman Pinaud Vanilla aftershave lotion

Thanks for all your input, and I can't wait to continue learning and trying new products.

---

Congrats on the Special, Those are starting to get rare since they have the old style stamped tang, ust not laser etched like the rest of them.
just so you know, YOU CANNOT USE A SHARP MAKER TO HONE A RAZOR!!!! you could easily ruin it. The fine rods MIGHT be acceptable to set a bevel, but then again as a beginner, you should not be setting any of your own bevels. Honing a bevel already set up by a honemeister is quite different from putting an edge on a razor by yourself. Odds are you will not be able to do it first time (regardless of your prowess with sharpening knives. I love spydercos btw, got a paramilitary 2 or a Gayle bradley on me at all times!). Once you have the razor PROFESSIONALLY honed, you can touch it up quite easily on bench stones with MUCH finer grits than available for the sharp maker. Invest in a Norton 4k/8k, or if you want a really enjoyable honing experience (YMMV), spring for a quality belgian coticule. Its a one stone hone, and is considered to be a favorite among straight shavers. Good luck!

hehe Hey DC, I think I recognize your name from maybe spydie forums or maybe bladeforums.. Yea the general consensus is either get the norton 4k/8k or a coticule. I just did a basic search and see they make blue and yellow coticules which are supposed to be 4k blue, 8k yellow. Do you know of any good sources to get something like this cheap? I do want to get either the norton or coticule in the future for honing my razors myself (a new one on the way so I shouldn't need this for a while, so no hurry)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by eneyman

hehe Hey DC, I think I recognize your name from maybe spydie forums or maybe bladeforums.. Yea the general consensus is either get the norton 4k/8k or a coticule. I just did a basic search and see they make blue and yellow coticules which are supposed to be 4k blue, 8k yellow. Do you know of any good sources to get something like this cheap? I do want to get either the norton or coticule in the future for honing my razors myself (a new one on the way so I shouldn't need this for a while, so no hurry)

---

Haha yep thats me. Im on spydie forums far more than any other. Great group of guys on all three of these boards.

As a matter of fact, I believe I do know of a great source for cheap coticules. TheSuperiorShave.com - I just bought one from there myself. They picture everything individually, so you know exactly what you are getting.

Belgian Coticule Hones

seach around on here and badgerandblade for coticule vein information for help choosing what type to get. A good number of them are not identified. Study the notes under each picture to try and derive what the site's owner has to say about them, he has good input. Every one on the page will do the job, some better/faster than others. (la verte is a slow vein, La petite blanch, la novella, pale dressant's, and Les Lat. veins are known as fast/hard. A vast majority of what he has on the site is La grise vein, which depending on hardness can be hit or miss from what I read.

general rule= paler is harder. any pale finely grained coticule should hone nicely.

anyways you should check it out, he sells his razors like the hones too, picturing individual stock. Sort of bridges the gap a little more from shopping online to shopping in person.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by eneyman

...Clubman Pinaud Aftershave Lotion, original? any good?...

---

Any good? Does a bear shit in the woods? Is the Pope Catholic? Does a one legged duck swim in circles?

TOBS creams are great performers, and synergize nicely with Proraso preshave products, IMO.