Thread: input on equipment checklist for a newbie

G'Day and welcome to SRP.
Either of those would make good shavers IMHO as long as they are shave ready.
I'm not sure what you mean by 'upgrading' the cloth side of the strop - I have linen on a vintage strop and felt on my new one - both work well.
I wouldn't be too concerned about a barbers hone at this point - send your blades out for honing in the short term.
As far as brushes and soaps go, you should have enough if you've been DE shaving for a while.
I hope this helps

been shaving with a straight for a few weeks now also a former DE shaver so i know how you feel i didn't have to study at all for the DE now with the straight i feel like I'm in college

don't worry about buying a hone yet my razor is still shave ready, all i use is a leather strop right now, invest in hones later it will be a while before you need one,I'm only buying waterstones and pastes because i plan on restoring some old straights from an antique store,unless you do that also you won't need anything else for at least 3 months(ymmv)no need to put any more dough in the oven if you find out you don't like the bread it bakes

All you need to start with is a razor (shave ready) , and a strop . If you find that shaving with a straight razor is not for you , you're only out the cost of a razor , and strop , which you can sell , and get some of your investment back . If you find that you like using a straight razor , I would advise you to get at least one more razor , and a Norton 4/8k hone . These are the basic tools . Learn to use them before you buy anything else .