Thread: Want to get into straight razor shaving -

Welcome! Look for vendors that say "professionally sharpened", not "factory sharpened". They aren't shave ready (not from amazon). There are plenty of vendors and people here to buy from, check the classifieds, and the vendors links for anything you need. A 3" latigo strop is a must. As far as soaps and creams, look for tallow or glycerin as the 2nd or 3rd ingredient; those will usually provide the best lathers vrs ones w/ water, chemicals, chemicals, chemicals, then castor oil or mineral oil of some sort in the labels. A good aftershave balm would be best to use before delving into splashes; you will be learning good technique at first and will find your face a bit irritated at times, so the balms help a lot w/ that. A good badger or horse hair brush will be the way to go; all work well, and depending on how stiff your beard is you can choose the softness of the bristles and the amt of $$ you're willing to drop on a brush. Be sure and go to the "razors to avoid page" in the search box so you don't get ripped off by a pretty trinket made of crap (sparkly turd if you will) steel that won't hold an edge to save its life.