Thread: Help a man regain his Manliness!!!!

My own preference is for vintage razors, but that's a nice looking razor. You will need a hone, but you could probably go for a month or two or three with just a strop...

Shaving with a straight for the first time really does make you feel manly... :-)

Personally I went with SRD's package deal.. the BQ and quite a nice strop. Lifetime honing on the razor as well, IIRC. Which brings me to my second point; I did what a lot of members here have done... jumped into honing. Landed the 4/8k and a 12k, in addition to 4 other razors over time. Thing of it is, once I got my stuff wired a little tighter, I rarely use the hones. Touch ups are CrOx, and even those are rare.

Although I'm partial to the "learn the razor and strop" first mentality, far be it for me to relegate another mans activities. The hones will always be available should you choose more self reliance with this.

Welcome to SRP. The basics are the razor and strop, but if you really want to get into wet shaving you'll also want to get a brush and either a shave soap or cream. Mind you that these items don't need to be expensive ones to get started. Places like Walgreens or CVS sell VDH soap and brush for around $12 I think. If you stick with wet shaving, there will always be time to upgrade.

As for your razor purchase, it really depends on how much you're willing to spend to get started. The combo kit from SRD is a great way to get decent, brand new gear at a reasonable price and you will know the razor is "shave ready" as it is honed by Lynn himself. If you're on a budget Larry at whippeddog.com (he is also a member here) sells a "Sight Unseen" kit that includes a shave ready razor and entry level strop at bargain basement prices. Or you could check out the offerings from Glen (a member as well) at Gemstarcustoms. i think HNSB is still selling razors as well, so I recommend you check out the other vendors here, they have a corner , or the classifieds. Just stay away from the bay until you gain an eye for what to look for and know the brands to avoid. Do some research and let us know which road you take.

I'd say the most important items you can buy is a good soap/cream and a brush. I would recommend that to anyone who shaves....no matter what they shave with. As for what to buy, Proraso makes a great cream that is really very reasonably priced. As for a brush, my preference is for a Simpsons but you might look on eBay for a guy in China, Frank Shaving. I've heard great things about his brushes and they seem very reasonably priced. There's plenty of time to take on honing. And when/if you decide to do that, I wouldn't recommend you start on your primary razor. I'd pick up some rough stuff off of eBay to practice on. Then when you feel like you have the basics down, move on to your primary razor. As for the razor itself, I would strongly recommend you check out the member sales here on this site. Theres a great chance you'll get more bang for your buck. And I say that from a completely neutral position as I have never sold anything on this site. Try not to over commit yourself in the early going as you may change your mind about a lot of your early choices. You may find that you like a 7/8 blade vs a 5/8. You may find that you like soaps vs. creams, this brand over that. You may decide a paddle strop is easier than a hanging. So don't back yourself into a corner with a large initial investment because you will definitely want to spend more as time goes on.

You are going to want a brush. Boar or Badger is your preference. Boar is the cheaper option. I find both perform great.