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i have been shaving with a de for about 1yr so i have the creams/brushes i like but i would like to try stright razor shaving and i do not have the ability to mount a strop. i would like to spend about $100 on everything if it is reccomendable but really have little of an idea. i hear tony has great strops that are mounted on a handle and that interested me. i was also looking at some of the used straights on ebay. any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Hi Josh,
I have a 4 sided pasted paddle by Tony and it is great. 1 side is plain leather for daily stropping and the other 3 I had embedded with diamond paste of varying grit (3, 1, .5 micron) for maintaining the edge. I would recommed that you check it out if you want one product as an introduction. Later you can get a hanging strop when your situation allows. Several people here have great razors too. I understand ebay razors can be good finds but you need to be very careful. If this is going to be your first straight razor, I'd check out someone like Vintage Blades: good razors, shave ready and good prices. There are others here too, I just can't seem to recall them right now.
You can check out the Vendor's thread to find some fine vendors that sell razors.
I also went for Tony's 4-sided paddle strop. Very prompt courteous service and a very nice looking product.
For the razor I kept an eye on the Buy/Sell/Trade section for a few days. joshearl was kind enough to provide a newbie friendly razor at a newbie friendly price (and mentioned in that thread he may have some more after the holidays). You could also post a WTB (willing to buy) thread there and hope someone has something they're willing to part with in the price range you're willing to spend. I'd imagine you'll get a response soon enough, everyone here seems very newbie-friendly.
Ant
You really don't need anything special to mount a strop. I keep mine on a door hinge. Just about anything will work. If thats whats keeping you from getting one it shouldn't. Tony has a great selection of strops. I have on his 31 strops and its outstanding. I understand his paddle strops are great also. You could also check eboy you can sometimes do very well on NOS strops.
I'd call Tony and ask about his newbie kit. It is a great value not only for the stuff you get but also for the quality advice and confidence you can have in the product. I got my stuff piecemeal trying to do it cheaper and still spent as much in the long run plus I had some unsatisfactory experiences along the way. My razor was from a member and great but the E-bay strop I got was a total waste, I did get a good deal on a barbers hone but it would be equaled by pastes on a paddle strop. Eventually I did go to Tony just to finally get a strop that was worth touching a razor to.
Tony's beginner set would be a great way to start. You could probably get a nice paddle and shave-ready razor for around $100.
I have some vintage razors that I'll be working on over the next few days. Keep an eye on the FS forum; I usually sell them for around $20 to $25 shipped.
Welcome to straight shaving!
Josh
The best bargain in shave ready would be a used, honed razor from a member here. The least expensive new, pre-honed razor would be $70 or so whether from Classic or myself. You could maybe score one for half that here if you don't mind a little signs of age.
Tony