Buying a Razor

I've been a long time DE shaver (Merkur HD baby!) and have recently decided to make the jump to straight razors. Basically, I'm planning on purchasing my first straight razor. I've got about $150 bucks to blow on a razor (plus about $20 or so to send it to Lynn for sharpening if need be; thank God for student loans). Plus, I plan on purchasing a combination paddle strop from Tony Miller. Moreover, I've got the whole badger brush, scuttle, wet shaving setup already. My question is; considering my price range, what razor should I buy? I've kind of fallen into the Wonderedge hype (maybe it's just the fact I like ducks). So, I'm leaning towards trying to buy one of those off ebay. If anyone has any other suggestions (or is willing to sell me a Wonderedge) it would be much appreciated.

Thanks,
Jacob

Antique Sheffield blades tend to be great shavers too and I and others like the Thiers-Issard blades. For that kind of cash, you could get a few different blades (including a Dubl Duck Special No.1) and see what suits you best before jumping on the DD bandwagon.

X

I would buy a couple of decent shave-ready razors from someone on the board for $35 to $50 each.

Its good to have a couple of razors (some people like to let the edge rest for 24 - 48 hours between uses).


I wouldn't blow your brains out on your first razor(s) for a couple of reasons:

1) you might not like straight shaving;
2) you don't know what size/grind of razor you like yet so better to experiment.

Also, you don't have to spend big bucks to get a good razor - one of my favourite razors was purchased shave-ready for $35 dollars - I like it as much as razors costing 2 to 3 times as much.

If you're set on a new razor, have it honed by Lynn or Joe Chandler before using it.

Joe Chandler has a nice 6/8 for sale for $50 on his site - a great price for a refurbished, shave ready razor.

Also, if you post in the WTB section, you'll definitely get some responses - people are buying and selling here all the time.

Thanks for the advice guys. I'm generally not the kind of guy that will buy lots of razors. I've used the same DE since I started wet shaving. I was leaning towards a wonderedge because it seemed like it was a razor I couldn't go wrong with. Maybe there's a big difference between buying a DE and a straight. I'll definately take your advice into consideration.

Jacob