Thread: Help! Xmas gift for the hubby...

Hello everyone!

I need some advice. My husband asked for a straight razor starter kit or everything he needs to give himself a proper shave. Last year he became interested in shaving with a straight razor but didn't invest in a good razor, sharpener, brush,soaps, creams, lotions, oils, etc.. This year he wants to make sure he gets good products. That's the only thing he has asked for Christmas this year and I have no idea what brands to get him! He has told me what he wants in a razor. He wants a honed Dovo razor. As far as what creams to use or soaps, I don't know. I know there are different scents and all as well. Plus I need to know everything he'll need to start. He has a pretty tough stubble and gets razor burn easily. I've done some reading on different posts and Colleen's seems to be a pretty good brand. I'm looking to spend about $150.... is that even a realistic price?

Any advice or suggestions would be well appreciated!

You have to give a price range for any good suggestions! Prices are wide and varied.

I was thinking somewhere around $150-$160. I'm not even sure how much things cost, so I don't know if that's even a realistic range for something decent.

I would suggest you check the vendors section of the forum and contact Kenrup and Mikeratliff to start they both sell complete starter kits, with shave ready razors.... See what they have available first then go from there.....

Links
http://straightrazorpalace.com/vendo...rs-strops.html

http://straightrazorpalace.com/vendo...razor-com.html

They both have websites too....

Tony Miller sells starter kits. I think Classic Shaving does too. Check the vendors here and the classifieds as well. You could get a razor a strop, maybe from Damon (his member name here) some soaps from Colleen from The Gentlemen's Quarter and a brush nearly wherever. The Edwin Jagger Best Badger Brush sold at Crabtree & Evelyn is a fantastic starter. Even a $5 boar brush available at a drug store would do to start. You could build a starter of your own that way.

You're a wonderful wife!

X

Wow, what a wonderful effort on your part, ashlee!
I need to get my wife an account here

Working with 160 dollars I would go here:

Shaving Starter Kits

Then send the razor to Lynn for a real sharpening for 20 bucks. That's it, and that's all.

Philadelph had great suggestions except for the last one. I used cheap boar brushes for over 20 years and was shocked to find out how much of a difference a decent badger brush makes. I highly recommend this one from Crabtree and Evelyn for $35. It works as well as brushes that cost well over a hundred dollars more.

I know it might be pushing the budget to add this brush but even if he does not stick with the straight razor, he will stick with the brush. BTW, if the straight doesn't work out, and it might because it's not for everyone, he should give the old style double edge (DE) safety razors a try. Both straights and DE's shave much better than modern razors. We have abdicated quality for convenience in our modern times. You are on the bastion of fighting this trend so good for you!

Everyone had good suggestions. Just going to break it down a little for you though because straight razor shaving has a lot of stuff you need to get started.

At the bare minimum he needs:
Razor honed by professional (shave ready from factory is never really shave ready)
A Leather strop
A shave mug or soup mug to mix the lather
Badger brush (will smell funky when wet for little while, don't worry)
Soap puck or shaving cream

Razor $100 DOVO Straight Razors
Strop $ 36 Proforma Strops
Brush $ 35 Cream Best Badger Small Shave Brush | Shaving Brushes & Kits | Men's Grooming | Bath & Body | Crabtree & Evelyn
soup mug $ 3 From walmart
soap puck $ 5 Shaving Soaps, Creams, Lotions & Toiletries

Total: $179 Pretty close to your price point. That was about the cheapest combination I could come up with that still had a shave ready dovo like he wants. The shave ready dovo from classic shaving is probably your best and fastest bet to get a sharpened razor.

You could go with a cheaper brush to save $12 but it has "tweezerman" written on it. Kind of corny but pretty damn nice performance brush for the price:
Tweezerman brush $13.50
Amazon.com: Tweezerman Men's Shaving Brush: Health & Personal Care

Originally Posted by tsenfw

At the bare minimum he needs:
...
A shave mug or soup mug to mix the lather

This isn't a necessity. I (as well as many others) lather straight from the soap to the brush to the face with no separate scuttle or lather mug in between. Just throwing that out there. And as for a brush, I just said it doesn't NEED to be a great one to start with. I also said MAYBE you should just go with a boar brush. To keep it in budget you probably can't get something besides a boar hair. Some guys PREFER boar hair over badger and for your sig. other to figure out if straight shaving is for him, a boar hair brush won't make or break his decision. Just for the record, I did say that a brush can make a difference. Glad that that's all cleared up huh, Ron? lol