Thread: Greetings from the Great Lakes State!

Howdy! My name is Brandon (arbeaner) and I am new to the straight razor shaving thing. I am here to learn before I buy my first razor. Any advice is welcome. What brand razor do I get? What do I need to get? Where is the best place to buy?

I look forward to interacting with you all!


Brandon

You will need a razor, a strop, soap and brush, and a barbers hone. The first place I would look for these things are in the SRP classifieds. Welcome and if you have any further questions please feel free to ask.

Good advice about looking in the classifieds.
This is a good place to start learning Straight Razor Place Wiki:Books/Beginners Guide - Straight Razor Place Wiki

I must ask. Do I invest in a cheaper razor to start or just bite the bullet and go for the gusto and get a top shelf razor right out of the gate? There are so many choices with prices all over the map. Recommendations? Please and Thanks you!

A common answer to your question is go with a basic razor like a Dovo "Best Quality",or a used razor starting out. The rationale is that the razor (and strop) are likely to get abused in beginner hands. You also have to factor in that some people find out that a straight razor is not for them after trying it for a while. Therefore, it is advised to learn with a less expensive razor; once you have gained some competency, and know you are going to stick with it, go for the top shelf.

You'll find out that price doesn't always provide you with the best razor. The used razors sold on this site can be as good as any high priced razor you may run across. My first was a 5/8 Ralf Aust with a round point. I've since bought a few more that are double and triple the price and the Aust is stll one of my favorites. It seems to take a great edge and cuts great.
As time goes on I'm leaning towards the 6/8 razors more. The little extra weight makes a favorable difference to me.

Well first off hello from a former Michigander (T.C.) and second, welcome to SRP. Just a suggestion or two. Nun2sharps advice is good advice to begin with. Here's my two bits on it...For a starter brush, go with any of the Semogue boar brushes. Why ? Because at not much more than $20.00 it's a quality brush that wont shed and will last a long time. DOVO.s low end Razors are great starters and as said already can be just as good a shaver as the more expensive blades. The price goes up with the materials used i.e. gold, scale materials etc. But generally speaking all good brand name carbon blades shave as good as the other.You provide the skill part of it . Soap ... find what you like. Experiment with eager gusto. Strops..again go low end till you progress in skill. Don't worry about making mistakes. We have all gone through this process and sometimes still are. Wet shaving is an ongoing wonderful adventure and when ya fall down,take a step back an drive on. Also just for an opinion sake. you may want to consider a safety razor for those in between times of learning curve and razor burn etc. It gives a great shave while still keeping that old timey, nostalgic sustainable feeling and is certainly cheaper in the long run compared to the cartridge razor.

Welcome Brandon! I am also new to this site. I am waiting for my first straight to arrive. I purchased from Whippeddog.com, I got the "sight unseen" razor, poor mans strop, and a badger brush and soap kit. I would encourage you to check it out. In the meantime, I would suggest going to your local CVS or Rite Aid and pick up the Van Der Hagen starter set. You get soap, a bowl, and a boars hair brush for $10. The brush isn't the greatest, but at the very least you can practice making lather and applying it. I have been practicing with that while still using my cartige razor. Just by using the brush and soap I feel like I'm getting a better quality shave, and the feeling of putting warm lather that I just made onto my face is quite luxurious. Just by doing that, my whole outlook on shaving has changed. It's gone from chore to pleasure in 0.1 seconds! Hope this helps!