Boatbum

Hi Guys, I'm a Scotsman who now lives in Malta. I got interested in proper shaving when I 'inherited' a ratty old cut throat when my grandad died. In those pre internet days I struggled to find any info on the subject and the razor went into a drawer. Last year I saw a work colleague using a shavette and got talking to him. I have been using one for a few months and am now looking to get my first proper straight razor. I have seen one advertised by a Scottish Supplier called an Erbe 'First Class' 5/8. Advertised at £90. Has anyone heard of these and know anything about them please?

Welcome to SRP, Boatbum! Sorry, but I haven't heard of this Erbe razor. I'm sure someone else will have have tho. Good luck. :)

Welcome Boatbum.
The razor you mention is made by DOVO so should be fine. Who is the vendor selling this at it may not come shave ready?

Thanks England. The company is called 'The Executive Shaving Company', they're based in Glasgow. The blurb says it's shave ready but may benefit from a strop before use

Hi and welcome. Ed

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Originally Posted by boatbum

Thanks England. The company is called 'The Executive Shaving Company', they're based in Glasgow. The blurb says it's shave ready but may benefit from a strop before use

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I had my first ever DOVO from them and it was far from shave ready and a strop won't fix that. Came with the factory edge which need to be honed.
This is probably the best bet for UK vendors. All razors come pro honed & stropped ready to go...
Introduction to razors

As others have said, Erbe don't actually make razors, they buy razors from other makers and have their brand put on them. The straights look to be made by Dovo which would make it a good razor. 90UK pounds sounds a bit steep for an unhoned Dovo though.

Thanks again England, I went on that link and have just ordered a Dovo Prima Silver Steel 5/8 razor from Invisible Edge. Looking forward to getting my hands on that. Interestingly they had a link to a honing/servicing sister company and after reading their blurb I went and looked out Grandad's old Revisor. What I saw as pretty poor condition might be largely superficial, so I'll contact them soon for a quote to get that back in service.

thanks for the tip John, as you probably saw, I got a useful link from another member and I've ordered a shave ready from Invisible Edge, also hoping to get my old Revisor back in shape.

Hi Ed, thanks for the welcome message, didn't have time to reply properly last night so just hit the thanks button.

Got home on Friday from my fortnight offshore to find my new Dovo Prima waiting for me. What a handsome beast! So after sitting admiring it for half the day yesterday, I had my first shave with it this morning. I didn't get quite as close a shave as I've been doing with the shavette, BUT, and it's a big BUT, there was no claret AT ALL. Not a nick. It was a painfully (not literally) slow shave especially round the bits below my nose and the cleft between the lips and chin, but I managed the lot. I think the months of practice with the shavette paid off but I was instantly aware that I suddenly had a blade over twice as long as the shavette blade. Some of the moves I've developed with the shavette did not translate to the full sized blade and I discovered I had a habit of putting my thumb onto the end of the blade because the shavette has no blade there. I had to correct that habit PRONTO. Under the 2 jawlines at the back near my ears and close to the nostrils under the nose are the 3 bits that are not as smooth as I'm used to but a bit of practice and I'm sure I'll get there. Sitting here quite chuffed with myself at the moment!