Thread: Hello from Sunny California (although a bit too sunny right now)

Hey,

So, I've been looking through a lot of this stuff for the past day or two, and to start off, I'm 20 and currently using a Gillette cartridge 4-5ish blade shaving thing, and was looking into either double edge or straight razor stuff.

In all honesty, I am somewhat pleased with what I have at the moment, but of course, the blades do dull out faster than I would like them to, and if there's a better way that I can "switch to and never look back!," that would be amazing since I love things like that. I do love shaving in general, but I only shave about ~2 times a week at the moment, being younger and all that perhaps.

My questions I guess would be, what is the true investment of everything, since I'm looking through, and here's what I'm getting:
Shaving brush= ~13 by what I'm seeing on Amazon with good reviews etc.
Strop= ~30 by what I'm seeing on Amazon as well
Shaving soap, vs the foam I have right now = ~10, but haven't looked at this as much as I should yet. Not sure if I even need to switch, since people say that shaving soap or shaving cream is a lot better but at the moment I'm able to shave comfortably with even just water and nothing else, but shaving cream+brush does sound nice.

Straight razor= ~this is what I want to know more than anything
Unfortunately, I'm not 100 percent sure if I'm going to be falling for this as much as I think I am so I'm not going to be dropping 200-300 dollars at the moment on one. Some questions would be here would be whether you guys are still cutting yourselves years later, even by accident, and how long a shave takes for you guys who have years of experience. I'm sure it would be a lot more fun to shave with a straight razor all the time, but I wonder whether if I had five minutes to shave when running somewhere years from now, whether I'd be able to do it as effectively as I might be able to do now. As you can see, Amazon has been amazing to be in the past years with just pointing to one item at the top with its 10000 4.9 star reviews but I understand this is one of those items that I need to find to see what works with myself.

I would say that your best bet is to go the DE route. A decent double edge razor can be had for under $75 and a sampler pack of DE blade to find out which kind you like is also very economical. Go to a discount store, Walmart or drug store and opt for the Van Der Hagen brush and VDH soap/bowl set, should be under $30. Since you are not sure you want to go the straight razor route this would, at least get you away from the current method you use. There are many SRP members that are DE and SE users exclusively and there are threads devoted to just those users. I suggest you read them to get an idea of what to expect from a DE or E. I am a straight/DE/SE user as the mood hits me or my skin says switch and I've been pleased with all the methods I shave with. But then, as we say, YMMV. Read the wikis and ask a lot of questions. We all like to answer and help out where and when we can.

Originally Posted by Razorfeld

I would say that your best bet is to go the DE route. A decent double edge razor can be had for under $75 and a sampler pack of DE blade to find out which kind you like is also very economical. Go to a discount store, Walmart or drug store and opt for the Van Der Hagen brush and VDH soap/bowl set, should be under $30. Since you are not sure you want to go the straight razor route this would, at least get you away from the current method you use. There are many SRP members that are DE and SE users exclusively and there are threads devoted to just those users. I suggest you read them to get an idea of what to expect from a DE or E. I am a straight/DE/SE user as the mood hits me or my skin says switch and I've been pleased with all the methods I shave with. But then, as we say, YMMV. Read the wikis and ask a lot of questions. We all like to answer and help out where and when we can.

Why do you use all of them if you don't mind me asking?

If you check my bio you will see my age. Over the years I've tried just about all the different methods plus not shaving for a goodly number of years, just trimming around a beard. I have always like variety is one reason I use the three types. Another is I have sensitive skin and a wiry beard and every so often, because of irritation, I like to switch razor types to give my face a short rest. And since there is really no one way to do things then variety is the spice of life (shaving).

The DE is going top be an easy transition and the cost is minimal. A straight would give you a cool factor of 10 but then there is the maintenance and learning curve that goes with it. I can shave just as fast with a straight now as I did a cartridge because I don't have to rinse the blade until I change sides. Time may be more of a factor for you if you get in a hurry to get done in the bathroom and get on to the party or whatever. A straight is not something you want to use when you are in a hurry , EVER. Your estimate of 200 or 300 is very high for a beginners razor. You can get them a lot cheaper and shave ready. Look in the classifieds here for great deals. You can always sell it if you don't like it. You might be able to get away with plain water now but after your beard matures and your skin is not so resilient you will love using a puck of real shave soap.
Start with a DE a good brush and soap and see if your face doesn't feel better. Your blades are going to be a lot cheaper that's for sure.

And yes the wind has blown in a lot more heat than I ever prefer.

Hi and welcome. If looking for a cheap start to straight shaving then whipped dog is probably your best bet. De is going to be a much easier transition than using a straight. If looking for speed and easse of use then a de is the way to go. Good luck and any questions feel free to ask

Hi Mr. Actuary,

Welcome to Straight Razor Place! I'm only 27 and I started shaving with a straight razor when I was 25, and before that I was using a double edge razor and Gillette cartridge razors. Now there is a little learning curve from cartridge to a double edge razor, but you will pick it up much faster than a straight razor. So with a double edge razor you have to make clean one movement passes because you are more likely to cut yourself then you would with a cartridge. The blades last much longer than a cartridge, and are less expensive to buy as well. The one thing that I still would get with the double edge razor was razor bumps, and I don't get that with a straight razor.

I know time is something important for you and you want a fast shave, and because of that I would say stay with the double edge razor. If you have time and want to learn how to shave with a straight razor then do it, but it will take you about 100 shaves to really learn your face and how to shave with your razor. Shaving with a straight razor is not something you just want to fly by when you are just learning because you will cut yourself very bad! Now that I have been shaving with straight razors for the last 3 or 4 years I can get up in the morning and shave just as fast as if I was using a double edge razor. Also, if you invest in a good straight razor you will never have to buy another one again. You will have to get it sharpened every year, but think of all the money you will save by not having to buy new blades every week. One thing when getting a razor you do need to get a quality razor and you need a strop!

You can buy a double edge razor at Wal-Mart or Target for cheep.

On Amazon I only found one razor that was worth buying and ti was a Dovo 5/8'' for 149. I am more of an ebay person so check this links out :
Dovo "Best Quality" 6 8" Carbon Steel Straight Razor Ivory Color | eBay
Dovo Solingen Col Conk 506 Straight Razor Red Handle 6 8" Carbon Blade | eBay
Dovo Straight Razor Paste Brush Soap Mug Leather Strop Stone 9 Pcs Shaving Kit | eBay

Sorry for such a long message, but hope it helps.

So I went out and got that VDH kit from Target and now probably will go and get that double edge razor. At some point in time I see myself using both the straight and safety razor but this might be the best way to start. Target unfortunately only had the VDH double edge and nothing else so I'm going to look on Amazon or elsewhere for a good one and get back to you. Thank you for all your help.

Edit: Looking at the feather double edge razor on Amazon. I read good reviews in this forums and my question is where I might be able to find razor blades at a good value because I didn't see any at target.

Feathers will probably be an on line venture,
Pick up a sampler from somewhere (SRD?)
find what you like then dropping a few bucks to make the purchase more than worthwhile won't be bad at all.

As far as your original post,
I can shave with a straight prep to clean up 8 min for a DFS day at work, ( I prefer not to do this)
I nick myself less than I did with a cartridge.

Looks like you are going to start with a DE and I would say the results will be similar as most things are equal on the prep side.

Welcome to it, patience pays off.

Pat

So I looked into all of it more and I initially thought straight razors were at the 150 and up range and looking at whipped dog again, the straight razors he have are so cheap and apparently have good reviews on this website as well. I feel in the FAQ, should just post his razor as the one to start with, rather than showing all the options and just asking them to pick one among a lot. I'd just add in that razor and the VDH shave set as the beginner set.