First off a little about myself, born in Texas, I am a federal officer who works in the wonderful place that is Juneau, Alaska. I like it here but I just wish it wasn’t always raining. Juneau is a temperate rain forest so we see more rain than most people would expect. We get an average of 270 days of rain (which doesn’t mean the rest of the days are sunny, just not raining) and about 70+ inches of rain a year. I am married to a very understanding woman with three wonderful kids. I say understanding because I tend to have expensive hobbies. I am into RC cars, astrophotography, fishing and hunting which take up what little time I am not spending with my family hiking or fishing or working, which during the summer is 60+ hours a week since the summer is cruise ship season.

Now that I have probably bored the hell out of you all, on to the main point of this topic. I have wanted to jump in and start learning to shave with a straight razor going on about 5 years now but never had the funds or the knowledge on where to start. About a month ago I came across this wonderful site and began to read, and read, and read. Hoping to find an older straight razor, I called and visited the 3 “antique” shops in town to see if they had any. To my dismay and not really surprised the “antique” shops in town deal mostly with tourist, selling local native art and the likes. (And for anyone looking for antique native art, etc. stay away from these stores, it’s all rubbish and not antique at all) So I have decided to start new. Using the sponsored sites on SRP I have been looking and decided to most likely buy from SRD.

My first purchase is going to be listed and I would love any input. Since this is a new endeavor I am trying not to over spend, which I have a tendency to do.
Since my knowledge in scents is limited and the only cologne I have is Aqua Di Gio, I decided to purchase the sample pack of shaving soaps to try to decide on 2-3 scents that I would like and that won’t give my wife headaches. I currently use an no name brand unscented shaving soap and synthetic brush which was a gift from my wife but has been my preference for some time. I have given up on the canned stuff.
Shaving Soap
SRD 100% Pure Essential Oil Shaving Soaps – 11 Samples

Since my current brush was ten bucks at an HEB in Texas I have decided to try this one.
Brush
Heinrich L. Thater Series 4419 Black 21mm Fine Badger

I had no idea where to start looking for razors until this site and since there are less than a handful of recommended new razors I decided to go with a Dovo.
Razor
Professionally Sharpened Dovo Astrale Ebony 5/8"

For the Strop this seems to be harder to decide on than anything else. There are so many types, brands, widths, lengths, etc. that I felt and still kind of do feel quite overwhelmed. Several people on here when I was going through the beginner forum recommended a paddle type for beginners so you don’t have to worry too much about how taut to keep the strop. So I decided to start there.
Strop
Straight Razor Designs 3" Premium Paddle Strop

Things like aftershave balm/lotion, I am holding off purchasing until I have a little knowledge on scents and what I like. Everything else seems to be extra and not immediately needed.

Most importantly, none of these purchases are set in stone and would love some input or better options if there are any.

Thank you all for taking the time to read this extremely long post. I have a tendency to be long winded and I apologize. I look forward to learning this art and being a member of this very helpful community.