A Canadian calling out from the far east!

Hey everyone!

I'm Sean, a Canadian, 27 years old, studying and working full time in Beijing, China.

I spent 5 years in the military before traveling abroad, and had to shave daily. To be honest, I didn't enjoy it. However, it got me thinking about alternative, more enjoyable ways of shaving. Ever since then I have been interested in straight razor shaving, not just as a good shave, but an enjoyable routine, and as a hobby. I found this site, and finally decided to take the plunge.

It's the best time however, because I am working to pay tuition, and on a budget. I also don't have as many options here in Beijing:

1) I could buy a chinese brand, such as gold dollar; which will be honed by the seller. But to be honest, I don't want to start my learning curve with a poor quality substitute. I also don't trust the honing skills.

2) I could a good brand. Either vintage, or new. Majority are Dovo, there are others, but the lowest starting price is $100, and they are generally sent as is. I don't want to buy a good razor, and before even trying a shave, spending more money on the equipment to hone it, and no doubt, messing it up.

3) Buy online from some of the reputable websites, where i will get a trusted honemeister to do an excellent job, where I can hit the ground running but I am still going to pay about $100, AND quite a bit of shipping..

So my options are slim right now, but I am going to stick around here, learn as much as I can, and just keep looking. (maybe start off practicing technique with a shavette?)

Anyways, this is a great site, and I'm happy to be a part of it!


Sean

Welcome to SRP ..Sean. Glad to have you aboard. I have only one question for you. Is the General Changs Chicken any good over there ?? Seriously though welcome and take heart sir.You may find a razor and a way to get it to you yet hangin around here. Till then ...soak it all up and enjoy the ride...it's a pretty good one.:chapeau

Welocome aboard
The classifieds here or a whipped dog sight un seen may be an option for you
I have heard good things about them shave ready but a lucky dip with the blade type etc

Hey and welcome to the forum. As an alternative you might be able to find a decent vintage Gillette DE lying around for a decent price over there. Add some good blades and you are off to the races for cheap. On the bright side you should be able to get a nice badger brush fairly easily as a lot are made there. Just a thought.

Bob

I just picked up a couple things while I was out to get started. Thanks for the tips though.

I bought a Parker shavette to hold me over until I can get a good straight razor honed and shipped to me.

Attachment 171046Attachment 171047


These were options available to me at the moment, so i am going to make due.

I also picked up a boar brush

If those were your options I don't see why they would not work. Mind you I have never used a shavette or shark blades. What have you got for shave soap?

Bob

Thanks Bob. I plan on picking up a good vintage straight razor when I pay off some accumulated student debt lol!

For now I just picked up a bar of Van Der Hagen soap. However, there is a wide range of Proraso available I can pick up later. There is also Pre De Proven (not sure if its a popular brand or not)...

Never tried Van Der Hagen or Pre De Provence but I use Proraso Green and it is pretty good. It may be a step up from Van Der Hagan but not sure. Pre De Provence gets some pretty good reviews. I am sure if you can raise a good lather from the Van Der Hagan you will be off to the races. Be aware that it may take a couple of weeks for a boar brush to truly break in. Don't judge it by the first couple of shaves with it if it is too scratchy feeling. Well broken in they can be very nice on the face. Good luck.

Bob

Hi and welcome. With out honing equipment or skills and with lack of access to a pro a shavette is probably a good option anyhow and you can use it when you do get a straight and need to send it out or for backup/travel. Good luck and any questions feel free to ask

Pre de Provence is a good non-expensive soap, which is one of my early favorites. Prosaso is also very good, and more well known. You should get a good start with either. Both are better than Van de Hagan, IMO.

It's the best time however, because I am working to pay tuition, and on a budget. I also don't have as many options here in Beijing:

1) I could buy a chinese brand, such as gold dollar; which will be honed by the seller. But to be honest, I don't want to start my learning curve with a poor quality substitute. I also don't trust the honing skills.

Welcome to SRP!
Ooohh...How much is a GD? (If they even exist there). There HAS to be a better Chinese brand there.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by HaiKarate

Welcome to SRP!
Ooohh...How much is a GD? (If they even exist there). There HAS to be a better Chinese brand there.

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They are about 15 CNY for the loe end ones and up to 50...so from about $2 USD to $8.

There are also other strange brands, such as golden monkey, chaoba, and so on..all about the same price. Titans are sold here too.

I doubt there are many good brands, and I am just going to wait until I can get quality stuff, and quality honing.

I have been over to whippeddog.com and I am probably going to buy from them!

Ok.. theres a bazillion people there.. There has to be, JUST HAS TO BE...ONE man there forging custom razors... and probably doing a good job at it. Oh my

after a lot of searching, there is not many choices in China. I would like to say none. i am guessing you used taobao to look for the razors. almost all of the razors on taobao is on the do not buy list on this website. Even Gold Dollar (which is considered "best" of the bunch) is iffy. It seems you would need a lot of experience to hone it. I don't trust the "shave ready" advertisements on taobao. I have seen some on ebay that you could try. For the legit razors (dovo) on taobao, i think they are overpriced.

forget about honing for now. there is not much need for it in the beginning. I just started and haven't needed to hone yet. If money is a big concern, i suggest the classifieds on this site. I mainly signed up just to purchase from the classifieds. for the strop, you can buy from the whippeddog.com. I have never purchased from them but the price even with international shipping is very good. They have had good reviews.

if you can spare some extra cash, i suggest to buy from SRD. The shipping rate is ok and the set with a strop is pretty good. The only issue is to wait for things to be in stock again. the superiorshave has some nice razors under 100USD and includes international shipping. I haven't bought from them yet but it is something i looked into last week. I do a lot of price comparisons because i also need to pinch my pennies as well. If you find you don't like the razors, you can always just sell them (so i don't suggest the whippeddog for the razor).

for the soap and brush, not really necessary as you can still use your shaving cream/gel.

Tell us what something about what you shave with now.

I ask because for me the big breakthrough was a great soap and a darn fine brush.
Neither need be expensive.

With good "latherin" I found that even inexpensive tossables could get a vastly
improved shave.

As you explore saving soaps (and creams) consider that replacement pucks are a lot less
expensive than the fancy wood bowl with soap in it.

Also the transition from an electric to a blade takes a bit of doing.

Hi - welcome to the forum - great to see another Canadian!