Greetings from the Great Wet North. Welcome to the forum. There is tons of information here and a lot of friendly and knowledgable people. The first thing a beginner needs to know about buying a straight razor is is needs to be properly honed to shave ready before it can be used. There are many vendors that sell them pre honed. Classic Edge is close to you, at least from my perspective, and Phil puts a nice edge on them. If you are shopping for new I cannot say enough what a good job he does. If you are looking for a used razor there is often a great selection in our classifieds. You should get a brush and some good soap right off the bat, and start shopping for a strop and razor. While that is going on do some reading here and ask a few question if there is anything that does;t make sense or you haven't found.