Welcome to SRP!
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Welcome to SRP!
Hi and welcome aboard
Last night, I ordered a sight unseen razor and poor man's strop from Whipped Dog. After doing some research, it seemed like the best way to go. I looked into the starter kit on WCS but that was $170, which is more than I wanted to spend. I actually almost pulled the trigger on the beginner kit that Razor Emporium sells, with the Gold Dollar razor and beginner strop for $60 but I wasnt too keen on the GD because its made in China. Im not too confident on Chinese steel holding an edge. Ive got a Chinese made Boker pocket knife and it doesnt compare to the German made ones.
Sooooo, we'll see what razor WD sends me. Im hoping its a Dovo or other German made razor but whatever is fine. If I like SR shaving, Im going to upgrade to a Boker or Ralf Aust anyways.
I also discovered that theres a company in my town who does razor honing, so when it does need honing, I dont need to worry about sending it out, which is nice. Im hopeful and confident that stropping should be all I need for the most part though, with the occasional honing to refresh the edge (hopefully only every 6-12 months).
You made the right call, GD's can be made shave ready, and many do customize them and get good results, but it's still lipstick on a pig in my opinion, the steel alone kills it for me, just nowhere near the quality you'll get from a nice vintage razor, and that's what you'll get from Whipped Dog.
Once you've put the first 20 shaves under your belt, will be time to pick up another razor, classifieds here are a great place, then aim for your 50 and the magic 100 shave benchmarks...if you're like most of us, somehow you'll have a nice little collection going by that time, and there's plenty out there you can score for under $75-$50 that are great razors....congrats.
Welcome to the forum. Hope you get a blade you like from WD. It will likely be German, English, or American. Any of which makes great razor blades. Some prefer the American or Sheffield steel. Just depends on your "druthers".
Welcome to the forum.