been trolling a few days and decided to officially join up and get serious about this 'straight razor' thing.

i've always thought they were cool looking and badazz, but all the ones i saw were extremely expensive. so i never picked one up. but after watching the sweeny todd movie and (bout the same time) discovering an old dublduck wooden mug and brush that belonged to my great grandfather (who used to be a barber(R.I.P)) i decided i needed to learn the art for myself.
seeing as we're on the edge of summer, it's time for the winter beard to go and time to pick up some shaving supplies, so i shall be roaming around looking for deals on razors and various knowledge to help me along. i've read the stickies in the beginner section so i'm finding my footing. lots of great info so far.

so any suggestions on razors, brushes, mugs, creams, soaps, strops?
i've read about true shave ready and not just factory.
i'm trying to do this on a budget and add onto it over time

and i cant use the aforementioned dubduck because it's covered in rust and has huge knicks in it.

at any rate, thanks for reading!