Thread: Future Physician on a Straight Razor Mission

First off, welcome!

Second, look at the shopping list for beginners link in my sig for what you need.

A good razor can usually be had in the classifieds for less than $50.

Whipped dog has razors for 33 and under. They aren't super restored, but that is how he keeps the prices down. There are quality razors on the site with an edge as good as any. He also has a cool deal where you can trade any razor bought on his site for another for the price of a hone. This is a great way to test out different sizes and grinds without spending much money.

The most important thing with a razor is that it be shave ready. Getting good shaves with a straight is very reliant on the technique you use, and since in the beginning your technique will lack, your shave will be sub par for some time. During this time, you don't want to doubt whether or not the razor's edge has anything to do with it.

Ruprazor filly is, imo, the best strop to start out with. Its made of quality material, but without all the fancy frills. Since your first strop is likely to get nicked up, this is perfect.

You want a decent brush too. I got a tweezerman badger hair for 12 bucks.

Quality soap makes a difference as well. The soap lasts quite a while, so don't balk at some of the prices. Mama bear, Mitchell's Wool Fat, and KissMyFace are my personal favs.

Skip on hones until you are positive you want to stick with straight shaving AND you want to hone your own razors. Plenty of guys send their razors out to get honed by pros and there is no shame in that. (Also, if you buy from a razor from StraightRazorDesigns right now, you get free honing for life, an amazing deal). If you find you do want to maintain your own razors, you don't need a huge set of honeing stones unless you want to actually restore razors. Just an inexpensive cuticle or barbers hone will keep the edge nice.

When its all said and done, you can get started with decent equipment for as little as $50 to $70. If you find that straights aren't for you, you can usually resell your razor for about the same price you picked it up for. So even if you don't stick with it, you will only be down 30 bucks or so.

Welcome to SRP.

You've gotten some good advice above. I'd just like to weigh in and say that skimping on the strop is not an ideal way to start. Having used many strops, I would recommend getting a high quality modular strop. That way, once you nick it, which will happen, you can replace the leather component for a modest sum, but you will always have a nice strop. I really didn't find the Filly to be very effective (I tried it after learning to strop), and while it's serviceable, I would rather spend money on a better strop and a modest razor rather than the opposite.

Welcome again, and enjoy!

thanks to everyone who replied. i have been browsing the classified section here for a shave ready straight. i have also been considering whipped dog. for a strop, i was going to go with a filly, but i am going to take richmondesi's advice into consideration.

i have several brushes (rooney 3/1 super, semogue 1305) and plenty of soaps and creams so I'm all set on everything except the blade and the strop.


thanks everyone again!!

I'm going to agree with Paul. I had the filly. It didn't prepare me for a proper stropping I do like the other strops from that outfit, but I will also agree that a replaceable component would have saved me money and given me a better feedback from the razor. I have since moved on to owning too many strops and while I haven't had all of them for a long time, I can say that the quality strops are worth every cent. I would rather spend the money here than anywhere else as this is the final tuning of your edge everyday, a stropping can make or break the shave for that day.

Originally Posted by Eudjinn

thanks to everyone who replied. i have been browsing the classified section here for a shave ready straight. i have also been considering whipped dog. for a strop, i was going to go with a filly, but i am going to take richmondesi's advice into consideration.

i have several brushes (rooney 3/1 super, semogue 1305) and plenty of soaps and creams so I'm all set on everything except the blade and the strop.


thanks everyone again!!

I would add a Barber hone and a Chrome pasted paddle as well to be fully set

sorry for the ignorance, but what is a "modular strop?" can anyone recommend a specific strop that is better than the filly for a beginner?

I don't know why people are hating on the philly. Its made with the same quality leather as the higher priced strops, but it doesn't have the level of tooling and nice hardware attached to it. IMO, this makes it perfect for the beginner who doesn't want to make a big investment.

The modular strops are nice, but they cost significantly more than a regular strop, which is honetly all he needs.

Originally Posted by markevens

I don't know why people are hating on the philly. Its made with the same quality leather as the higher priced strops, but it doesn't have the level of tooling and nice hardware attached to it. IMO, this makes it perfect for the beginner who doesn't want to make a big investment.

The modular strops are nice, but they cost significantly more than a regular strop, which is honetly all he needs.

The beautiful thing about opinions: everyone is entitled to their own.

The leather of a Filly is not the same as a strop that I would make an everyday strop. If I had to use one, I would, but I don't. The one I used was significantly less effectual than what I'm used to. If we were only going to talk about what we "need", then this site would be quite boring because we have made a hobby of shaving (I'm assuming you recognize how absurd that must seem to 99.9835% of the population).

I'm of the opinion that it's better to invest in few quality pieces rather than buy several lower quality items. One or two nice razors, one really nice brush and strop, a quality cream or soap. The Filly doesn't fit in that scenario. I simply offer a counter point to the ones made in support of the Filly. Additionally, the replacement leather component is what, $50? So, in essence, my recommendation would require an additional $20 investment (all told when factoring in replacing the leather component versus buying a filly and a better strop later), but for that he gets a significantly better quality product to learn on. Plus, you get a linen component to start with (which the Filly doesn't come with). Factoring that in, the value proposition of the Filly is not attractive at all to me.