I am new to this forum and have not used a straight, yet. I have been pouring over the forum and soaking up information on shaving in general, which has improved the quality of my shaving experience with my little Mach 3 already. So, thanks goes out to everyone here for some much information.
I did exactly what the forum says not to do for your first straight, bought a nice vintage Wade and Butcher Special on the bay. It was only $12.50 so how could I pass that up. It is in fair condition, a lot of patina, some surface rust, the scales are not cracked (but a little warped) and the razor is tight at the pivot, no pitting or smile on the blade. It does need to be honed and work done on it to remove the surface rust. I see sharping services offered at two of the sites that advertise on here (Vintage Blades and Straight Razor Designs) it looks like they are the same place since they both have you ship to the same PO box. Do they perform the other services also or can anyone recommend some place? I am usually a do it myself kind of person, but until I have more experience this is better left to the pros.
So far the rest of my kit is a cheap Omega brush/bowl /stand, Cella shave soap, SRD Latigo strop, Alum block and Brut balm.
Thanks again,
therev