New to the Hobby

Hello everyone, I have decided to get into this new hobby of straight razor shaving (too many bad shaves). I have decided that every year I will pick up a new hobby/talent and this year is straight razor shaving. Plus my birthday is next week so I figured I would treat myself to a nice kit. There appears to be a plethora of information here, so I will be sure to check that out over the coming days.

Any advice would be warmly welcomed. I am looking for a razor along with a strop, hone, brush, etc. Ideally as a kit, but am willing to piece them together from different sources to make sure I get what I want. I am reading that some people recommend a lesser priced razor for the first one, but I am wanting something in the $100-$200 range since I like the idea of a good quality razor lasting a lifetime and passing it along. From my limited research it seems like Dovo is a good fit for what I am looking for. Many people are fans of the Bismarck model. I saw a Dovo-Inox olivewood stainless steel 5/8 that I fancied, but feel like I need to learn more to know the true differences and what I would like. I also would like to learn to hone at some point in the near future, but figure it is best to buy a shave ready razor for my first try, so I know how it should feel.

Really excited to looking forward to shaving for the first time in my life.

Best,
Joe

Good day Joe,
Like you I am fairly new to the forum and I am no expert. But I can say I have had great luck with Dovo. It seems like a great razor and shaves very well. As I have been looking around I have seen several sites offering a Dovo razor with strop and other parts of the kits for the $180.00 range. One site also included sharpening for life free. Not a bad combination a great razor, good kit and pro honed and stropped for free for life. On the question of buying a less expensive razor, I would say you get what you pay for. I have a couple no name razors I bought that will be great for practicing Honing and stropping with. But they don’t shave worth a crap. I’d stick with a good razor. As one of my old coaches use to say, Practice does not make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect. Hope my two cents helps. Latter.

Hey Joe,

I've said to myself a thousand times that if I had to start all over again, I'd just go right to Straight Razor Designs and buy one of their "kits". Everything comes all together, and you can choose to upgrade parts during the checkout process. Dovo is a great place to start in my opinion. I still have my Dovo best quality, which was my first razor. I still love it. It's a workhorse.

There's plenty of time in this hobby to source out different things, so why not make it as simple as possible at the very beginning. You'll get a shave ready razor, strop, brush, soap....and there you go.

Best of luck. PM me if you need any help with anything.

Welcome to SRP Joe. You may want to begin by reading gssixgun's "Beginners Tips" found on the opening page of the forum. And you did get some good advice from Maxi that can make your life a little easier. As has been mentioned be sure
to ask any questions and please keep us informed of how things progress for you.