Clueless Girlfriend from the Chi!

Hi ALL!

I am new to straight razor and only started researching it because my boyfriend has been complaining about his razor. He has had straight razor shaves at the barber and always talks about how he loves his shave. He is into vintage everything! bicycles, records, musical instruments...etc.. the old soul type of guy that he is, I thought he would love to just make the switch to straight razor, (he already uses a brush and cream to shave), so i thought this would be a great gift for him.

This is what I've learned so far, (please excuse my ignorance and correct me if I am wrong) and I would prefer to keep razor, brush, and bowl vintage. I have been watching items on ebay and etsy, just need a little direction on what to keep my eye on and what to pass up.

BLADES: for beginners a 6/8 size with a french point or round point is best.
What are the best blade types to use?? I did see some Damascus steel blades, are those any good?

The HANDLE: I'm very clueless in this part, and there are so many variations. What are are good quality handles made out of?

BRUSH: I read everywhere that Silverpoint Badger brush is the best. Who makes the best brushes? (vintage companies, unless this is not recommended)

Bowl: I've been seeing a lot of wooden bowls that I really like. I'm just not sure what type of wood is the most durable and what companies are the best qualities.

And as far as the shaving soap/cream what is the best natural/organic plant based shaving soap out there? I've seen some that are handmade on etsy, and Dr. Bronner's shaving cream.


Thanks a lot for the help!

Pax~

G'day Pax and welcome. First thing I will recommend to you is to stay away from ebay. Buying an ebay razor is not for the uninitiated if it is going to be for anything other than dsplay. Yes you might get a good one, but then again you might not.

I would recommend you do your vintage razor shopping in the classifieds on this site. The members here are more trustworthy and chances are that the razor you buy will be what we call 'shave ready'. A new razor may not fall into the shave ready catagory either, depending on which outlet you purchase from.

5/8 or 6/8 are good starting sizes for a first blade. Stay away from the damascine steels. True damascus steel would fall well out of the price range of most people. Much of the rest is just utter cr@p.

Handle material is something that is a non issue for the most part. Old razors can have damaged 'scales' and if bad enough are generally replaced. There really is no best in this respect.

Brushes are better new. You could look into the Semogue brushes, many of which have more classical looks to them, I'm not an expert on brushes, but I know what I like, and I like the look of many of the Semogue brushes. Boar or badger are common. Boar is a stiffer bristled brush and badger feels softer. Silvertip badger is considered top of the line.

Bowls , scuttles or shaving mug: I would look for a shaving mug or a scuttle rather than a wooden bowl, again these have hardly changed appearance over the years, so they have the same timeless look irregardless of age. If you can find vintage, good. Otherwise a new one will look just as good, these can be found online and you should be safe enough to find one on ebay. Just make sure it isn't damaged or cracked.

Shave creams/soaps you could look into the great range of these produced by the likes of Mamma Bear. There are others, but I'm no expert in soaps/creams either.

He will also need a strop. There's a great range of strops available at sites like SRD.com. I would stay away from the 'bay here as well. Or once again check out the classifieds on this site for a secondhand strop.


Hope that is of some hel to you Pax, and thank you for being such a thoughtful girlfriend to your man.


Mick

Mick, you have such a good way with words and offer excellent advice.

Sunbird

It was the last sentence in the Damascus paragraph that did it for ya huh?! :)


Mick

Welcome to the forum Pax. I think Mick covered it nicely so the only thing I'll add is to say to check out The Body Shop for some of their Maca Root shave cream.

Bob

The nice thing about new brushes from the more traditional English-style makers is that I think most of the handle models originated almost 100 years ago, and are still exactly the same, except they're from the plastic monster instead of elephants, so there's no reason not to have one of those.

In Chicago, Mertz Apothecary in Lincoln Square and down in the loop both carry lots of soaps and brushes (no straight razors), so you could stop in there to touch the real stuff and packaging, see what you like the looks of.

I'm not into ceramic/glass bowls after mine slid into the sink and shattered. I now use a metal cup. There are some cool ones around, and it doesn't have to be made for shaving. For instance, I have my silver-plated baby cup with my name engraved on it--it's a bit small, but I keep it on the shelf and use it once and a while for fun.

If you decide to visit Mertz in the loop, contact me ahead of time---I'm just around two corners on the opposite side of the block--and I can walk you through some razors in the flesh (oooh--bad reference, maybe, when talking about straights!), if I know ahead of time.

Welcome neighbor!
Here is my 2 cents - this is basically what I did, and it worked very well for me. Others may disagree based upon their experience, but your job, of course, is to figure out what will work for you and yours.

At this time, I would forget vintage and either buy a Dovo Best Quality/Strop combo or a Dovo Best Quality full wet shaving package from SRD. Make sure you buy a 3" strop. If you choose the razor/strop combo you can then have some more flexibility with the bowl, brush, and soap. Here is my reasoning behind my reccommendation:

The Dovo Best Quality is a fine, no-frills shaver. You can choose either 5/8 or 6/8 width, something that is not availible with all razors. It will come honed shave-ready by the guys at SRD and (here, in my opinion, is the key) you will get a certificate for a free second honing. This is important for a number of reasons: First, it is like getting a free $25 in the deal. On top of that, if you buy vintage and have to send it out to get honed, this is actually like getting $50! Second, it gave me confidence to tackle stropping without fear of rolling the edge - if I screwed up my edge learning to strop, I would be covered (at least once!)

I think the 3" strop is a good idea. Learning on a 2" strop means learning something called an "X stroke" - basically moving the razor in two planes instead of just one during the process. I am a big proponent of limiting variables during the learning process. I think this promotes mastery and reduces frustration, which can scare people away. I think the 3" gives the proper results with less complex learning. Once this is mastered, one can move to a 2" if desired.

After proper technique and maintenance of the equipment is learned, surprize him with a nice vintage razor - they are great!
I feel that with a shave ready edge and the 2nd free honing, buying a new Dovo Best Quality is comparable, and in many cases more ecomomical than buying vintage (go check out some of the prices on ebay!)

Again, this is what I did and it worked out great for me. I actually bought 2 Dovos right off the bat so I would have one in reserve when I needed to send one out for that 2nd free honing! I now have 5 new and 5 vintage razors (not nearly as impressive as many of the members here) but my small flock serves me well and I am comfortable with their use, and am learning more about their maintenance every day.

I hope this helps - whatever you decide, do your best to put your boyfriend in the best possible position to succeed. Early success, no matter how small, will reinforce his experience and increase the chance that he sticks with it.

Good Luck!
Gags

I just thought of this-
If you want a cool bowl/mug - go to ebay and check out "occupational shave mug." Basically, in the old days, barber shop customers would have their own mug at the shop that the babrer would use only for them when they came in for a shave. The mugs would have a picture of their occupation on them, sometimes along with their name. There are a bunch of vintage ones out their (some with crazy prices) along with some very reasonably priced reproductions. I have just started collecting these - some are really cool.

Side note - to anyone reading this - my description of the occupational mug is "something I heard somewhere." If I am incorrect about the use or history of these mugs, please correct me!

I can only add that the best thing you can do is to meet up with a local who can help you sort thru the options.

:)

Pax,
First let me say, you are the coolest girlfriend to take an active part in making your boyfriend happy.

Second, everyone here has given you really good advice.

Third, because I think what you are doing is very cool, may I offer send you a razors or free? I have a 5/8 Morley Clover in Honey Horn that is shave ready. I picked this up for under $5 so I could practice making scales/handles. I have shaved with it and it is a smooth shave. But as i rotate almost 30 razors, this one has been sitting collecting dust for a month. I will disinfect it in barbacide and I'd be happy to send it to you. Just to be clear, if you want the razor it is yours to keep, this is not a loan.

As a new person on this board you may be skeptical, but I have been the beneficiary of other members sending me stuff (scale material, sample soaps and an older razor to practice restoration) for free. And I could always use some good karma.

I've included a picture of the razor for you to take a look. If you are interested, send me message with an address I can ship the razor to.

PhilAttachment 123466

Excellent offer on a very good straight razor! :)

THANK YOU! I sent you a message with my address in case you still have the razor.

Such a good idea! thanks.

Do you work in the Loop Pax? If so, go to the Palmer House Hotel. Right off the lobby is a place called Merz Apothecary. I was just in there myself. They can get you set up with everything you need in one visit. Likewise, their main store is up north and may be another option for you to visit them. They have straight razors (not shave ready), brushes, soaps, creams, aftershaves, balms.....all of it.