Thread: Your 1st Straight Razor

Technically my first was a Beau Brummel I won on ebay that looks to be in excellent condition but it's not shave ready.

My first shave ready razor was a 5/8 Henckels I bought here from Ivo.

You can find some good deals on nice razors that will be shave ready on the BST here. In fact, you may want to look right now...someone just listed 16 shave ready razors that look great.

Good luck with your search.

Casey

My first straight was a French army Surgical razor (imagine a Wapi but made in France by various manufacturers) bought perhaps 9 years ago online here when the company was still in San Diego. A friend in my squadron had mentioned (14 years ago) that he used and enjoyed a straight shave, but I couldn't afford all the pretty offerings at the mall knife store, so I simmered and eyeballed them until coming onto the site. Unfortunately, SRP wasn't around to help when I got it, so I sharpened it like a knife, and of course, didn't like the result. It got lost/thrown/given away.

A few years later I found SRP (when we were only over at Yahoo) and bought a prize new "SIMCO" Pakistani razor and a "Dovo Special 5/8" in tortoise from diffferent stores about the same time. The SIMCO did shave *ok* for about the first few passes on one cheek but that's about all it had in it. I still defended it on the forums, because I still think I got a better one than most people seem to get.
The Dovo, which I still have, is the same one many other members even today like. It shaves quite well.

John P.

My first one was a Spanish 5/8 that I bought when I was in my teens about 1973
.i couldnt aford a strop & didnt know a thing about honing ,so you can imagine what the shaves were like. I came back to straights about15 years ago using them on &off until I got an Ivory micarta Dovo from a friend who had some in stock.I bought a strop with this & an arkasnsas pocket hone & this was my set up until I discovered this forum.
The help & advice I've got from members of this forum has helped me to fill in the gaps in my knowlege & technique& Im finally competent & get BBS shave most of the time & have a growing herd of blades .Thanks everybdy.Paul

My 1st was a beautiful Drees purchased from Mike Ratliff here on the B/S/T.

Glad I went with an offering from the folks here. I have since purchased a number of razors from eBay and I established the bench-mark early making clear comparisons much easier!

v/r

Allen

My first razor was a Zeepk...I thought I was so cool...

My Carmen from classicshaving

See sig. LOL

Zeepk. All in all an unexpectedly bad morning.

My first was a Timor Blue Steel 5/8 RP that I bought from Classic Shaving. They're no longer sold there, and I no longer own that razor.

Originally Posted by Kaishen88

What was the first straight razor that you purchased?

This, of course, is a simple question, but I think it'll procure the ends which I've tried to meet: making the decision on which first straight razor I should purchase. I've not found a definitive guide as to direct me to which particular one a beginner should purchase, although from looking at the data, 5/8's and 6/8's are a reasonable starting point, and there seem to be a large number of suggestions on buying used. I think my difficulty is pertaining to brands: Dovo? TI? Dubl Duck? (does brand even matter?)

I suppose in addition to the first querry, if you could maybe explain what compelled you to make that particular purchase?

Thanks in advance!

My first was an Oxford Germania round point. I still have it and it's in fact my favorite thus far. I found it at an antique store quite by accident and paid $14 for it. I bought it because I was trying to replace the crappy Zeepk I bought and figured it was only $14. It's a 5/8 and turned out to be great to learn on.

I'd say brand typically doesn't matter. It's like asking what's better: a Lamborghini or Ferrari? It comes down to what you like, and you won't know until you try them both. I would highly suggest buying off the Buy/Sell/Trade forum from one of our senior members. That way you can guarantee that it's shave ready, and if they say it's a good razor, you're probably safe in knowing that it's good.

My first razor was a Red Imp Wedge, 5/8, which I purchased at Knott's Berry Farm while on vacation. Didn't know enough about shaving then, but always thought it looked "cool" in movies. So, I used the new, unstropped razor that night. I still have a small scar on my left cheek from that first shave(shouldn't have used a stypic pencil for that 'gash') , and that was 40 years ago.

I don't see many "wedge grinds" offered these days, but I wish I still had it, as after I got 'lessons' from a local old time barber, that razor was one of the smoothest on the face I've ever used.

Knipper