Thread: Help me find a straight razor!

Hey guys, long time lurker, first time poster. Let me start off by saying WOW, what an amazing forum and wealth of information.

Anyways, I started wet shaving with AOS products and a very cheap disposable straight razor (from Sally's beauty). I think i've finally got the hang of straight shaving without cutting myself all over the place.

Now i'm in the market for a straight razor, It seems that Dovo is very popular and reputable....SO my question to you guys is,

Would I be better off getting a SET? eg a dovo 6/8 with a strop or should I get them seperatly?

P.S. I know this hobby is rather costly, but is there anyway I would be able to get good dovo straight razor or something around 90 bucks?

Hey, If you go to ruporazor.com there is a starter razor/strop for $60. its the Gold dollar razor and the filly strop. I just ordered it. that will be my second razor.

This question get's asked pretty often, and I have the same answer every time.

Buying a set is not a good plan for a new shaver on a budget.

For the same money or less, you could get a MUCH better razor from the classifieds.


$30-$50 will buy an excellent vintage razor that is honed and shave ready from the classifieds. Add a decent strop like a philly, and you're practically ready to go. You've got a better razor, and you've spent less money.

Frankly, the only time I would recommend buying a set, is if you wanted to buy a set as a gift for someone.

I'm with VeeDubb on this one - I've never had a Gold Dollar or any of the other "kit" razors, but from what I've read, I believe the edges on vintage razors will hold sharp for longer. You can start with a cheap strop or just use newspaper/old jeans/etc.

In short, +1 on the classifieds.

In fact hit holli4pirating up here ^^ for one.

Bet he has something in the $50 with a sway back that'll fit your needs nicely..

Another vote for buying separately, a little research and it'll be a lot easier on your budget and the quality will be at least equal to a set. On the other hand if you don't want the hassle, ruprazor has a great name (as do others). Good luck, and enjoy the ride whatever your decision.

Buying seperately allows you an additional benefit. I find that anytime I buy a cheap set of anything, I end up replacing everything. By buying individually, you can get at least one of the items that you might end up using for quite a long time.

For example, when I started I bought a cheap strop. Pretty quickly I realized that it was a limiting factor, so I bought a slightly more expensive one. I used it for about 6 months and finally bought a really nice strop from SRD.

After doing the math on it I realized that I would have saved a good bit of money by getting the nice strop off the bat. Even if I had to put a new piece of leather on it after I had learned what I was doing. Also, that way you are learning on things you will keep.

Originally Posted by VeeDubb65

$30-$50 will buy an excellent vintage razor that is honed and shave ready from the classifieds. Add a decent strop like a philly, and you're practically ready to go. You've got a better razor, and you've spent less money.

Frankly, the only time I would recommend buying a set, is if you wanted to buy a set as a gift for someone.

+1 here.

Though, even for a gift set, I would still buy the razor from the classifieds. Those gents to great work, and they are very reasonable.

If your wondering about width, I would go with a 5/8ths. Very versatile and easily maneuverable. Your secong razor (and you will want one) could be a wider one (6/8 or even 7/8).

I pondered the same question when i started to look for a SR,I bought mine from the classifieds here at SRP from hi_bud_gl and I LOVE it! when you break down the reasonable price as far as restoration,honeing,polishing and all the magical skills the members here put in thier craft getting a truely "shave ready" and tested SR i couldn't go wrong.So in short,check out the classifieds and feel free to ask questions you'll be guided properly and you'll have a nice shaving journey.