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I'm interested in buying a good straight razor. I've read the wiki pages, and I understand that it's important for a beginner to get a shave ready razor and a good strop. Price isn't too much of an issue, but I'd like to buy it from Amazon.com if at all possible, as I have store credit from there. Does anyone know of a good beginner razor that comes shave ready from Amazon and/or a quality strop?
Thanks in advance.
Welcome to SRP
I just looked. The only ones worth buying are the dovos that royal shave sells on amazon. If you like to experience proper edge though you need to then send the razor for honing to somebody who's good at that, so factor in another $20-$30 and a week to a month delay.
Or you can try the factory edge - it'll most likely shave, but to me the whole point of shaving with a straight razor is the comfort and the dovo factory edge is worse than a cartridge.
Strops - there are some 'fromm' which appear to be illinois, I wouldn't get anything else.
In my opinion you're much better off using your amazon credit to purchase other stuff you may like on amazon and get your razor and strop from a place like straightrazordesigns, so that it shows up properly honed and you'll even get a certificate for another free honing down the road.
FWIW --
I just browsed all the Amazon straight razors, and the first 4 pages of strops.
By the standards of this website ("shave-ready" means a human being has hand-honed and stropped the edge), there's _no_ "shave-ready" razor in the list. The only generally-acceptable brand is Dovo, and several of the reviews say:
. . . .This razor was great after I had it honed.
If you do a search on "Fromm razor" on this site, you'll see many unfavorable comments. The vintage Fromm's were good, I think, but they're not on Amazon.
OTOH, the Fromm strops (on Amazon) look like re-branded Illinois strops. If that's what they are, they're fine. So are the Dovo strops.
Charles
PS -- I object to the term "beginner razor". Whatever you use, it needs to be sharp (so it cuts hair) and properly tempered (so you can strop and hone it back to sharpness, when it becomes dull). Such a razor is suitable for _anyone_.
PPS -- you can find reasonably-priced vintage blades (and new strops) on the Classifieds on this site, and at "www.whippeddog.com" .
PPPS -- Gugi -- sorry for stepping on your toes with the post.
thanks for the quick replies; I think I'm gonna get one of the sets from straightrazordesigns
I have had a bad experience ordering from Amazon. I ordered a Dovo but then received a re-branded knock-off. I second Gugi, if you do, buy the razors sold by Royal Shave and then get it honed.
Or just go through SRD and get one shave ready!
The Fromm strops for sale on Amazon are Illinois strops (that's what I have and I got it from Amazon).
My first straight came from Larry at WhippedDog.com because I didn't want to spend a ton of money when I first started. My second straight is a vintage razor I found locally and was able to hone myself. My first "brand new" straight came from theSuperiorShave.com.
ooh I like the sight unseen deal at whippeddog.com. Question though, one of his deals comes with a 2x5 full size barber hone. Assuming I learn how to do it properly, is this single tool good enough to hone razors so that they're shave ready? I was under the impression that hones would be more expensive, considering that the price to get it done professionally once is about the same price as the hone.
A barber hone is mostly designed to touch up an razor that is starting to get dull, Larry's straights comes shave ready, and you can use the barber hone to get it back with a few strokes. I'm sure you can do heavier work on one, but it's not that practical.Quote:
Originally Posted by eliasbagley
I think I'm going to try Larry's honing training, where he gives feedback on razors you hone for him. I'm guessing you'd probably want a complete honing kit, such as the one listed here Amazon.com: Norton Waterstone Starter Kit: 220/1000 grit stone, 4000/8000 grit stone, SiC flattening stone: Industrial & Scientific ? Also, can these be used to sharpen stuff other than razors, such as regular knives?
How about forgeting about honing for the next 2 months and concentrating on shaving only :)
Well I'd like to do the honing training and get feedback as soon as I can, so after a few months when it needs to be honed I can just do it myselfQuote:
Originally Posted by gugi
You can start practicing honing whenever you like, but as for best success with shaving you want to use the same razor and general set up for a while and not vary many things constantly. Maintaining your razor sharp has a lot more to do with good stropping and shaving techniques than with honing. Touching up a razor is pretty straightforward - few light and uniform strokes on a fine hone is all it takes.
Where most beginners fail is in restoring junk edges - above all in establishing good bevel, then knowing when to switch hones in the sharpening progression, and lastly in maintaining good honing stroke throughout the sharpening process.