Reeling from bad experience, looking for advice

Hey all,
I'm (very) new to straight shaving. I've been interested for a long time and after coming across this deal: Vintage Straight Razor | Straight Razor | The 80% OFF Boned Camel Deal | VintageStraightRazor.com , I figured I couldn't really go wrong. Anyways, the package arrived and yesterday morning I tried my first straight razor shave. It was TERRIBLE. My face is covered in burn, and the shave wasn't close in the slightest. While I do attribute this to my rookie shaver status, and and fully committed to practicing and improving my technique, I've also been researching both the razor I used and the dealer I bought it from. By the end of the shave, my razor doesn't feel much sharper than my pocket knife (which for the record, is kept as sharp as possible, but I'd never think to shave with it). On this very forum, I came across this review: http://straightrazorpalace.com/razor...ons-razor.html
Now I'm brand spanking new to this community and practice, but I've done a fair amount of research and it doesn't seem like the razor i purchased is either sharpened traditionally or of a high enough quality to last longer than a few shaves. So I wanted to ask for opinions. What's a decent, yet fairly inexpensive razor a beginner like myself could look for, and where's a good place to look?

Sorry to read about your bad razor and shave

Keep checking the classifieds in here, there are usually starter/cheaper razors on there

I'm a newbie as well, but started off with a Parker shavette, you know, the kind with replaceable blades, and only about $20 with a pack of blades...not really like shaving with a straight, but gives you an idea of the technique, and at least you are guaranteed a sharp blade. I liked it so much, I got a real straight razor, and from researching it seemed best to go with a name brand, so I went with a Dovo, from Straight Razor Designs. They come shave ready, honed by Lynn (founder of this forum) and are good to go. My first tries resulted in nicks, etc, but at least when my technique was right, it shaved real purty..now 3 weeks later, it is the best thing since sliced bread (sort of a pun). I would advise getting a used razor in the classifieds on this site, or at least go with a reputable vendor and a respected brand..

That razor is well.. I would not worry about ever shaving with it.

For alternatives.

Check out this: Main Index - Straight Razor Place Classifieds
and this: Vendors Corner

Hello & welcome!
Your research needs to be in this forum on how to shave with a straight. Your razor is probably fine, but not honed. Your razor needs to be sent out to a professional to hone. While you are waiting for it's return; you can learn about shaving, gather the required basic equipment and attemt your real first shave when your razor returns. JMO

Sorry to hear of your experience. My take-home lesson would be to not mess around with a boned camel :-)

In all seriousness, you're better off with an ugly old vintage blade than with an unresearched brand new blade off the web. Look at the stuff at whippeddog.com; he specializes in inexpensive old blades that may not be pretty but shave and hold edges the way razors should.

Not to vendor bash but I've not heard one good thing about that particular vendor. I think it's safe to say you purchased a fine letter opener. It's unfortunate that people are getting duped into buying these things cause all they are doing is turning people away from SR shaving by selling them something that isn't fit for shaving. I'd check their return policy and see about getting your money back. Then as the previous poster said check the classifieds here. I'm sure you'll find a razor for near what you paid that is truly shave ready.

I'm sorry to hear about your experience but trust me once you get a proper straight in your hands you're in for some good times. Sure the first few won't be perfect but I'm sure they will be far better than what you put yourself through trying to shave with that.

Seriously, here in the classifieds is the way to go. Glad to hear that you weren't scared away and are bouncing back with questions and willing to stick with it. Sounds like all the above is good advice to me: send it out for a pro-honing, read until our eyes bleed in the mean time. There's so much good info on here, you won't believe it.

I'm a newb too and had a rough start. Now I'm actually making progress. It's SO much fun once the "worm starts to turn".

LOL about the "boned camel" joke. Roughkype is too funny!

Let me know if I can answer any newb questions for ya. I'm not qualified beyond that...

John

Tomahawk,

Here are links to the wiki articles to which Joed referred:

Good Straight Razor Brands - Straight Razor Place Wiki
Brands of Straight Razors to avoid - Straight Razor Place Wiki

Please don't let this rocky start discourage you about shaving with a straight razor. Once you get a shave-ready razor from a reputable vendor, you'll be on your way to smooth shaves. Good luck!

Yeah , someone's getting boned , but I don't think it's the camel ;) . For all you noobs out there ; do your research BEFORE you buy the razor .

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Originally Posted by tomahawk414

Hey all,
I'm (very) new to straight shaving. I've been interested for a long time and after coming across this deal: Vintage Straight Razor | Straight Razor | The 80% OFF Boned Camel Deal | VintageStraightRazor.com , I figured I couldn't really go wrong. Anyways, the package arrived and yesterday morning I tried my first straight razor shave. It was TERRIBLE. My face is covered in burn, and the shave wasn't close in the slightest. While I do attribute this to my rookie shaver status, and and fully committed to practicing and improving my technique, I've also been researching both the razor I used and the dealer I bought it from. By the end of the shave, my razor doesn't feel much sharper than my pocket knife (which for the record, is kept as sharp as possible, but I'd never think to shave with it). On this very forum, I came across this review: http://straightrazorpalace.com/razor...ons-razor.html
Now I'm brand spanking new to this community and practice, but I've done a fair amount of research and it doesn't seem like the razor i purchased is either sharpened traditionally or of a high enough quality to last longer than a few shaves. So I wanted to ask for opinions. What's a decent, yet fairly inexpensive razor a beginner like myself could look for, and where's a good place to look?

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sorry your experience was a bad one. I dont know what your budget is but you can usually find a good shaver for under $100 in the classifieds. Often they come truly shave ready but ask if it is not stated in the ad. you can also look in the clearance and sale sections of either Straight Razor Designs or VintageBlades.com (different from the place you used). You may also want to check out whippeddog.com who sells shave ready razors dirt cheap. Best of luck to ya, I hope this helps.

The superior shave is a great place to look as well.


Honestly you can not go wrong with a 6/8 dovo best with plastic scales. Get it honed by a pro and you will be hooked on this like the rest of us.

Good luck!

Sent from my BlackBerry 9700 using Tapatalk

I agree about the 6/8 Dovo Bests at Superior. He's the only vendor I've seen carrying them.Very good service from there. He's also the most consistent source for scales and factory pins, and his coticule selection will make your wallet writhe its way right out of your pocket.

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Originally Posted by tomahawk414

What's a decent, yet fairly inexpensive razor a beginner like myself could look for, and where's a good place to look?

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To answer this question look at post #4 in this thread :)

My advice and comments:

I bought my first razor off eBay. I was lucky, it was super sharp and truly shave ready. The others I bought from here or traded for ones here. If I were to turn back the clock; I'd ONLY buy from here, because these guys are the experts, generally, and also ( I find) a very nice bunch of people.

Now I'm a bit further into the whole endeavour, I can buy with confidence from elsewhere, but clearly there are some 'iffy' sellers out there (I'm referring to no-one in particular). If I were you, I'd buy a razor from here...I think you'll find it a pleasurable experience..

Fellas, I wanna thank you for all your advice. I can't wait to try again with a real razor, and start getting better at this. In the meantime, I plan to take all your advice and continue to read and research what I can. I look forward to someday being able to contribute here myself!

Another brand to add to the list of straight razor brands to avoid.

Sorry about your trouble. As most have stated, look through this site for the best advice. You can buy a really good shave ready razor off the classifieds for less money than you would think. Make sure you communicate with the seller as to the razor being "shave ready."
Don't be discouraged and good luck!!

I think I may too have been stung by the increasingly infamous G B Buckingham (& Sons).
I did a lot of research about WHAT I'd actually NEED, less on exactly WHY a straight razor needs to be up to a certain quality in order to be in any way useful for it's intended purpose.
Obviously the appeal was being able to get a number of requisite items relatively cheaply, oh well, live and learn.
In fairness, as I haven't actually RECIEVED the order yet, it may yet turn out to be all OK.
I'm not counting on it of course, particularly given the input I've read on this and other threads.
If nothing else, I'm hoping that there will at least be SOME usable items (apart from overcharging for it, how badly can one botch a bar of soap, a strip of leather or a brush after all?).
I guess the frustrating part is that a good many potential straight converts may well be put off by an initial poor (and costly) experience which essentially denies them the pleasurable experience of a straight razor shave.
I've been encouraged by some of the input on this site however and I'm certainly not about to give up, I'll just chalk it up to a (frustratingly un-necessary) false start and try my luck with an older (and proven) razor in need of love and fuss.

Oh, just as an interesting aside, I did find this curious website, it appears to be in part domain site for G B Buckingham and sons, and in part, online Justin Beiber fanzine.
Just weird, anyway, GB Buckingham and Sons | www.gbbuckinghamandsons.com enjoy

Believe it or not, most of the really quality stuff is cheaper than the crap. Just gotta know where to look. this forum has some good ideas... And btw, many of our members can give you a beautiful, vintage, shave ready, custom-scaled razor for as much or less money than that camel bone fiasco...

the camel boned fiasco as it shall henceforth be known (or in my case the buffalo horned fiasco).
I've just gone ahead and mailed Larry (I think) from whippeddog to ask about his $38 buck "sight unseen" vintage razor deal.
I'm hoping to go from one that is all show and (in all likelyhood) no go to one that may not necessarily win a beauty pageant but shaves up a real treat.
Let's hope huh?

I am definitively one of the people on this site that looks for inexpensive razors and shave gear but I definitely would not purchase a razor or other gear sight unseen. Straight razor shaving has a very steep learning curve and learning with a razor that is not appealing to the eye in the least bit will not enhance the drive to keep going after a setback. I have a goo d number of razors and the average cost is ~ $38. While every one is not in pristine condition each one appealing and has many many years of service left in them. My advice is to be patient and search local shops and markets, avoid razors with dark black blotches, rust, cracks or chips on the bevel. Don't purchase a razor to learn with that needs restoration other than a bevel setting and send it to a professional for honing. In the end it may cost more than $38 but it will be less than $100 depending on how well you did with your local find. The key is to be patient and don't purchase junk. Good luck.

I think I'm going to struggle to find something (even in poor condition) locally, I'm a pretty big frequenter of local antique stores anyway, I rarely see straight razors, hardly ever in decent condition.
The guy I mailed was spoken highly of by other folks on this site, he also has a "semi unseen" category where he puts up a brand name and a brief description rather than a photo.
Sounds like some very decent brands.
Obviously I've gone ahead and looked into NEW razors, and I'd like to get one down the track, for right now though, they are a little out of my price range.
I've ordered an 8000 grit hone and should be a strop coming to me real soon, unless the edge is REAL bad and needs to be re ground (which I'm pretty confident I could do anyways) I'm hoping it should be OK.
I just want to start shaving straight sooner rather than later.
I spoke to my mother and she said there MIGHT be an old straight of my Pop's lurking around in amongst my Nan's stuff, I'm sure she'd be happy to part with it especially as it would of course be used and restored.
Basically I really like the idea of an older, proven straght even if it's not in the most pristine condition (as long as it can be used safely).
Ultimately I plan to have a few straights, it just seems to make sense to rest them a little while between shaves.

You sound like a DIY type of guy, which is a good thing.
On the other hand there is the old saying................. "you can do this the easy way, or the hard way."
I would suggest approaching this past-time with two different objectives:-

a) learning to shave with a straight is not something you should try to "re-invent the wheel" with. Take JoeD´s advice by investing in a quality razor prepared by a pro for reasonable money - for example try manah or gssixgun (Glen) here for his line of shave ready restored razors at great prices (check seller classifieds - Vendors Corner), and all in all not bad sort of blokes :p

b) indulge your curiosity in exploring antique shops and practice honing and restoring on project razors, including your heirlooms :tu

By mixing both you are making your work load x10 in the shaving department and most likely rob yourself of any enjoyment in the process.
Just my 2c (not taking into consideration current bail-out packages being implemented here in Spain!)

For every one great 10$ razor that i've found on eBay there was 3 that weren't. What the photo often don't show or the seller doesn't understand I'd that after there razors have been sharpened on a Grinder that they're often ruined. So are they good buys?? Probably not.
Of the razors that I've purchase off of razor blog sites.. Only one wasn't shave ready, and that DE only needed a good cleaning.

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Originally Posted by Joed

I am definitively one of the people on this site that looks for inexpensive razors and shave gear but I definitely would not purchase a razor or other gear sight unseen.

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The "Sight Unseen" deal, and the "Sight Half Seen" deal from Whipped Dog are two good set ups. Any beginner should be happy with either one, unless they're looking for something to display. The edge Larry puts on his razors is excellent.

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Originally Posted by Joed

... I definitely would not purchase a razor or other gear sight unseen. ...

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I feel the need to repeat myself here. Purchasing any item from anywhere sight unseen is not wise use of your hard earned money, period. I have to wonder about the motives behind anyone that would ...

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Originally Posted by Joed

I feel the need to repeat myself here. Purchasing any item from anywhere sight unseen is not wise use of your hard earned money, period. I have to wonder about the motives behind anyone that would ...

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I guess to each his own, but I gotta tell ya, if you are just looking to get a razor that shaves well, and not care about having it look all fancy, Larry at whippeddog has my vote and support. I've always been impressed by his service, and after seeing numerous (probably 40-50) razors from him, both in my hands and photos, he's earned my trust to provide a good razor.

If you know a razor you want, then that is probably not the way to go, of course. But if you just want a great razor that will shave you, it's a nice deal.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Joed

I feel the need to repeat myself here. Purchasing any item from anywhere sight unseen is not wise use of your hard earned money, period. I have to wonder about the motives behind anyone that would ...

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Do/Did you ever use mail order for anything?

Gentlemen, I think both points have been made, so before this goes any farther I am just going to close the thread...

To the OP

Get a shave ready razor, in your budget, that is the entire message here