Thread: have plenty of waterstones, now need a razor, help needed.

I have been shaving with a straight razor for a month
or so to learn the technique. I have thin skin and always
have tiny cutsm that stop within a minute or so. Even with
safety razor I rarely get a shave without any problems.

Anyway I now want to buy a razor. Don't know much about
this. I read there is western razor and kamisori.I want a razor
that can be sharpened perfectly with natural stones. If I am correct,
the edge must be pure carbon steel or white steel.

I don't know what size it should be and what brand is good. Ideally
I would like to have an excellent razor for a cheap price, but I
understand that cheap can mean low quality. I see razors
for 50 euro and razors for almost 1000 euro. What's the difference?
I just want a razor that looks nice and can be sharpened to a super
sharp edge with my natural stones. Don't really care about brands
at all.

I live in the Netherlands. Any advice is much appreciated. Thanks.

Sharpman

If I lived in the Netherlands I would watch auction sites or flea markets ..... whatever ..... for a CV Heijestrand. That is step one. Next step would be to get someone, preferably an experienced honer/SRP member, who might be in the Netherlands as well, to hone it for you. Doesn't have to be ebay, or a flea market. If you can find a new on that is fine too. A Dovo entry level razor is also good but I would get a traditional carbon steel folding razor rather than a kamasori. I would get a couple of used in good shape to practice honing and use the pro honed one to shave and compare your results with honing the others. Just IMHO.

What straight razor have you been using for the past month? Unless you want to get real picky, any quality blade in good condition will be able to get shave ready on a set of quality stones using good technique.

Given that, I'll echo JimmyHAD and say that you should keep a pro-honed razor on the side to help you judge your own honing efforts (and provide a good shave in case your honing skills take as long as mine did to learn)