Thread: recommendations for inexpensive first razor please.

I've sharpened kitchen knives for about a year. I want to use a straight razor. which is a good cheap razor to buy?

I want a razor without any defects in the blade, so that a successful bevel can be ground. like with knives - I suppose i want a good quality steel that does not lose its edge or chip. but chipping is probably less important for a razor.

I have a diamond 200, diamond 600, a 1200, and a 5k stone. Also, Which would be an inexpensive stone to buy for polishing?

Your best bet is to buy a new razor that's been professionally honed or possibly a restored razor from the classifieds here that's been honed. You'll also need a strop, as stropping is a requirement between shaves to extend the life of your razor

Originally Posted by wetroofwoof

I've sharpened kitchen knives for about a year. I want to use a straight razor. which is a good cheap razor to buy?

I want a razor without any defects in the blade, so that a successful bevel can be ground. like with knives - I suppose i want a good quality steel that does not lose its edge or chip. but chipping is probably less important for a razor.

I have a diamond 200, diamond 600, a 1200, and a 5k stone. Also, Which would be an inexpensive stone to buy for polishing?

Hi and welcome to SRP.

Ken's suggestion is a good one. There are LOTS of advantages to starting out with a razor that has no bad habits from being honed one way or the other in years past. A professionally honed, shave ready razor will give you a good idea what a proper edge feels like against your face so you will have an idea of what a razor should feel and shave like.

That being said, there are a LOT of older and very usable vintage razors available. Careful shopping with and eye to detail and you could possibly end up with a nice vintage for a lot less than a new razor. The trick to that is that you HAVE to know what you are looking at and what to look for as there are many pitfalls to be encountered when buying used razors. ( don't ask me how I know LOL)

There is a TON of information here you can read as to what to look for and what to look out for. There are also razors for sale here by vendors that are known here.

Look around, arm yourself with information, ask a lot of questions, and we will try to get you started as economically as possible.

Willie

What those guys said. The least expensive, reliable new-stock razor I know of is Dovo's Best Quality, usually for $85-90. There are cheaper blades, but you truly get what you pay for with them. I wince every time I see the word "cheap" in one of these threads, because they always seem to end sadly. Cheap strops, cheap blades, bad experiences for first-time purchasers.

A Norton or Naniwa 8k would be a good polishing stone. Again, you might find cheaper ones out there, but they won't be reliable or have the thousands of hours of user experience you can tap into here. Budget-minded folks are drawn to the C12ks, the 12k grit Chinese slate hones, but since those are natural hones you're really gambling when you buy one. Might not actually approach 12k; could be more like 8k. Most of them are quite slow, though every once in a while someone reports they've got a reasonably fast one. It's a crap shoot.

Buy the right thing the first time and be done with it. Later, when you have a better sense of how a fine hone should feel and how long you're willing to work at one, you can buy a C12k and actually evaluate its performance. If you're a new razor honer, a C12k may just convince you that you can't learn honing.

You'll need a strop too, and may beat your first one up a little as you learn to use it. Reliable, inexpensive strops are available at whippeddog.com and ruprazor.com. Both vendors have developed good reputations here.

Watch our for blades on our list of razors to avoid. They're cheap but no bargain.

Good luck and happy shopping.

Originally Posted by wetroofwoof

I've sharpened kitchen knives for about a year. I want to use a straight razor. which is a good cheap razor to buy?

I want a razor without any defects in the blade, so that a successful bevel can be ground. like with knives - I suppose i want a good quality steel that does not lose its edge or chip. but chipping is probably less important for a razor.

I have a diamond 200, diamond 600, a 1200, and a 5k stone. Also, Which would be an inexpensive stone to buy for polishing?

The only thing I'll say is straights are nothing like knives and many an expert with knives has been confounded with a straight.

Do a little searching and you'll find more posts on what you want then you'll be able to read in a month of Sundays.

Larry at whippeddogstraights will set you up for a decent price.

Please don't assume knives=razors. My very basic honing setup is a Chosera 1000 for bevel set and a Norton 4000/8000 for polishing.

thanks for the replies. I like Dovo's Best Quality. those look good.

Is it the blade the is hollow grind or the bevel, and the blade is flat?

The whole blade will have a hollow ground profile. The bevel should be a consistent V shape, unless you get into micro-bevels and the like. My first razor was a dovo best and it is still my best shaver. It is the only one that started out professionally honed, but I have found that learning to hone with small touch ups before attacking a really dull razor really helped!

Originally Posted by wetroofwoof

thanks for the replies. I like Dovo's Best Quality. those look good.

Is it the blade the is hollow grind or the bevel, and the blade is flat?

The blade is hollowed out to keep it thin during subsequent sharpenings, which means less work & the bevel doesn't get noticeably wider as it wears down.

hmm, I'm trying to think about how that works.

I bought a chinese 12k with slurry stone for 35$ (kind of expensive). and two straight razors for 31$ together. A genco vanadium and shumate. picture from ebay is attached in case anyone is curious. there wasn't much description in listing. says they're from an "estate sale".

can't wait to sharpen.