I'm new to traditional shaving (with a safety razor) and now looking to transition and buy a straight razor. I didn't put this question in the beginner forum because I think it is a generally useful question about razors that I haven't found an answer to.

The one thing I'm having trouble understanding is what different tiers of quality among razors exist. I mean, when I go and buy a camera, it's easy for me to understand the differences between the cameras' features and see that there are different price ranges that certain cameras fall into... and in general, the more expensive ones are "better" and more feature-rich. With straight razors, I'm not sure.

A lot of posts you read are all about trying to buy a razor on a budget and find a razor that's "good enough". For example, look at the Dovo Best Quality 6/8" on straight razor designs (which a lot of people seem to recommend as a great starter razor) and it says "just a great razor for the money". Why "for the money"? What razors are better? There isn't much advice about razors that ignore budget.

Now maybe for my first razor it's a good idea to not spend too much extra on it if it's likely that I can mess it up... but I'd still like to know this information so that I can both make my own informed decision and also know what razors to look forward to when I go get my second one :-). So are there any rules of thumb or things to look for or ways of understanding why a razor commands a higher price other than "it looks nice"? I know "rarity" certainly comes into play (I'm less concerned about that since I'm not planning on looking much at vintage razors now). Are some sharper than others? Are some easier to maintain and therefore command a higher a price? Or after a certain point are you only paying for the aesthetic?

I've seen a boker damascus blade (granted, I think limited edition?) for almost $1,000!? How much of that is quality, and how much of that is aesthetic? In particular, I love the way the Dovo Flowing razor looks. It costs ~$150 more than the Best Quality... am I getting a better razor or just a prettier one? If it's really better I might consider just getting it.

Essentially... I am going to buy the Best Quality 6/8", but if there's something that isn't a hell of a lot more money that is better for reasons other than "it's pretty", I might decide to buy it. And if I don't buy it now, I certainly want to know about it for the future.