Straight razor suggestions

I'm a beginner to straight shaving. I just recently started going to the shaving gallery to get a shave but I want to do my own at home. What would be a good straight razor to start off with? Oh and soaps and foams too? Thanks

Just starting off myself and thought I might make some comments from near ignorance.

1) On the razor,
- I'd go for a 4/8 size. I have two 4/8s and a 7/8 and the big one is not so easy to shave with. The smaller razors are more nimble and give you a bit more leeway with where you can place the razor on your face.
- I'd get a "shave ready" restored vintage shave ready razor from the classifieds or a place like whipped dog or invisible edge. I have a good degree of skill with knife sharpening but I think I bit off a bit more than I could comfortably chew by honing my own razors.
- I don't think that brand name is that important for a beginning razor as long as you avoid the ones that sell new for $10. I have two "brand name" razors and one near anonymous razor and its the anonymous one that IMO has the better quality of manufacture.
- You will need a strop . I've got a paddle strop coming because I don't really have the room or hooks to use a hanging strop in my modern bathroom. I forgot to strop before one shave and I can tell you that stropping makes a huge difference.

2) On the Brush
- Thanks to Christmas I got a good badger silvertip and I'm still amazed at how much a difference a good brush makes. This is something you can use even if you give up straight shaving so spend your money to get something decent. Maybe not expensive silvertip but good quality boar or pure badger will work.

3) On soaps.
- The difference between a foam and a properly made lather from a soap is night and day. Don't waste your time or money on a foam. This is something I wish I had found out 20 years ago.
- I'm using Proraso which is a moderately priced soap and I'm very happy with the results. Again I think that for a beginner getting hung up on brand names would be a mistake. I'd probably avoid the pricier brands for starting with because from reading the forums some of them require more advanced techniques that what you or I have.

Try this thread on for size.. take some time to go through it, digest it, and then think about what is really important to you personally. Lots of sage wisdom there and in other threads with this same topic.

http://straightrazorpalace.com/begin...beginners.html

Welcome aboard! I second the idea of purchasing your first razor through the Classifieds here @ SRP or over @ WhippedDog. I picked up a 5/8 Rodgers square tip for $50 on the Classifieds and a 4/8 Eyre round tip for $26 @ WhippedDog. Both arrived shave ready. I'd also suggest starting w/ a round tip. That square tip can be awfully unforgiving if you dont pay attention to where it is. Besides the razor, you'll need a strop, brush (badger is preferred due to water retention qualities), soap/cream (classicshaving.com or saintcharlesshave.com, both excellent sources), and perhaps a nifty aftershave. That's about all you need to get started.

I am new myself and got the Lynn's design paddle strop, partially due to a lack of space for hanging one and the ability to put different surfaces on it and inexpensive replacements if you ruin one. Its not inexpensive but it is versitile and a good value for the money. I too picked up a restored classic for my first razor, works great and still one of my favorites.

Only thing that I disagree with in this thread is a 4/8 blade for your first. A 5/8 or 6/8 is what you should go for. The small blade is difficult to keep at a proper angle...especially when it's covered with shave soap.