Necessity or Luxury?

Hey there, I've been shaving with a straight for about a month now and have been having the best shaves of my life. I bought a very inexpensive old razor on the classifieds and have been extremely pleased with the results.

That being said, I've read in many different places on the site that it is important to have a blade to compare the first blade against. I'm a college student and fit the old cliche perfectly- not too much money to throw around for hobbies. My real question is how important is a second blade for comparison? Is my best bet to keep lurking on the classifieds for another steal to come along? Or are multiple razors simply a luxury that I'll have to wait a few more years on?

Your honest and sincere advice is appreciated.

Sincerely,
Conor

I would recommend buying another one. I alternate between two, sometimes three. A problem you'll have is that when you need to have it honed you'll be without your razor until you get it back, unless you're honing it yourself.

John

well man ill be honest with you, Im 15 have light hair growth but ive had just one razor since i started shavign and i manage just fine, Get a barber hone (10-30$) and you will be set of along time, a barber hone will keep your razor keen for many years. If you cant afforad a barbers hone then go with a cheap piece of balsa or a piece of leather with strop past on it and use that when ever your razor starts to tug, PM me if you have any questions .

Deerhunter.

I know what it's like to be a poor college student. That said, I say it depends...it's a luxury of sorts, but it keeps you informed on the true wear status of the blade you're using. AND, as already pointed out, when you have to send it out for honing, it gives you a blade to use in the interrim...then you can use the 1st blade as a guide while using your second. This is true even if you're honing your own, as the back up blade serves as a point of referrence for the honing work you're doing.

I'd say, skip a few pizzas, beers, and/or coffee's and snatch up a pre-honed razor from the classifieds or whippeddog.com

Good luck with your schooling too!

Hehe, being a mentor for high school kids and playing baseball keep the drinking at bay, so it won't be a problem skimping there!
Thanks for the advice guys, and I was wondering if you knew where I could pick up a decent barber's hone to keep the edge fresh on the razor I already own.

Thanks,
Conor

Communist China is your friend... comrade! (maybe you don't even know that term)

Ebay is a nice place to start, or antique shops, ive come across many in shops before but ive only ever bought one i dont need many. Talk to ron (Utopia) shoot him a pm maby he would have one hed part with somewhat cheap.

I would get one more razor and the barbers hone. Check ebay, there are plenty of them. When you get your eye on one, post it and let us look at it.

@ Deerhunter, good call buddy!


When you do your ebay search also look under hones, razor hones and so on, they are everywhere, you will just have to pick thru everything.

There weren't too many on ebay, but here are a few that I found. I have absolutely no idea about quality so go easy on me when it comes to these things.
RARE XX BLACK DIAMOND BARBER SHOP RAZOR HONE & BOX - eBay (item 180637710441 end time Mar-15-11 19:01:08 PDT)
Reliance Vintage BARBERS HONE Old Stone in Box - eBay (item 300536112144 end time Mar-17-11 17:40:29 PDT)
Shumate Dry Barber Hone- Vintage full size - eBay (item 200584599456 end time Mar-13-11 09:19:54 PDT)

And about picking up an extra razor, any more recommendations besides the classifieds and whipped dog? whipped dog looks like it has some decent razors for sale, so I'm not shutting these sources down, just wanting to make sure I've looked everywhere!

Out of the 3 posted I would take the Shumate, the Black Diamond had something all over it, the Reliance had crappy pics. The Shumate pics were bad , but what I saw was good, and I am familiar with them and they are good. If you wish, ask the sellers to take better pics The prices on any of the 3 were good as well.

Larry at whipped is great to deal with, and he levels
the barber hones that he sells

If you can, I would recommend two razors.
You may drop one, or if you start honing,
you may really mess up.

the Shumate looks to be a desent hone man the otherones dotn look so hot. these hones will last a life time as long as you take care of them, remember do no more than 5 laps with your razor on it when ur razor just startes to tug and you will be back in bussiness, if you have anymore questions once you go to hone on a barbers hone please feel free to PM me,



@nun2sharp, thanks man, you,ron and a few of the other big guns have taught me everything i know about razors and hones so its a reflection of the impact you have made in learnign experience.

You don't need a second one, just hone it when it starts to pull.

If you want a second one: keep an eye on the classifieds here.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kees

If you want a second one: keep an eye on the classifieds here.

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+1.

The classifieds are your best bet when starting out. Do some research before buying any antiques from the store or eBay because it takes time to learn how to tell a good razor from a bad one.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by con16721

Hey there, I've been shaving with a straight for about a month now and have been having the best shaves of my life. I bought a very inexpensive old razor on the classifieds and have been extremely pleased with the results.

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Conor --

Why do you want to complicate your life? You're happy with what you have. Leave "well enough" alone.

The danger of RAD (razor acquisition disorder) is always lurking in the shadows.<g>

Charles

having been a broke college student until very recently (No longer a student, still broke. Funny how we all seem to think that we'll hit the big time immediately after graduation) I feel you pain brother. You certainly don't need more than one razor, but it is awfully nice to have another one. save up for a bit and keep eyes peeled. There are always some good guy out there who pass along good razors inexpensively.

Glen's site (Gem Star Customs - Welcome GemStar Customs) always has a few barber hones for sale as well. I think we can trust his site and advice :) :)

I think a second razor is only a neccesity if shaving is required. If you can go a day or two, to a week, without shaving, you can get by with only one.

You need a razor, hone, and strop. That does it for life.

I'm leaning towards just getting a decent barbers hone and learning how to take care of my razor. As much as I'd love to have a second razor, I have to be honest with myself and stop the progression of the deadly RAD before it begins. I at least want to wait a few more months before getting a second razor, as I'm sure it would be nice to have a razor to test against, but I am getting quality shaves from my C-mon. Thanks for all your advice guys. I will keep looing on the classifieds though and see if any deals crop up.

I think I'm going to try and get that shumate hone from ebay, if not gem star customs looks to have some affordable hones as well.

Conner,You should keep an eye out for a razor like this to add to your growing collection...

Attachment 58699

This is a 1/2 hollow Robeson, very nice shaving razors, this one has just a touch to much hone wear at the toe to sell it on my webiste so it is what we "Restorers" tend to call a "Bench Baby" means it has sat around on my bench collecting dust and doing no one any good.. :(

I just spun it up on the buffers and cleaned her up, and found a set of scales to fit it...So why don't you do us both a favor and get this razor off my bench and give her a good home.. Give me a couple of days to get her honed up as I am swamped with honing right now... Send me a PM with an address and I will contribute to "The Starving Students need to Shave Fund" :D :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gssixgun

I just spun it up on the buffers and cleaned her up, and found a set of scales to fit it...So why don't you do us both a favor and get this razor off my bench and give her a good home.. Give me a couple of days to get her honed up as I am swamped with honing right now... Send me a PM with an address and I will contribute to "The Starving Students need to Shave Fund" :D :D

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For just £3 a month you could support lost and lonely Bench Baby's left unused on Honemeister's bench's.

This is Robeson... his owner didn't want want him because he had a little too much hone wear... He was put in a corner of the bench to sit in his own rust... until con16721 gave him a new home... and now he gets all the love and touch ups he needs.

con16721 takes him out for a shave every third day and to mix with the shaving soaps and strops.

sitting in that corner he may not have made it, but now he'll be around for another 80 years.


gssixgun, you never stop givin' From the picture it looks like most of my collection wouldn't make your website either.

snap up the offer con, its a generous offer.

:tu
That's really great to see, Glen! Very generous of you.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gssixgun

This is a 1/2 hollow Robeson, very nice shaving razors, this one has just a touch to much hone wear at the toe to sell it on my webiste so it is what we "Restorers" tend to call a "Bench Baby" means it has sat around on my bench collecting dust and doing no one any good.. :( ...So why don't you do us both a favor and get this razor off my bench and give her a good home...I will contribute to "The Starving Students need to Shave Fund" :D :D

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That's fantastic! GS6; a honer with a heart of gold! :rock:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gimpyalex

For just £3 a month you could support lost and lonely Bench Baby's left unused on Honemeister's bench's.

This is Robeson... his owner didn't want want him because he had a little too much hone wear... He was put in a corner of the bench to sit in his own rust... until con16721 gave him a new home... and now he gets all the love and touch ups he needs.

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HA HA HA! Very funny. I doubt any of mine would qualify for his website either...then again I'm still waiting to get them back from Utopian/Ron...maybe they will once the come back.

Take this offer Con... :idea: or I will gladly take it for you!

Just another reason why this place is the absolute shiznit.

gssixgun, I can't thank you enough for such a generous offer. Of course I would be happy to give a lonely razor some face time! This place is truly amazing. Again, I can't thank you enough.

By the way I snatched up that Shumate barber hone that I posted on here yesterday for under ten dollars on ebay. woot! I'll post pictures of it once I get it and before I put any kind of blade to it. Thanks again to everyone for their advice!

Hey CON16721!

I would recommend trying what I did. Go to the local barber shops and ask them if they have any old barber hones that they aren't using. If they say yes, ask them if they would like to sell them! I got a very nice Swaty for only $15! I also purchased a very nice vintage strop for the same price! Both from the same barber!:)

That's a great idea. Next time I go in for a hair cut, I'll talk to the guys about it.

Thanks to Glen for sending me a fantastic shaver. I got it in the mail yesterday and shaved with it last night.

First off, wow. That thing is scary sharp. I tried the HHT on it and it simply fell away without making a sound. It was downright impressive. I don't think the first razor that I bought came close to this sharp.

However, as we all know, the real test is the shave test.

I can honestly say that last night's shave was the closest, most comfortable shave I have ever had with any razor ever. There was much less pull on my face than my other razor, and the hair was easily lopped off. The crazy part was that it was that close on the first pass! I never knew my face could be that smooth.

In fairness, I think I may have dulled the edge on my first razor a bit considering I bought a very low quality strop to begin with that was a bit uneven. It was a rookies mistake for sure.

So again, thank you Glen for your generosity and a great shave!

I sense RAD kicking in.