Clueless Newb seeking advice

[Christian_V]

Hey all,

I am coming to you gentleman seeking advice. Thus far I have had an amazing stay here at the Badger and Blade, everyone is so helpful and friendly. With that being said, I believe it is time to start my journey shaving with a straight. A little history, I started wet shaving with a DE blade about a month and a half ago, I absolutely love it. Before that I wasted 15 precious years shaving with overpriced cartridges or oftentimes not using a razor at all and continuously keeping a light beard and trimming it with hair clippers (definitely no bueno) However I have always had a fascination with shaving with a straight. I think finally jumping on the DE bandwagon, and finding this helpful community, has given me the courage to finally pursue the ever elusive straight.

So I am basically ready to make the plunge but I have several questions:

Should I start out with a shavette or invest in a straight? I've researched the pros and cons of both, however, it seems like stropping a straight isn't too difficult (honing may be tricky) and I'd love a sturdy high quality straight. But shavettes are convenient and not a huge investment, just in case it doesn't work for me.

If I do decide to seek out a straight should I find a vintage or go for a new razor? What are the pros and cons of either?

Thanks in advance for any advice gentlemen of B & B.

 

[kirisute]

Get both! Shavettes are so cheap you might as well! Whilst your learning to strop you can still practice technique with the shavette.
as for which straight....look on here for a good starter razor that's honed and shave ready! Someone here will link you to a site (because I can't remember it! Lol!)
A good refurb shave ready straight wont break the bank and won't harm too much if you don't master stropping instantly. And when you can get a shave ready edge you can still use the shavette!
Alot if straight users still have a shavette for travel or for emergency quick shaves!

http://www.whippeddog.com/
i remembered!! Lol! Grab a straight from here! Consistently good reviews and great service and advice! And you know it will be shave ready for your first attempt!

With shavettes make a choice of de blade and stick with it to start with...people will tell you a feather de is lethal etc but I started with feather blades and I now use them exclusively.

 

[Christian_V]

Kirisute, I appreciate the advice! I think I may just pick up a shavette and learn with that. At which point I will most likely catch the SRAD bug.

 

[Luc]

My recommendation would be to read the guide, there's a pro/con section and an article on the shavette also. http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/Interactive_Guide_to_Straight_Razor_Shaving

 

[Obiwan]

+1 on reading the guide. As for me, I would suggest getting a starter kit for a traditional straight razor. Other than learnning to strop (which isn;t all that complicated), I find straights easier than shavettes. I find a traditional straight razor to be far more forgiving also.

The straight razor sub forum should be a very useful resource as you move forward with your decision.

 

[Chaloney]

I started with a shavette. I agree that traditional straights are much more forgiving to learn on, but now when I use my shavette--holy cow does it shave close!

 

[Christian_V]

Thanks for the advice guys... Now I'm nervous to try a shavette haha

 

[Lmarkow]

I started with a Feather AC, which now only gets occasional travel use, if then. I enjoy shaving with traditional straights much more.

 

[Chaloney]

You can't go wrong with a good shavette or a good straight razor. You just have to pick the one that appeals more. Then later, once you've gained some skill, try the other to see which you prefer. You can get a Parker sr-1 (or srw or srb) on amazon with a few blades for about $20. A few bucks more and you have 100 half-blades. Or for about $60 get a sight-unseen and poor mans strop from whipped dog. Either will work well. Both have a significant learning curve. Both can give great shaves.

I first heard about wet shaving 15-20 years ago when my younger brother and I were each finishing or just finished with college. He was telling me about using a safety razor and using traditional products, one ideal blade providing the best shaves, etc. my thought was, if you're gonna go retro, why not go all the way? And I had a bug in the back of my mind ever since to try straight razor shaving. I finally decided to do it this past spring, but hesitated (again) when I saw the entry fee ( straight, strop, brush, soap). I then saw the shavettes on amazon and $26 sounded better than $260! After 1 shave I was hooked and I started my "I need a real straight" campaign with my wonderfully tolerant wife. A couple weeks later I had my first real straight and I haven't looked back. Recently I went back to the shavette and got some of the best shaves I've ever had, but for me it lacks some of the history an tradition and my own personal longing that give shaving with a traditional straight it's meaning (to me). I prefer a traditional straight, but you may prefer a shavette. You just have to try them. My advice, however, is to pick ONE and use it for a couple months. Get proficient with it. Then and only then, start thinking about trying the other.

Good luck

 

[Christian_V]

@Chaloney, Thanks for the great advice! I am pretty certain I will follow the same route as you and "dip my toe into the pool" with a shavette. Once your mind was set on acquiring a straight, how did you determine which straight to buy? There are a ton of options with all sorts of varying blade sizes and scales to choose from. Not to mention whether you decide to go vintage or new.

In the DE safety razor world there are a few beginner friendly "sure bets" such as the Edwin Jagger DE89_ , Merkur 34C, etc. But it seems as though there are so many more options as far as straights and it could be overwhelming.

 

[Gustav]

I use both but I started with a traditional straight and I think I would have had a hard time starting on a shavette because they are so light and sharp that any tremor will result in a nick whereas a traditional straight will require more effort to do so. As has been said before, if you cannot decide, get both! Get a dovo shavette (cheap but still sturdy) and a cheap setup from Larry at whipped dog. You can learn basic technique with any straight and once you are sure you want to shave with straights, you can get yourself a fancy one.

 

[kirisute]

Gustav; i was the other way round: learning with a shavette taught me technique and control..regardless of the occasional nick here and there...i just assumed it was the learning curve of shavette/straight shaving!
when i went to true straight the technique remained and ive never cut myself once with one yet!
its what you learn with and to be honest i can see that starting with a straight and going to a shavette could cause issues with the sharpness of a shavette blade.
but when i learned Iaido my sensei told me to start training with a true blade..not a blunt training blade..his reasoning...if you leanr bad technique with a blunt blade that forgives you then you will always have bad technique...bad technique with a sharp blade will cut you and you will learn instantly to correct the mistake!
different ball games i know...but for me the principle remained with the transfer from shavette to straight.

 

[Gustav]

Kirusite; I agree with you that if you start with a shavette you will have to learn good technique. However I remember from starting out that I was very nervous the first time I held a straight in my hand and I know that my first strokes were a bit trembling. Trembling is fine with a regular straight but with a shavette it may lead to a cut. Also the regular straight is often more forgiving with the use of pressure. I know when I started out that I used too much pressure. As a result my first shavette shaves were a very uncomfortable business but once I had mastered the extreme light pressure needed in shavette shaving, I got and still get fantastic shaves with them.

 

[kirisute]

Slammed a new feather in my Parker tonight and shaved with it after 2 weeks of self honed and stropped shaves with my budget straights!!
Man alive! It was like shaving with air!! No pressure, just smooth as silk buttery shaving goodness! And not one bleeder or nick!

The straights are awesome to shave with...but I know I'll never touch the ease of that brand new feather! Lol!

 

[Attila]

Keep in mind if you are learning to hone, chances are your straights will not be remotely as sharp as they could be. Saying that though, most times even if your straight is honed to its sharpest it still will not be strictly speaking as sharp as a DE or an SE blade. However there is more to comfortable shaving than just sharpness. Extreme sharpness may be easier to shave with, but not the smoothest for your skin. Or capable of causing the least irritation. The right straight razor edge has a nice blend between sharpness and smoothness. The beauty is in being able to hone it to your preference and adjust your shaving! The ultimate adjustability.

The shaves I am getting with a straight nowadays are treating my sensitive skin the best. Even better than my best DE shaves which were already far better than what I was using before.

 

[Chaloney]

What you buy depends largely on your budget. Most advise a 5/8 or 6/8 razor to start. Hollow ground of some kind. Properly honed. This leaves a very broad range of razors. New or vintage is a good place to start. New dovo best razors start around $90. You can get gold dollar razors much cheaper but they require more than just honing when they come from the factory. There are a few members doing various degrees of modification to them and selling them shave ready in the hobbyist forum. You can find nice vintage razors in the b/s/t forum. You can also get vintage razors that are good to shave with from whippeddog.com. He has a great reputation and helped many newbies get started. Regardless of what razor you get a poor-mans strop kit from whipped dog is the best to start with--it's cheap and expendable which you need because you are going to nick it up. You may even want to start with a sheet of newspaper folded into a long 3 inch wide strip. Hang the strip over a towel bar, grab both ends and pull it tight and strop on that.
If you decide on a new razor I can highly recommend thesuperiorshave.com. That's where I got my first razor and jarrod was great to deal with.

 

[Slash McCoy]

Shavette? The horror!




http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/361859-Gold-Dollars-66-22-shipped-conus-SHAVE-ready for a brand new $22 shave ready Gold Dollar straight
(I think you will like the shave, even if it does look kind of tacky and cheap)
www.whippeddog.com for vintage straight, cheap badger brush, cheap strop (Poor Man Strop Kit)
www.starshaving.com for Big Daddy strop
www.thesuperiorshave.com for Dovo Palisander razor
www.straightrazordesigns.com for Boker King Cutter razor
for your first week, strop on newspaper. Fold a sheet into a long strop, pass an end over a towel rod, pinch both ends together and pull tight. Make your mistakes on this disposable strop instead of hacking up your first leather one.

 

[Christian_V]

Thanks guys for the advice. Now I am torn, that Gold dollar is the same price as a shavette, I would just need to pick up a poor man's strop from whipped dog because I am well.. poor.. haha How often does it need to be honed? Will it keep it's edge with just stropping for awhile?

I have the rest of the stuff (brush, soaps, etc)

 

[Slash McCoy]

The pasted balsa in the PMSK can help you keep your edge going for quite some time. A bigger balsa strop, with .5u and .1u diamond paste, can do a better job and that is what I use. I never have to re-hone a razor.

If you keep your shave angle very tight and if you strop correctly, depending on the blade and your beard, you should be able to go up to 30 shaves without honing. With CrOx on balsa, once you get tha hang of it you can double that or more I expect.

One approach that has worked well for many, is to buy a second shave-ready razor before the first one gets dull, and then when the first one is dull, start learning how to hone while shaving with the second one. Honing doesn't have to be expensive. $10 can set you up with lapping film, if all you are doing is simple maintenance honing. A finishing stone need not cost more than $40 or so if you want to go all Neanderthal, and hone by rubbing your razor on rocks like a caveman.

I think you will enjoy straight shaving much more than shavette shaving. YMMV.

 

[kirisute]

so to sum up!!
its doesnt matter which way to choose!! your gonna have a fantastic shave either way!!
Straights are wonderful to shave with and there is nothing o beat the feeling of your first shave with one; and then your first shave with one youve learned to hone and strop all by yourself!! the sense of achievment is awesome!
Shavettes are equally as good; being cheap and easy to maintain on a "grab and go" basis..just put a new blade in and shave.
whichever way you go the advice here will serve you well because none of it is wrong! LOL!