Convince me!

[oxford1833]

So I'm really enjoying DE shaving. (Yeah, I know...when am I going to start shaving like a man...my peach fuzz is showing...yada, yada, yada.) I'm intrigued by straights, but I'm not sold.

So, first off, convince me I should take the plunge. Second, how much should I expect to spend on initial setup should I actually take said plunge?

 

[DFSDAILY]

No one will be able to convince you as it's something you'll have to try for yourself to see if it's for you. Whipped dog sight unseen beginners kit is the way to go with the least amount of monetary investment on your part.

 

[goatee]

all the cool kids are doing it.

but seriously,, its hands down the best shave you can get.

 

[drathgeb]

You just gotta try it. There has to be a reason it is such a passion for all these other gents

 

[Gamma]

You shouldn't have to be convinced - you should just know.

You can usually find user razors for a good price on the BST thread.

 

[oxford1833]

So I did the unthinkable. Or at least the unadvised. I picked up a blade on Ebay. It was only $8 with free shipping, so if it's a boner blade I'm not out much.



I assume that even though it's new it will need some prep?

 

[hotreds]

Waste of money, alas. I purchased a similar SR, and it could not be made "shave ready." You'll need to spend a few more bucks than that. Nobody can convince you, but I know I was never planning to straight shave until someone sent me a straight and I felt I should try it. Now I have almost 2 dozen and shave with them everyday. I still use my DE/SEs to finish up(so they don't just sit there and waste away) and enjoy all facets of the hobby. There is certainly a learning curve and you have to be careful- these things will cut you like no DE/SE can if you're lackadaisical about using it. And, you'll need to learn to strop, which also has a learning curve. I'd recommend trying it.

 

[professorchaos]

Convince yourself. Buy a razor, give it a try. Worst comes to worst, you can sell the gear here and say you tried.

 

[BJJ]

Just do it brow! don't think too much ! if you don't like go back... the worst can happen is to become a scarface!


regards

 

[tomjr]

the razor in the pic above is not for shaving!!!!! get a whippeddog and do yourself a favor.

 

[DFSDAILY]

So I did the unthinkable. Or at least the unadvised. I picked up a blade on Ebay. It was only $8 with free shipping, so if it's a boner blade I'm not out much.

View attachment 287146

I assume that even though it's new it will need some prep?

You bought yourself a genuine hunk of junk. If a useable edge could be put on it, it wouldn't be able to keep it.

 

[lindyhop66]

Don't buy the $15 Smith and Wesson "straight" either. Same deal. Unhoneable.

 

[cb91710]

+1

That's a pocket knife made to look like a straight.

The only thing cheap on eBay worth having is the "Gold Dollar", and only if you are skilled at honing.
Out of the box, they are not usable.

 

[joshua1970]

hmmmm well for $8 you got a cool pocketknife

i second the whipped dog deal

www.whippeddog.com

Larry will hook ya up proper, and inexpensively - until you are convinced

 

[KW Driver]

hmmmm well for $8 you got a cool pocketknife

i second the whipped dog deal

www.whippeddog.com

Larry will hook ya up proper, and inexpensively - until you are convinced

yep, that's how you start properly, as cheaply as you can. $58 'Merican dollars will do you for 6-12 months. send off the blade to a honemeister on here for $10-20, when it needs it. why should we convince you? you don't do it, just means more for us in the B/S/T. win-win, everyone's happy. that itchy what if? that's your problem, not ours.

 

[goatee]

send that back if you can!!!!
and go with a vintage or whipdog.

 

[Thomas Martin]

About the worst thing you can do when starting to shave straight is buying a cheap razor and go for it. You will have a terrible shave, toss it and never look back. Get a Dovo Best quality. It's a decent razor that won't cost you a fortune. Then you get it shave ready by a Honemeister and beginn slowly. The first straight shave is scary as hell.

 

[Cheb]

I was seriously thinking of testing it out too. So based on the advice here I just emailed Larry from whipdog for an order of one of the unseen razors and the "poor man's starter kit". Though I'm thinking of skipping the kit for now. So l would advise the OP to do the same...$48 + shipping will get you a decent razor to test out until you feel like you would wanna spend money on something more expensive. Even though I'm new to DE shaving, I know based on my years of experience in shaving that nobody knows what's best for you more than yourself. So just like others here said, you need to test it first to see if it's for you or not, and that's the only way you can really be convinced. Although keep in mind that the standard number I hear for the amount of shaves it takes to really get used to a straight is 100, so you need to be patient too.

 

[Thomas Martin]

I was seriously thinking of testing it out too. So based on the advice here I just emailed Larry from whipdog for an order of one of the unseen razors and the "poor man's starter kit". Though I'm thinking of skipping the kit for now. So l would advise the OP to do the same...$48 + shipping will get you a decent razor to test out until you feel like you would wanna spend money on something more expensive. Even though I'm new to DE shaving, I know based on my years of experience in shaving that nobody knows what's best for you more than yourself. So just like others here said, you need to test it first to see if it's for you or not, and that's the only way you can really be convinced. Although keep in mind that the standard number I hear for the amount of shaves it takes to really get used to a straight is 100, so you need to be patient too.

I second that. It takes a lot of practice. I'm somewhat around 100 shaves and I do well most of the time and then it's a very satisfying experience. At other times it's a massacre and I'm bleeding all over the place without getting a decent shave. It therefore needs a great deal of motivation and devotion to do it but eventually everyone will be able to shave straight. After all, it was the only method that our ancestors had.