First straight razor ideas/thoughts.

[JK1985]

Hi all, I just joined this forum yesterday after a couple weeks of lurking around and researching about straight razors. I'm very much a beginner with no previous experience with a straight or DE so it does seem a bit overwhelming to look through all the different options out there. I noticed a number of recommendations for Larry at WhippedDog and believe my first razor will be one of his sight unseens so I'd at least have one that is shave ready to begin with. I also have been considering buying this set from amazon more or less for the sake of having a separate razor to attempt practicing with after watching some videos and reading up more. I have no idea if that set would be halfway decent to start with as far as learning, but I do want a second razor to be able to eventually practice stropping and honing with (knowing full well that the razor in the set does not come shave ready). From what I gather, stropping seems to be the thing that is done more frequently and the one that everyone mentions learning to do first. As far as technique goes with everything, I can tell there's quite a learning curve. I'm a stubborn person so the only way I can see myself giving up is if I did something really crazy like slice my ear off lol and I don't think I'm careless enough to do that. This whole process comes off as quite fascinating. I currently only shave once or twice a week if that (normally just keep a goatee most of the year and a full beard in the Winter), but if it were to become a more enjoyable experience perhaps that number would increase.

All of my rambling aside, I'm going to continue with browsing around for a while and start ordering some things relatively soon. Not on a major budget, but I don't want to break the bank starting out. I'd like to save that for when I have a better idea of what I'm doing. If anyone has any particular recommendations/suggestions, please feel free to send them my way. Doesn't have to be about anything specific. Considering everyone I know just uses disposables, I have no one else to discuss this with lol.

 

[Dantheman]

I've been DE shaving for several months and I'm still working on technique with straights. I've also tried to hone- still working on both. The set you reference to me, IMHO, is not a great set. There are many, many other better options. Larry @ Whipped Dog will sell you a stropping kit, a ready-shave razor, and a fantasic brush for probably about the same price. And there are many other options as well. Although Larry is quite great to deal with and you can get all the same stuff through his site. Keep researching and looking around. Again, my advice, as I'm sure others will agree, is not to get the set you referenced. Maybe I'm wrong, but it doesn't look like a winner to me. Good luck and welcome to B&B.

 

[jpcwon]

Welcome to B+B!!

I think Whippeddog is a great idea. That way you can get something that you KNOW is shave-ready, and won't break the bank. Just don't do what I did and buy an expensive Dovo (not honed) right off the bat. I had NO idea how to use the thing, and I was basically screwed as I did not know how to hone back then (ended up sending it out to have it honed) At least with WD you can get your feet wet for relatively cheap. Then, if you decide you like it (which, in all likelihood you will!!), you can invest in a nice vintage or a Boker or something...

Then, at some point down the road (if you're so inclined), you could try your hand at honing....To me, there's nothing better than shaving with a razor you honed yourself...One thing at a time, though. I "tried" to teach myself how to hone before I could even shave ATG, and it was WAAY too much to take in at once..If I had it to do over again, I would get a WD "sight unseen" straight, shave with that for a while to get my feet wet, and then invest in something nicer down the road...You wouldn't necessarily want to buy a Mercedes when you're just learning to drive...straight shaving is kind of the same way...


<edit> just looked at the set you linked..I would stay with Larry at WD....that set, from what I've heard, is not that great TBH...
Anway Good luck, and we're here to answer any questions you may have!!

 

[California Cajun]

Hi all, I just joined this forum yesterday after a couple weeks of lurking around and researching about straight razors. I'm very much a beginner with no previous experience with a straight or DE so it does seem a bit overwhelming to look through all the different options out there. I noticed a number of recommendations for Larry at WhippedDog and believe my first razor will be one of his sight unseens so I'd at least have one that is shave ready to begin with. I also have been considering buying this set from amazon more or less for the sake of having a separate razor to attempt practicing with after watching some videos and reading up more. I have no idea if that set would be halfway decent to start with as far as learning, but I do want a second razor to be able to eventually practice stropping and honing with (knowing full well that the razor in the set does not come shave ready). From what I gather, stropping seems to be the thing that is done more frequently and the one that everyone mentions learning to do first. As far as technique goes with everything, I can tell there's quite a learning curve. I'm a stubborn person so the only way I can see myself giving up is if I did something really crazy like slice my ear off lol and I don't think I'm careless enough to do that. This whole process comes off as quite fascinating. I currently only shave once or twice a week if that (normally just keep a goatee most of the year and a full beard in the Winter), but if it were to become a more enjoyable experience perhaps that number would increase.

All of my rambling aside, I'm going to continue with browsing around for a while and start ordering some things relatively soon. Not on a major budget, but I don't want to break the bank starting out. I'd like to save that for when I have a better idea of what I'm doing. If anyone has any particular recommendations/suggestions, please feel free to send them my way. Doesn't have to be about anything specific. Considering everyone I know just uses disposables, I have no one else to discuss this with lol.

PLEASE don't buy the setup you referenced on Amazon. It screams of CHEAP, and beginners are the least equipped to deal with cheap stuff. The Marvy shave soap is terrible. The stone probably won't put a good finish on your razor. In short, I don't think you will get a legitimate straight shaving experience with that setup.

Whipped Dog is a reputable dealer. He fixes up old razors to minimize the investment for newbies to try straight shaving out.

Another option to see if you like straight shaving would be to get a Parker shavette that uses double edge razor blades split in half. This setup will enable you to try straight shaving for $20 and find out if this is something you would like to pursue before you invest in a strop and hones. http://razorbladesandmore.com/content/parker-sr1-barber-straight-razor-and-10-personna

 

[temjeito]

+1 for Larry at whipped dog. Get a sight unseen razor and the poor man's strop kit. Add a brush and some soap and you'll be good to go until the ADs set in.

 

[jrp316]

+1 for Whipped Dog. -1 for the Amazon set. I've never used that type of strop or the Marvy soap, but unknown no brand non shave ready new razors are a bad day waiting to happen. Even a pro on the hones might never get a good edge on one of those, so where's that going to leave someone who's learning? Who knows about the 'hone' that comes with it? That could be a low/medium grit whetstone better suited for pocket knives than razors. A Whipped Dog sight unseen combo kit will get you in for less $$$ than the Amazon set and you're guaranteed a shave ready quality kit. If you want something to practice honing on, buy another non honed razor from Larry (alternatively BST or eBay) and some lapping film.

Stropping...eh, you'll figure it out. Weight of the razor only, hold the strop taut, edge trailing. You'll get it pretty quickly.

 

[JK1985]

Thanks for the replies. I was beginning to have some skepticism regarding that set on amazon. Glad you guys confirmed that. I saw the parker shavette a few different times in my browsing. For now, I'm leaning towards the sight unseen from Larry so I'm planning to start with that. The idea of starting with the real thing seems more comforting to me. Once I get what I need to start, I'll be sure to post about it and of course I'll post after the first shave with some feedback. Thanks again for the help.

 

[gash]

Welcome. One thing you can do now to ease the transition to straights is use a high-quality soap (if you don't already do so). When using straights, the quality of the lather is pretty important. I recommend soap, rather than cream, because that's what people tend to end up using. There's talk of soap being slicker, and that's very important with straights. If you're new to soaps, I'm sure other straight-users would be happy to give recommendations.

 

[jrp316]

Any Colonel Conk soap + Proraso cream = slick lather for days. Tabac soap (if you don't mind the scent) is also good on it's own or in combination with Proraso cream. All are quite easy to lather. Tip: the next time your girlfriend/wife/fiancee wants to go to Bath and Body Works, tag along and grab a tube of CO Bigelow shave cream. It's the same stuff as original formula Proraso cream.

 

[Krodor]

Welcome! Look forward to seeing your journey and helping out when we can!

 

[alagenchev]

If you are on a budget I would recommend trying arko. You can buy it for a couple of bucks on some of the wet shaving sites. Arko is very polarizing, some people like it, some hate it. I find the smell OK, but it's really easy to lather and the lather is awesome. I had trouble with col. conk before I learned how to lather it.

 

[Proinsias]

Welcome JK,

A shave ready razor and a strop will get you started. If I were you I'd be looking to get a second shave ready razor too, fair chance the first one will end up dull quickly. When things get beyond what a strop will recover there's quite a few budget friendly options out there: chromium oxide on balsa or leather, lapping film, barber hone, cheap natural finishing stone......the list goes on. The razor and stone in the set you linked to looks be quite a gamble, the only razors I'm aware of made of decent steel that could be included in a set that cheap are Gold Dollars which can be picked up for a few dollars on ebay but can be quite a challenge to hone, seems more likely it will be overpriced poor steel in the shape of a razor. The stone is likely too rough to be much use for all but recovery stages of sad looking razors.

 

[Slash McCoy]

The Whipped Dog kit, including the Poor Man Strop Kit. Also Larry sells crazy cheap silvertip badger brushes. Okay, so you want a second razor... get a second Whipped Dog razor, same time! Shave with one, and when it seems to be getting dull, shave with the other one, and either try your hand at honing the first one, or send it out, while you continue to shave with the second one.

How tight is your budget? You simply cannot beat Larry's whipped dog razors for value/dollar. There is no comparison anywhere. You get a razor, honed, ready to shave, for only a couple bucks more than some guys would charge to hone your razor if you already had one. I say that's a pretty good deal. Sort of like paying for honing, but getting the razor free.

The PMSK is pretty basic and is the way to go if you are watching your pennies. It is the minimum setup that will enable you to strop and maintain your edge. Everything is expendable, which is good, since you will very likely trash your first strop while learning to strop. The pasted balsa can be used after each shave and with proper use, will keep your edge sharp for a long time, maybe indefinitely. But Larry also sells a little nicer strop, if you want a step up. Or go to www.starshaving.com and order the famous Big Daddy, a monstrously large strop with removable hardware, for a price that will make you smile. The removable hardware enables you to swap ends when you slice up the right side of the leather, or replace the leather altogether, and dthey also sell replacement leather pre-cut and ready to change out. If you go for the Big Daddy, then go first class on the balsa, too. Get a nice piece 3" wide and at least a foot long. Lap it nice and flat on a whole sheet of 400 grit sandpaper on a very flat surface such as an old glass coffee table top. Apply .1u diamond paste, a couple of BBs worth, to one side. Apply .5u diamond paste (www.tedpella.com) to the other side. This stuff is much more aggressive than the green and red paste, and your balsa will be bigger, too. Normally you can just strop 4 dozen laps on the fine side after shaving, and your edge will always stay sharp. If not, then you know to start using more laps. Meanwhile, use the coarse side, as many laps as needed, to bring the edge back up to full sharpness. You may never need to re-hone.

Whatever you decide on strops, consider stropping on newspaper the first week or two. It works pretty good, and you will hopefully make your beginners mistakes on the newspaper, sparing your strop. Simply fold a whole sheet of newspaper longways until it is 2-1/2" to 3" wide. Stick one end of the folded strop over your towel rack and pinch both ends together, then pull tight. Strop on that. Slice it up, toss it. No biggie.

Honing can, and should, definitely wait until you are comfortable with the stropping and shaving process. Don't buy any stones or film or anything just yet. Just get your shaving, lathering, and stropping equipment together and get busy mowing down the whiskers.

A shavette is an option, though not one I normally recommend. The benefits are, no stropping or honing. The minuses are, you got to buy blades, then use them, then discard them. The kind of senseless, thoughtless consumption that sent many of us over to the dark side in the first place. Also a shavette is much more likely to cut you or irritate you. It takes a while to learn to shave with a shavette, compared to a proper straight. Oh, and you don't get the elitist thrill of being in the exclusive gentlemanly society of straight shavers, FWIW. Zero cool factor. Oh, one advantage, though, if you get the type that uses half of a DE blade, is you can travel with your shavette in carryon luggage. Then simply hit walgreens or walmart and grab some DE blades at your destination. With a straight, you have to pack your razor in checked luggage. Plus pack a strop without damaging it. So if you fly a lot, you might think about the shavette. Otherwise, go for the straight.

Check out the BST forum here, too. Sometimes a member has a shave ready straight he needs to cull from his too-big collection, and prices can sometimes be quite reasonable.

Don't buy any kit from anyone who doesn't even shave with a straight. You will be sorry! Stay away from ebay or the like, for now. Ditto antique stores or flea markets. Even new razors from brick and mortar shops. Very few razors, vintage or new, are sold shave ready. If they are not declared shave ready by someone you can trust, they are not shave ready. Here is a good test... wave a razor back and forth about 1/4" over your forearm. A shave ready razor should easily lop the tops off your forearm hair. Don't rest the razor on your arm and try to shave it. That is no test. Even your pocketknife should be able to do that. Anybody tries to sell you a razor that won't treetop any of your arm hair 1/4" off, it isn't shave ready, no matter what he says.

 

[jpcwon]

Honing can, and should, definitely wait until you are comfortable with the stropping and shaving process. Don't buy any stones or film or anything just yet. Just get your shaving, lathering, and stropping equipment together and get busy mowing down the whiskers.

Slash is right. I bought honing stones before I could even shave ATG, and it was a mistake. WAAY too much to try and learn all at once. Eventually you could give it a shot, but I would wait till you have shaving & stropping down pat before trying to hone....Don't get me wrong; honing is as enjoyable for me as actually shaving with a straight, but it's just too much to take in when you're a newb...

 

[JK1985]

Hey guys, thanks again for the replies. Just submitted an order on whippeddog. Went for the sight unseen, poor mans strop kit, some colonel conk almond soap, a styptic pencil, and of course a brush (silvertip with a resin handle) to start out with. Still looking around at pre and after shaves. Naturally, I'll avoid anything with alcohol in it...not a fan of the harshness. After this, I'll be eagerly awaiting the opportunity for my first shave! Any recommendations for that, feel free to let me know.

 

[jrp316]

Looks like you're good to go! As far as aftershave goes, something like Nivea or Real Shaving Co balm is pretty good and can usually be found in stores.