Going to Germany - 1st straight purchase?

[aodenkou]

Gents, I am off to Germany in a couple of weeks. I have been trying a shavette with and have not had a major problem (other than nerves). I have had feedback that a "real" straight would be a better option. I have been shaving with a DE for several years and wanted to give it a go after my first shave from a Turkish barber several months back. I may be around a shop or two that has straights for sale. I have looked at the stickey but still am a bit confused. Any suggestions on a good starter straight, brand, grind, etc. and approximate price to expect?

Or, woud I be better off buying on line from someone?

Thanks in advance!

 

[shakin_jake]

Solingen Germany would be the place to buy your straight razor. With the internet, you can get a good quality straight razor shipped to your door w/o having to travel to Solingen. When buying a new straight razor, buy from a vendor who will provide the razor to you shave ready. My recommendation is for you to buy from Jarrod http://www.thesuperiorshave.com/ he'll supply you with a shave ready straight razor, and from Solingen to boot

Jarrod also sells strops, hones to sharpen the razor with if you decide to take that route down the road (check out his Belgian coticule page)...a coticule can be used much like a barber's hone to keep the edge shave ready


Best,


Jake
Reddick Fla.

 

[Slash McCoy]

Solingen. Look for the Dovo or the Revisor factory. Maybe they will give you a guided tour if you seem interested in buying a razor or two.

From Dovo look for:
Prima Klang
Bismarck
Those are just two excellent models that you are sure to love, but there are others of note. They also make a plain vanilla version of the Bismarck without the gold. Still a great design and a great blade but a little cheaper. I might be springing for one of them soon for myself.

Stay away from:
Dovo "Best". They are actually their worst, and not their best at all. Maybe "best" means something else in German?

Revisor has a crazy big selection to choose from. Google them up and find their website and you will see what I mean. Be advised that their customer service has thoroughly irritated some members here, though, so I would not buy from them online, but you might take the opportunity to buy direct. Many of their razors seem to be NOS rebranded blades made by defunct firms. I might be wrong about that.

If you go to Solingen, have a look at knives and other edged tools, too.

 

[Legion]

Check the local prices of the razors you want before travelling. You may find, depending on the exchange rate, that you do not save too much buying in Germany. I don't know that for sure, but check.

Stock up on Euro Palmolive when you are there. That stuff rocks the Casbah, and it is cheap as chips in Germany.

 

[aodenkou]

Gents, I have a good supply of Palmolive sticks, nice. I have been stocking up on Tabac when over in Germany as well. But, I have to say Arko is my new "love"

Will Dovo be the most likely straight I will find? Also, reading on the sight here a "singing" razor seems to have got my interest a bit. Are they something to start with?

 

[shakin_jake]

reading on the sight here a "singing" razor seems to have got my interest a bit. Are they something to start with?

~~~Empirically it's easier for n00bs to start out with half hollows...the weight on the blade will allow the razor to move more surely across your face. full and extra full hollows, the the blade is thinner, something I've grown to aprreciate, and the singer is the pinnacle of this lithe.

An argument could be made to start out with a 1/4 hollow as far as that goes. Nothing is black and white but I would suggest for you to start with a heavier blade for your first...something like a half hollow, if for no better reason than to experience a heavier grind before moving on to a full hollow

Look at it this way...say you had two bottles of wine to drink, a kabinet and a spatlase...which would you drink first, before consuming the other bottle? yeah, I'd approach straight razors the same way. Save the best for last. others may have better and different ideas


Best,


Jake
Reddick Fla.

 

[aodenkou]

Thanks, all info is really appreaciated.

As with everything about this "addiction" I am doing a bit of reading. One of the threads has been on how many shaves you get without honeing. Perhaps I am reading this wrong but it seems you must hone at least a bit after anywhere from 5 or more shaves. So if this is true it would seem you need to learn to hone, or have several razors in rotation of the post office to shave daily? One to use, one being honed, one to or from someone to be honed?

Am I even close on this?

Thanks in advance for any comments!

 

[shakin_jake]

Thanks, all info is really appreaciated.

As with everything about this "addiction" I am doing a bit of reading. One of the threads has been on how many shaves you get without honeing. Perhaps I am reading this wrong but it seems you must hone at least a bit after anywhere from 5 or more shaves.

~~~okay, let's start here...you've shaved with throw away blades in the past right? How many shaves did you get with them before you, threw them away? Disposable blades last only so long. The edge on a straight razor eventually needs to be 'touched up'. So how long can you go on a straight razor before the edge needs touching up? Doc has a thread going on here where he honed a TI using a j-nat, stropped on his kana yama strop and checked HHT finding HHT4. the jist of his thread is doc posting each time he shaves with nothing more than a stropping and checking HHT before shaving. Last I checked Doc is on his 245th (two hundred forty fifth) shave using nuthin but his JAP strop and he's still seeing HHT4

Seems like most here don't like to talk about how many shaves they get between the blade needing attention. Could it be bragadocio, or a lack thereof? Some of the lapping film threads go into this, I know Slash is fond of saying he touches up his edge after every shave so it is ready for the next. Bart Torf recommends touching up after every 5th or 7th shave when using coticules for honing and the maint.-

http://www.coticule.be/edge-maintenance.html

A lot of it depends on several factors. Quality of the blade you have (steel used and the grind), your stropping skills, how well the blade was last honed, angle of the blade when you shave, how tough is your beard hair, on and on. Some guys here have very fair hair they're shaving, so they'll go longer between touch ups. Tough wiry beards are hell on edges. If that's your beard type (tough & wiry), expect to touch up the edge often

So if this is true it would seem you need to learn to hone, or have several razors in rotation of the post office to shave daily? One to use, one being honed, one to or from someone to be honed?

Am I even close on this?

Thanks in advance for any comments!

~~~you can get by doing all of your shaving with only one straight razor. If you send it out for someone else to hone I guess you're going to grow a beard, or buy another razor to use til the first one comes back. Or you could learn to touch up the edge yourself, precluding the need to send it away for that work to be done

seems like most of the members here that shave using straight razors take care of the honing and touch ups themselves. it might seem overwhelming, the thought of doing this work yourself, since you've never done it before, but trust me, there is no mystery learning how to DIY

plenty of members in the honing forum that will help get started if you want to hone your own razors http://badgerandblade.com/vb/forumdisplay.php/80-Hones-Honing just ask



Best,


Jake
Reddick Fla.

 

[Slash McCoy]

I happen to like an extra full hollow singing razor. I enjoy the feeling of delicate precision and the way it hones up with just a few light laps. I like the way it cuts effortlessly when well honed. But a regular full hollow is less fragile and gives you much the same shaving experience. A half hollow gives you slightly more heft and for some, a better feeling of control over the blade. A quarter hollow on out to a near wedge starts to become tedious to hone. A full wedge of course requires an entirely different treatment. You can't go much wrong with anything from a half hollow to a regular full hollow grind. I would initially stay away from anything outside that range when buying new razors, but of course if you see a good price for a vintage one, that's your opportunity to try something different.

 

[Marco]

When it comes to German blades I prefer Boker over Dovo. I think a good 5/8 or 6/8 blade full hollow with round point could be great to start and continue with. The King Cutter is a fantastic, not overly expensive choice.

 

[Slash McCoy]

+1 on the King Cutter. The new ones are just as good as the vintage ones. I bought one shortly after they re-introduced it. A VERY good basic razor.

 

[lindyhop66]

If you go to Revisor factory, check out the Schulze collection left over from the Schulze estate. Revisor is still making razors from blanks left over from famous defunct name brands. They also have many other Solingen NOS razors. If you can find the individual making Wacker straights, you will really find some excellent razors.