Good straight razor for a beginner

[BennyVega]

Hi gentlemen,

I'm an experienced Merkur DE shaver of about 3 years and I'm looking to buy my first straight razor. Anyone have any suggestions of a good razor for a beginner? I'm really not looking to spend a ton, so let's say my budget is under $75. Also, I'm not interested in the type that need separate blades...I want something old-fashioned that I can strop!

Thanks in advance for the suggestions!

 

[Obiwan]

I'll be the first- go to whippeddog.com

Larry has great starter kits and got many of us started

 

[joshua1970]

I'll be the first- go to whippeddog.com

Larry has great starter kits and got many of us started

I'll second that!! larry can also get you a kit with a razor, strop, balsa wood and powders to keep the blade sharp - and even sells brushes, honing kits etc.

and he's a stand up guy!!

 

[gash]

Yes, start with Larry's deal.

 

[Doc226]

Yep, what they said

 

[Anonymous]

I agree with everyone else. Get a whippeddog.

 

[wagstaff]

Larry is the man. Esp if you need the poor man's strop kit. Great silvertip brushes for the price, too. That said, for just the razor, HLS on the vendor/hobbyist forum is also the man.

 

[rickboone1]

There needs to be an automatic response for when this question comes up.

 

[Captain Pre-Capsize]

There needs to be an automatic response for when this question comes up.

LOL!! My thought exactly - whipped dog is the only way to go.

Trust me, based on my experience do NOT get a shavette. Get the real deal. This place is loaded with help and information, just ask.

 

[cpcohen1945]

The least-expensive, reliable new razor is probably the Dovo "Best Quality". You can get one from Straight Razor Designs, hand-honed, for around $80.

So, if you want to save money, a vintage blade is the way to go.

Charles

 

[Slash McCoy]

+1 on the dog.

 

[RussG]

alright. I have been following this thread and had a similar question. I'm posting in this thread in the hopes that anyone reading it has the benefit of all in one place. I was willing to spend more than 75 dollars. I already have several good brushes and have been DE shaving for several years but am interested in moving to straight edge. Generally speaking, I have usually bought the best I could afford for anything that I intended to stay with. there are exceptions and this may be one of them I have looked at the whipped dog site. It is sparse and the specifics of what your buy for the "sight unseen" looks like a grab bag of equipment; maybe it's good, maybe its a white elephant. if a person is willing to spend more, does it still make sense to get the whipped dog sight unseen? if someone is going to upgrade anything, what would it be? razor? strop? I have read nothing but high recommendations for the whipped dog site and service so perhaps the rationale is that you cannot go wrong for your first set of equipment with whipped dog and it's not wasting your money by not buying the best you can afford because there is so much error that occurs when you first begin? I'm also beginning to get the impression that the amount of money that you spend on a straight edge does not necessarily equate to the same value. having said that, I'm sure that there is something to be said for a "nice" razor. your comments would be appreciated.

 

[ouch]

Perhaps you'd like to support one of our supporting vendors.

 

[Slash McCoy]

None of Larry's whipped dogs will be junk. They will all shave just as good as a new razor. Many of them are truly excellent razors but none are bad and any one of them could well be in your rotation for the rest of your life. The average new razor will not shave one iota better than the average vintage razor. The new one might be prettier, but you can pretty up most vintage razors, too. If you just WANT to spend more on a new razor, well, nothing wrong with that, either.

The most practical upgrade for the razor IMHO is.... an additional whipped dog. Why? because you should have more than one razor early in your journey, certainly within a month of going straight. That way you have a sharp one to shave with while you are either sending the first one out for honing, or learning to hone it yourself. Sure, you could get a new razor for that purpose and I don't want to discourage you from doing so. But your shaving dollars go further elsewhere. Such as for a bigger and better strop. Once you are past the point of slicing and hacking up your Poor Man strop, you might consider my favorite strop, the Big Daddy from www.starshaving.com. Or a higher quality but no more effective strop from one of the premium strop makers such as Tony Miller. Larry's badger brushes are good values, particularly for a budget conscious newbie, but you might want a bigger badger or one with a nicer more artisanal handle. You could keep an eye out for Larry's 30mm badger knots. One of those, set in a handle, will cost you pretty cheap and lather like a beast. He is often out of those big Godzilla knots, though. For more dough, you can get a brush that looks nicer or is made with more by hand attention, but it probably won't lather any better. If pride of ownership is a major thing with you, then you can satisfy those urges quite well in every item of your shaving equipment down to razor stands and brush holders. The sky is the limit. You could spend a couple grand on your basic setup if you like, and have some pretty stuff to show off and to hold in your hand. It's all about where your joy comes from. Me, it is the shave, and particularly in shaving well without going for the expensive stuff. For instance, my favorite razors are mostly Gold Dollar #66s that I bought for $3.49 each, including shipping, and now I understand they can be had for $2.85 each including shipping. I modify them to suit me and hone them scary sharp and I enjoy shaving with them more than with any new razor simply because I beat the game, getting a superior shave for less. You are the navigator of your own shave journey, and it must take you the way you want to go. A $21 sight unseen whipped dog? a $1000 custom razor from Tim Zowada or Maestro Livi? Or somewhere in between? All the choices are valid. Few if any are bad. Do it like you feel it. I just like pointing out that the actual shave improves very little just because you spend 10 times as much, or more.

 

[RussG]

Slash, thanks for the comprehensive and responsive answer. That first paragraph pretty much answered all of my questions as to Whipped dog and the rest gave me perspective on down the line. One of the things that I'm learning is that you don't have to spend a lot of money to get a good or excellent straight razor. I would always support the sponsors. In this case, it's more a question of which one to support.

 

[InkEd]

Dovo

 

[djm]

alright. I have been following this thread and had a similar question. I'm posting in this thread in the hopes that anyone reading it has the benefit of all in one place. I was willing to spend more than 75 dollars. I already have several good brushes and have been DE shaving for several years but am interested in moving to straight edge. Generally speaking, I have usually bought the best I could afford for anything that I intended to stay with.

I would not call any razor a waste of money. Being as you are used to DEs I would say that buying one of the sight unseen razor would be the equivalent of purchasing a common Gillette. You can use it- and you may continue to use it into the future. Likely, however, you will come across a less common, better looking razor that will replace it- not because it shaves better, but because you enjoy it more visually. (If that does not describe you and you are happy with the tech, please disregard the following.)

If I were wanting to spend the little extra I would probably be looking for a nice vintage or two that catches your eye. There are frameback, wedges, barber notches, and singing blades. There are bone, custom and decorated scales. Find something that looks to be in reasonable shape and catches your eye and send it off to have it honed. Some people can buy a good strop and are coordinated enough to go slow and not wreck it- some people cannot. Be honest with yourself as to which you are and make that purchase accordingly.

The sight unseen razors will likely be a good vintage blade wearing black scales. It will be perfectly functional and if you chose would probably be the only razor you need the rest of your life. The problem with straights is the same as the DE... you may well suffer AD.

 

[thatsilverguy]

Boker Red Injun... And you just might get one of those from Larry@WhippedDog if you go that route. My first was a Maher & Grosh "The Anchor" but I've only ever seen 2 of those. BRI's are more common but both are excellent shavers!