Looking to buy OH his first straight razor but need advice.

[spiralcars]

His Nibs birthday is coming up (17th Oct to be precise) and I have been toying with the idea of buying him a straight razor or cut throat razor. He enjoys the whole shaving experience and has had a hot towel shave on numerous occasions.

I have trawled the net and am still a bit confused as to what I should be buying. So far I have garnered that a resin handle is good (?), a hollow grind is a must, blade width of 5/8 is preferrable, I also might need to buy a badger hair soaper, glycerine soap, a honing stone and a leather strap - but am really not confident that I know at all what I need or am choosing.

I did look into taking a 1 or 2 day class in doing a hot towel shave but the prohibitive price of 350 euros (just to learn) put me off, as I would still need to purchase all the above in addition.

I would appreciate any guidance as to what to buy.

As for him, anything he does he does with an intensity and I heard him saying how he thought Japanese blades appealed to him.

If I need to provide more information just ask and thanks for your help

 

[r0ckrat]

Might want to let us know what country and or city you are in, as in your case buying a new razor from a physical store might be the best idea. Knowing approximately where you are would help us direct you to a shop.

Reasoning: If the gift of a straight razor is not what he's looking for, it can be returned...

I'm sure that others more knowledgeable than I will be able to provide details on the merits of the currently available razors, and where they and the required additional materials might be obtained in your locale.

Questions that will help us narrow down the "needs": What does he currently shave with at home, and what is his regimen? Does he use an electric razor, a cartridge razor, an old-fashioned safety razor? Does he use brushless cream, canned foam, or a brush and soap?

Good luck in your search for answers, and welcome to the B&B!

 

[spiralcars]

We're in Ireland.

His regime consists of using a cartridge razor with gel, but he has mentioned more than twice his interest in purchasing a straight razor.

Thanks.

 

[r0ckrat]

Hopefully some members from that side of the pond will speak up soon.

Minimum supplies would be a good shaving soap or cream, a Badger shaving brush, the razor, and a leather strop.

There are many brands of good soaps, Taylor od Old Bond Street, Tabac, many others, and the same for creams.

You can get a basic "Best Badger" brush for about $15 USD (Tweezerman from Amazon.com), and the price just goes up from there. The softest brushes are "Silvertip Badger".

The razor is a lot more difficult to suggest. The following site has a fairly inexpensive starter kit, with a Solingen made, Cyril E. Salter razor, and has offices in the UK:
http://www.executive-shaving.co.uk (but I don't know anything about the Cyril Salter razor).

They also carry a full line of DOVO razors, which seem to get pretty good reviews on this site.

You will want to have it professionally honed before use, there is a thread here with some people on this forum that do honing.

Hope that will get you started until more people can chime in.

 

[weevil]

Hello

I'm in the UK and am happy to recommend the following for the products I've bought from them:

Steve Dempster (www.theinvisibleedge.co.uk)
I've had three razors from Steve. I bought two vintage razors to begin with, then had to buy another to replace one which I dropped and broke (
I bought a leather pouch with each razor, 'cos it's easier than faffing around with boxes.
I'm now considering yet another purchase from Steve (coincidentally, for my birthday) and am hoping to "part-ex" on of my current razors.
I also bought a Col. Conk Amber shaving soap here, as it was recommended somewhere on a B&B forum as a good first soap and a baseline against which to judge other soaps.
Steve has been hugely helpful throughout. He's answered all my questions and clearly has an abundance of knowledge and patience.

The English Shaving Company (www.theenglishshavingcompany.com)
I bought an Edwin Jagger Best Badger brush here.

Tony Miller (www.thewellshavedgentleman.com)
Tony in is the U.S., but his strops seem to be the most recommended on B&B forums. I decided to buy well and buy once. Opinion varies on which materials are "best", but I opted for a latigo/linen. It's well worth adding a practice strop if you order from Tony, because everyone nicks their first strop. If you are likely to buy from Tony, contact him soon to discuss purchase and shipping, or you may not receive the strop in time.

That should be enough to get your fella going. I hope he enjoys it and perseveres through the first days (or weeks, or months) of below-par shaves. It really is worth it. I trust you'll direct him to B&B. And when he gets completely hooked and has a whole room dedicated to (and full of) straight shaving-related kit, remember that it was you who opened the floodgates ;o)


Best regards
weevil

PS I jumped straight from a Gilette Mach 3 Power and gel to the kit listed above about 6 months ago. My only "lapse" has been one shave with the cartridge and gel, but only because I had about 5 minutes in which to shave before rushing out. I can barely lather up in that time.

 

[Hawkeye5]

faffing????? Is that legal????

Good suggestions.

Sprialcars: You might also wish to consider a good Omega boar brush. The size and grind of the razor one prefers evolves over time, but you have a good starting base line.

 

[slippy]

Check out the 3/4 grind Le Grelot razors at www.rasurpur.de

I have a Le Grelot and it's the razor I always reach for

 

[khaos]

Your cheapest option is to buy a shave ready vintage straight