New Guy needs advice!!!

[jamieduchess]

Hi,

I have always used 'normal' razors and have always fancied using a cut throat/straight razor. Problem is I can afford to spend a fortune on one.

Had a look through ebay (and I see some of the posts on here about that). There are some new ones which seem to come largely from hairdressing suppliers. They say they are good entry level razors for shaving but I wonder whether or not that is right? (They arent coming from China/Hong Kong etc)

Or would I be best buying, say a 'vintage' razor and having it sharpened for the job?

Or can anyone recommend reasonably priced suppliers?

Incidentally I am in London if there are any other Brits on here!

Thanks

 

[bjrn]

If you look on ebay, and see new razors for less than £30 or thereabouts, avoid it. The Enzo, Wittex, Master USA, and a bunch more are brands to avoid, I'd also avoid any no brand razor.

It depends a bit on what kind of budget you have, but you could get a razor and strop from a place like classicshaving.com (you definitely want to pay the extra $20 for honing service if you do that) or a starter kit from Tony Miller's The Well Shaved Gentleman. If you buy from Tony Miller you'll get a good shave-ready razor and strop for £60.

You could try to press costs even more by getting an older razor from someone either here at B&B, or over at the Straight Razor Place forums Buy/Sell/Trade section. For straight razor buying and selling, SRP has quite a lot more going on than B&B. But I think many SRP members are also members here. So you can either post here, or on SRP, explaining what you are looking for, and I'm sure there is someone who will have a good shave-ready straight for perhaps £20 or so. Remember that in addition to the straight, you'll need a strop as well.

There's also a good topic you should read before buying a straight here.

 

[rickw]

A good way to start is to get a shave ready razor from a member of this forum or SRP. It will be a more known quantity than ebay. There is also Bill Ellis http://www.billysblades.com/ and Vintage Blades http://www.vintagebladesllc.com/vshop/xcart/home.php?cat=80 . You will also need a strop and some means to touch up the edge. That came be a pasted paddle or a stone.

Welcome to B&B. Check in often with your questions.

 

[jamieduchess]

Hey Bjorn & Rick

Thanks for your advice. I now have a blade!

My old Grandad has one it turns out that hasnt been used for years. However he tells me it is honed and ready to go. It is Solingen which I believe is a pretty decent make. I guess I just need to check its all OK?? Any ideas how I do this??

I will obviously need a strop and a brush but they should be OK to come by hopefully.

Once again any tips would be great..............

Jamie

 

[Doc4]

Hey Bjorn & Rick

Thanks for your advice. I now have a blade!

My old Grandad has one it turns out that hasnt been used for years. However he tells me it is honed and ready to go. It is Solingen which I believe is a pretty decent make. I guess I just need to check its all OK?? Any ideas how I do this??

I will obviously need a strop and a brush but they should be OK to come by hopefully.

Once again any tips would be great..............

Jamie

The advice you got (avoid e-bay, go to buy/sell forums) was bang-on ... in case you decide to get a second razor.

Solingen is an area in Germany rather than a 'make' but that's where the best german razors come from so you should be fine. If you can post detailed photos of the razor that could help, but look to see if the blade is free of rust, nicks and dents.

Your grandad may be a great guy to ask about this ... if he has his own strop and hone, you might get some in-person training which would be great.

 

[Daedalus]

Welcome. Once you get the knack of using the straight, there is no turning back. The comments about having your new razor honed by someone who knows what he is doing are very important to your success and enjoyment of traditional shaving. The "new" razor is not ready to shave out of the box. The Well-Shaved Gentleman carries pre-honed Dovo razors at very reasonable prices, and Tony Miller's strops are top quality. You will need to strop that razor every time you use it, so a strop is necessary. Get yourself a good brush (Vulfix and Savile Row are excellent values for the money) some soap or cream, and mug, and you are in business!

Honing stones, pasted paddles, and all that stuff can come later, but you want to start with a good, sharp razor and a quality strop.

Daedalus

 

[bjrn]

Solingen is a city in Germany famous for its steel industry. If it says Solingen on the blade you can be pretty sure it'll be decent at least. And having something which your grandfather has used should give you a nice warm fuzzy feeling as well

If he says it's ready to go, then it might very well be. I don't know if you also got a strop and hone from your grandfather, but in case you didn't you'll need to get a strop because you'll be stropping your razor before each shave. If you need a strop, same recommendations as above, SRP for a second-hand one, or Tony Miller. If your granddad still has a strop and/or hone, ask him to show you how to use them, nothing like seeing something like that in person.

Since you are in London, you are in the upscale shaving supplies capital of the world. Geo. F. Trumper, Taylor of Old Bond Street, Truefitt & Hill and D.R. Harris are four old companies making excellent shaving products. If you have a day to go shopping you could go by them (or call) to see if you can get some free samples of shaving cream (and/or perhaps some aftershave products).

A popular brush in the US is the Crabtree & Evelyn Best Badger brush. In the US it's $35, you might go by a C&E store in London (I think they have a few) and see what they charge for it there. The other companies I mentioned also sell brushes. Again, this comes down to how much you are willing to spend. If you want to keep it to a minimum, the Body Shop has a synthetic brush for about £5 I think, it's a good brush for that price in my opinion and I'd pick it over a similarly priced boar hair brush. If you're willing to spend a little more, try to go for something better than "pure badger", best and super are words you'll want to see.

You might also want to check out Mantic's shaving videos on youtube. For brush advice, watch the Shaving Brush Basics and "Can't Hardly Miss" Shave Gear videos.


Edit: Bah, spent too much time writing my post.

 

[rickw]

Edwin Jagger makes the Crabtree & Evelyn brushes. They are available at http://www.theenglishshavingcompany.com/

 

[bjrn]

Oh, yeah. I was just thinking that being in London and all it might be nice to go to a shop and hold the brush(es) in your hand.

 

[Jfala]

Straightrazorplace.com, or SRP has a ton and I mean ton of info for the straight razor user. Now you have your grandad's straight, but is it really sharp enough? When was the last time it was used? If it's been a while it will probably still need a good honing just to refresh the blade since there is most likely some oxidation or microchipping of the edge. One good test is to see if it will cut your arm hairs. Gently run the edge over your arm hairs about 1 to 2 centimeters above the skin. If the hairs "pop" or cut easily, it's ready. If it catches the hair and pulls or doesn't cut at all, it needs to be sharpened.

All of the other advice about stropping and brushes, etc. is spot on.

Have fun!

 

[jamieduchess]

Hey guys,

Razor arrived today. In really good condition,slight oxidisation mark on it, but the blade is good, no nicks or scratches. However using Jeffs advice I ran the razor over my arm hair and managed to sever my wrist (only joking ). It didnt cut hair so its obviously not sharp enough. Im in London tomorrow so I will pop out of work and see if I can get one of the places that Bjorn recommended to see if they can sharpen/hone it for me.

In the meantime I ditched my multiblade Gillette's and used a single blade that I bought the other day along with my new brush and cream. Fantastic result!! Really smooth and just a slight 'graze' on the sensitive area of my neck. No cuts though so I was quite impressed with my first time!!

Have to say though the straight looks quite scary now its here. Gonna definitely study those you tube demos!!

J

 

[bjrn]

Glad you got a nice razor! I don't think the places I mentioned will hone razors, I think those that do give barber shaves (Trumpers and T&H at least) use either Mach3s or shavettes (straight with a replaceable bade) rather than a real straight for hygiene reasons. And so they probably don't even have the equipment to hone it. But pop by them anyway to snag some freebies!

It would probably be better to visit the Straight Razor Place forums, and post there asking if someone in the UK will hone for you, and perhaps even clean it up, I don't know what the marks on the razor are like.