recommend best bang for a buck straight razor for newbie

[inspectoring]

as the title says - I am just experimenting and would like to know what is "ideal" equipment which I can easily sell here on BST if I decide it is not for me.

I would like to keep the price down but don't want to go with equipment which is so cheap that I would end up getting turned off.
Thanks

 

[ACorazza]

Your best bet would be a Gold Dollar #66 sold by Buca, on the hobbyist section of the forum. $22 comes shave ready and if you choose to sell it later on you probably wont take a big loss as it is already very inexpensive. Don't let the price fool you though it is a great shaver. Along with that look into whipped dog for a poor mans strop kit and you will be well on your way.

 

[gasdoc]

I just received my gold dollar from buca and I can tell you, without a doubt, that thing is SHARP! and nicely shave ready. Now if I can just ever get up the gumption to actually shave with it we will be on to something.

 

[inspectoring]

My face hates feather blades and loves crystals - does this change the recommendation above?

 

[Beatnik]

My face hates feather blades and loves crystals - does this change the recommendation above?

No, it doesn't work that way with straights. The quality of the edge has more to do with technique and type of finishing method used than the type or brand of straight razor.

 

[blackhhawk]

Go with a gold dollar from Buca. I use a gold dollar every day. They're great when honed correctly, which he does.

 

[weizemanner]

I hear great things about the sight unseen deals from whipped dog. You are going to need a strop anyway and he sells those really cheap too.

You can also check your local antique stores and ebay for a razor in decent shape and have someone here hone it. There are plenty of people here who will practice their honing on your blade for just shipping, but the most expensive i've seen is 15 bucks.

 

[tomjr]

GD's when properly hone makes 4 gr8 shaves aplenty

 

[Seraphim]

Buca is the best bang for the 22 bucks!

 

[SliceOfLife]

Best value if you can hone your own? Gold Dollars or good condition vintages.

Best value if you can't hone your own? Forum member sharpened gold dollars or vintages.

See the pattern here? Nothing wrong with the modern higher end razors, but they certainly aren't going to win best value. You pay for being able to say your razor wasn't made in China and for some better finishing, some basic honing and usually better scales (though I've heard some of the high dollar razors scales aren't all that impressive themselves). To be frank, I haven't found a modern razor other than GD where I felt that I couldn't get a better razor for the same or less money by buying a vintage. This of course requires some knowledge of how to recognize problems in vintage razors so you'll know which to avoid.

 

[Legion]

You also might want to consider resale value. If you get a good deal on a shave ready vintage off BST, then unless you completely screw it up, you should be able to sell it on again for what you paid, if you decide it is not for you.

 

[inspectoring]

Thank you everyone!....so I ordered this and a leather strop - now how often does this need to be sharpned?

 

[Slash McCoy]

Why not get a Whipped Dog AND a GD? You really ought to have more than one razor.

How often a razor will need honing depends on the razor, your shave technique, and your stropping. You can mess up an edge in just a couple of shaves if you shave and strop badly. Or you might have a great blade, good technique, and a light beard and keep it going without doing anything but stropping, for a couple of months. Or you could do what I do, and never have to hone your razor again. Interested? Here's how.

Get a piece of Balsa 3"x12" and 3/4" thick. Your local hobby shop will have it. Select a piece that is nice and flat and straight with no major dings. If they only sell in 36" lengths that's okay. Cut it into 3 pieces.

Get some Loctite or 3M spray adhesive and some 320 grit sandpaper. Lightly spray the back of a whole sheet and carefully stick it to a heavy piece of glass like a coffee table top. Work your balsa back and forth corner to corner until you have completely refreshed the surface. This is called lapping and its main purpose is to give you a perfectly flat surface. Do both sides.

Get some .5u and some .1u diamond paste from www.tedpella.com or any other vendor you like. On one side of the balsa, apply a couple of BBs worth and rub it in. It will seem like not enough but that's what you want. The diamond must be embedded into the balsa, not rolling around on top of it. A coating will initially cut faster maybe but it will limit the peak sharpness so you don't want a coating. Distribute it well and rub it in good and don't be tempted to put some more. Do the .1u side (label a corner with a sharpie) then the .5 side. It is not a terrible thing to contaminate the coarse side with the finer diamond, but you ruin the fine side if you contaminate it with even a trace of the coarser diamond.

After shaving, carefully wipe the blade clean and dry. Strop, spine leading just like on your leather strop, about 50 light laps. Wipe the blade nice and clean again to remove all trace of diamond paste. Hit your leather strop a dozen laps if you like. Oil your blade if you like. When you are ready to shave again, strop normally, on the hanging leather strop. Shave and hit the balsa again. If you strop on the pasted balsa after every shave, you may never see a dull edge on that razor. If it does seem to be falling off a bit, instead of just the fine side, hit the coarse side first, as many laps as it takes, to bring back the edge, then continue with the fine side as always. This works. Seriously well.

Keep your balsa free of debris. It will get dark gray stains from stropping... that is the swarf, microscopic steel particles cut away by the diamond. Not to worry. But otherwise keep it clean and dry. If it warps from moisture or age, just re-lap and re-apply the paste. After a month or two you can refresh the paste. Use about half the original amount. I like to swap ends halfway through a stropping, to distribute the wear better and compensate for any surface irregularities.

BTW, a tiny bit of the diamond paste on a 2" square of old tshirt is great for polishing razors.

 

[BJJ]

gold dollar os larry whipped dog deal

 

[Seraphim]

Buca's shave ready GDs are the best bang for your buck this side of Times Square.

 

[Toasty]

Buca's shave ready GDs are the best bang for your buck this side of Times Square.

I agree, ordered three from him and used two already, awesome deal.

 

[hdjj00]

Get some Loctite or 3M spray adhesive and some 320 grit sandpaper. Lightly spray the back of a whole sheet and carefully stick it to a heavy piece of glass like a coffee table top. Work your balsa back and forth corner to corner until you have completely refreshed the surface. This is called lapping and its main purpose is to give you a perfectly flat surface. Do both sides.

When you lap the balsa, do you need to use a sanding block for the sandpaper or can you just sand it by hand? Seems like you can get a flatter, more even surface if you use a block. Also, you mention going corner to corner. I assume you meen in an X pattern, similar to stropping a straight on a 2" wide strop? Thanks for posting the advise, as I'm just getting into straights myself.

 

[bluesman 7]

Buca's shave ready GDs are the best bang for your buck this side of Times Square.

+1.

I have a thread about mine "My First Gold Dollar" in the newbie section

 

[Slash McCoy]

When you lap the balsa, do you need to use a sanding block for the sandpaper or can you just sand it by hand? Seems like you can get a flatter, more even surface if you use a block. Also, you mention going corner to corner. I assume you meen in an X pattern, similar to stropping a straight on a 2" wide strop? Thanks for posting the advise, as I'm just getting into straights myself.

No. Neither one. Glue a whole sheet to a big piece of glass or polished marble or granite tile. Lay the balsa ON TOP of the sandpaper.

 

[hdjj00]

Ok, Got it! When I first read "spray the back of a whole sheet", for some reason I was still thinking of the balsa sheets/pieces. Makes more sense now! Thanks!