Total straight noob

[Odysseus]

Been using DEs for 25 years but decided to give straights a go. Didn't want to spend a lot in case I didn't like it, so bought this one:
Gold Dollar - Shave Ready Straight Razor (6/8", Round Tip, Carbon Steel)
Know it's probably not the best. Any advice for these? Do I need to hone this thing every shave? Wipe it down with oil? Literally any advice would be awesome. It says shave ready and I'm gonna try it today.

 

[Herrenberg]

The comments on that razor are an interesting mix of people who thought it was really shave ready, and people who did not. I especially enjoyed the one that said:

"If they hand honed this as claimed perhaps they should use an actual Strop and not what I can only assume was a piece of broken concrete curb."

Curious what your experience is.

I'll let others with Gold Dollar experience chime in. You will need to strop on bare leather before every shave, and hone, well, when it needs it. Don't wipe it down with oil, but do make sure you dry it very thoroughly after every shave.

 

[Odysseus]

The comments on that razor are an interesting mix of people who thought it was really shave ready, and people who did not. I especially enjoyed the one that said:

"If they hand honed this as claimed perhaps they should use an actual Strop and not what I can only assume was a piece of broken concrete curb."

Curious what your experience is.

I'll let others with Gold Dollar experience chime in. You will need to strop on bare leather before every shave, and hone, well, when it needs it. Don't wipe it down with oil, but do make sure you dry it very thoroughly after every shave.

What's a decent, low-cost leather strop? Thanks for chiming in.

 

[Odysseus]

What about this one:

Antiga Barbearia de Bairro Shavette (Replaceable Blade Straight Razor)

The ABB Black & Gold Shavette is perfect for those who want to transition to straight razor shaving without breaking the bank. Width: 1.5 cm/0.59 in Handle: 13 cm/5.12 in Blade: 13 cm/5.12 in Weight: 250 g/8.83 oz (with aluminum box) Uses disposable blades Product of Portugal

bullgooseshaving.com

 

[rbscebu]

@Odysseus the SR that your have bought is a Gold Dollar 208 (with the @Slash McCoy seal of approval). Unless the vendor properly honed the SR before shipping, it is not truly shave-ready. If so, you should send it out to get it properly honed. That should cost you tens of USD.

If you give us your location, we can suggest a reputable honemeister for you to engage.

My further advice is:

• CONCENTRATE and learn from each and every SR shave.
• Forget that 30° stuff you heard on YouTube. The correct blade angle is about ½ to 1 spine thickness from the skin.
• SR shave daily so as to reinforce your subconscious with what you learn.
• Forget about shaving your whiskers. Use just enough pressure to remove the lather. Don't worry, the whiskers will just come off with the lather.
• Don't try for a smooth-finished shave. That will come automatically as your technique develops.
• Use a lather that is noticeably wetter than what you would use for DE shaving.
• CONCENTRATE! Some people shouldn't be allowed to handle sharp object, even me sometimes.

 

[PintoPlain]

I'd pretty much echo what @rbscebu said above.

The 30 degree angle is often quoted for some reason, but it you have to hold the blade at that angle, it's not sharp enough. Aim to keep the spine at one spine width or there abouts from the skin.

I don't know about this particular seller, but almost all retailers claim their razors are "shave ready". From the forum it appears very few are actually shave ready when received. Don't be surprised if it's not honed properly although hopefully it is.

Use skin stretching. Particularly on the jaw line to create a flat area which is easier to shave.

If you have problems shaving your chin don't worry. Most people do when starting. As you get more experience and develop your technique you'll get there.

Like with driving, over confidence and inexperience is a bad combination. I still sport the scar proving that a few years later.

Good luck, it's a very rewarding journey.

 

[rbscebu]

.... I still sport the scar proving that a few years later.
....

Chicks dig men with scars .

 

[Frank Shaves]

Welcome to Badger & Blade, and congrats on your excellent decision, @Odysseus!

Gold Dollar razors are made from good quality steel and can be made to shave well. Not sure how shave ready your razor will be.

You will need one truly shave-ready razor to act as a standard, a good strop, and a method to maintain your edges. A few recommendations:

1. Get yourself a good quality, inexpensive razor on eBay and send it to @Doc226 (who is an expert honer) for honing. I recently bought 5 such razors on eBay to practice honing for the average price of $26.32 per razor. I would be happy to suggest a few razors to you. Just send me a private message (PM). I say this because some honers prefer not to work on Gold Dollar razors.

2. Get yourself a good quality, inexpensive strop. You will nick your first strop - it's part of the initiation. An excellent choice is one of @Tony Miller's value strops at https://heirloomrazorstrop.com/. Tony makes great strops and is a pleasure to work with. And he sells replacement parts for his strops.

3. There are a few choices for maintaining your edges:
a. Diamond paste on balsa - aka The Method. See How To Use a Pasted Balsa Strop - https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/threads/how-to-use-a-pasted-balsa-strop.473580/page-57#post-10897369.
b. Synthetic finishing stone like a Naniwa Super Stone S2 12000 - aka Naniwa 12k.
c. Film. I don't know much about this but plenty of other members do.
d. Natural stones. I would initially steer you away from this option for the simple reason that every stone is different.

4. Be patient, have fun, and play the long game - it can be journey.

 

[Slash McCoy]

Been using DEs for 25 years but decided to give straights a go. Didn't want to spend a lot in case I didn't like it, so bought this one:
Gold Dollar - Shave Ready Straight Razor (6/8", Round Tip, Carbon Steel)
Know it's probably not the best. Any advice for these? Do I need to hone this thing every shave? Wipe it down with oil? Literally any advice would be awesome. It says shave ready and I'm gonna try it today.

First of all, let's establish that you need to begin by learning to shave, and in order to do that, you need a shave ready razor. You can get a pretty good idea of whether your razor is actually shave ready or not by using one of the standard sharpness tests. No, shaving hair off your forearm is not a test for a razor. That is how you test your pocketknife, not a razor. Don't bother trying to hone your razor until you have been successfully straight shaving for a month and know how a shave ready edge behaves in a sharpness test, and during the shave, which is the most important test, but one you obviously can't do until you know how to shave. Once you have that little bit of experience, you might try touching up the edge with a finisher, and I suggest either the 12k Naniwa SuperStone, or genuine 3M 1μ plain back lapping film.

I want to introduce one concept right now. If you hop back and forth from one style of honing to another and another, you will never achieve mastery. Stick with one well explained method and stick to it like a religion. Doesn't have to be my way, but it needs to be A way, not just random rambling, freestyling, improvising, compromising, making it all up as you go along, and deciding for yourself what will work and what won't. If you already knew how to hone you wouldn't be asking about it, right? So there is one way in particular that is the cheapest effective method, and the most effective method giving the sharpest edge, has a pretty much flawless track record even with absolute newbies, and gives amazing results on your first or second attempt, generally. I suppose I could say always, except I can't possibly ask every single guy who tries this method. And the name of this method is simply The Method. The trick is this. It doesn't waste weeks or months or years teaching you. It holds your hand and tells you exactly what to do. It is like painting by numbers and creating Elvis on black velvet, or Dogs Playing Poker, instead of going to art school for years and learning how to paint. Except our version of Dogs Playing Poker is true to life 3D realism in microscopic detail. Like paint-by-numbers, you are expected to follow directions and not freestyle it. It won't work if you can't follow directions exactly and in great detail. The Method takes all decisions out of your hands. No subjectivity, no judgement calls. No fair assuming that some very tiny and insignificant seeming detail is not life or death important. No good if you can't read and understand and follow along precisely. But if you can follow instructions to the letter, this will work for you. Read the parent thread beginning to end. Also read the threads linked within the main thread. Beginning to end. The Method went through considerable evolution during its short history. Some things from the early days stay the same. Some things have changed and improved. It's a lot of reading. Start now.

EVERY valid question you could ever think to ask about The Method is answered in the threads. Every one. If you have a question and it isn't in the threads, it probably isn't a valid question. Read. Read. Read. Then when you are ready, buy your equipment and BEGIN. Start by touching up a dulled edge with your finisher as per the threads. Shave. Enjoy. Then when you are ready to up your game, get set up for the balsa progression. It's in there. All of it. Do it right and it will come out amazing. Do it wrong and it will come out meh.

This way is not the only way but it is definitely the best way, especially for a beginner. Many members here got their start with The Method and went on to more fascinating methods like Jnats, Arkies, Slates, and some came back to the fold, some not. It's all good. The common denominator is they all achieved a level of mastery first with the one true Method, before moving on, so that they had something to fall back on, and compare with.

I know of a guy on another forum who lives and sells razors in the town where your seller operates, so I am guessing it is him. If so, your edge will probably shave as is. But test it. If it does not treetop at all, then you need to send it out or get an actual shave ready razor from someone else. And it is a good idea to start with two razors, anyway. Just sayin.

 

[Slash McCoy]

Okay, it's not who I thought it might be, but your Gold Dollar 208 might still be shave ready. I am assuming you have soap and brush, from using your DE. Now you need a strop. No, don't use a belt. Get a proper strop, but a cheap one because you are very likely to damage it while learning. I would definitely keep it under $50 but you aren't going to find much of a strop for less than $30 or so. Avoid Chinese or Pakistani strops. See if @Tony Miller has any beginner strops on hand. If not, look for an Illinois strop, or see if www.whippeddog.com has any of his "Rich Man" strops. Youtube is your friend. Try to shave without stropping, first, after you determine that your razor is sharp enough to shave your face by using the treetopping test. Usually Shave Ready means stropped, too, and you don't want to roll your edge stropping a blade that doesn't need it. Youtube will help you with shaving, too. Lots of great videos out there. Keep @rbscebu 's tips in post #5 in mind as you watch vids and as you have your first real he-man shave. Keep your shave angle low. I suggest two complete passes, only, and both of them WTG or as close to it as practical. Don't torture yourself.

 

[Shangas]

I swear by antique straight razors.

Antique German and British razors are dirt-cheap (like seriously, I've picked them up for pocket-change, literally).

They're easy to sharpen and easy to use. I'd start with one of those than some knockoff cheap Chinese thing that you found on Amazon.

Apart from that - just general advice...

1). Learn to sharpen your razor.
A sharp razor is safer than a dull one. Get a decent waterstone or two and learn to sharpen. Blade FLAT-DOWN on the stone, edge first, spine trailing, rotate the blade on the spine, and go back the way you came, on a slick, wet stone. That is one pass. At least 20-30 passes to sharpen a razor.

2). Learn to strop your razor.
Like sharpening, but opposite. Instead of leading with the edge, lead with the spine, down the length of the strop, with slight pressure on the spine. Flip the blade at the end and ride the strop the same way back again. One pass. Again, 15-30 passes to strop your razor.

3). Get your face WET and HOT. At the bare minimum, work some hot water into your face for a good few seconds to soften the skin and stubble.

4). Open the razor, grasp firmly across the tang.

5). Use SHORT, LIGHT, DELIBERATE STROKES. The razor should KISS the skin and float across the surface. If you're applying ANY pressure AT ALL - your razor's blunt, it isn't cutting, and you're doing it wrong. The blade should be sharp enough and smooth enough to skate across your skin and scrape everything off in one go without having to force it. If you have to, then something you're doing is wrong.

The more often you do it, the better and faster you'll get. Once you've got the basics, then you can advance to more fiddly stuff like how to rotate and angle the blade, how to shave with your non-dominant hand, how to get tricky spots, and so-on.

6). Aside from all that - remember - A SHARP RAZOR is a SAFE RAZOR. If you don't think it's sharp enough, sharpen it more. If you don't think you stropped it enough, strop it some more. Always better to have sharper than not sharper. First time I shaved, I gave myself razor-burn for a week and IT HURT LIKE A *****, all because I didn't sharpen my razor properly. So learn how to do that first. Once you've mastered that, then you can start shaving effectively. No point beginning if your blade isn't even good enough to cut the hair yet.

 

[Slash McCoy]

I swear by antique straight razors.

Antique German and British razors are dirt-cheap (like seriously, I've picked them up for pocket-change, literally).

They're easy to sharpen and easy to use. I'd start with one of those than some knockoff cheap Chinese thing that you found on Amazon.

Apart from that - just general advice...

1). Learn to sharpen your razor.
A sharp razor is safer than a dull one. Get a decent waterstone or two and learn to sharpen. Blade FLAT-DOWN on the stone, edge first, spine trailing, rotate the blade on the spine, and go back the way you came, on a slick, wet stone. That is one pass. At least 20-30 passes to sharpen a razor.

2). Learn to strop your razor.
Like sharpening, but opposite. Instead of leading with the edge, lead with the spine, down the length of the strop, with slight pressure on the spine. Flip the blade at the end and ride the strop the same way back again. One pass. Again, 15-30 passes to strop your razor.

3). Get your face WET and HOT. At the bare minimum, work some hot water into your face for a good few seconds to soften the skin and stubble.

4). Open the razor, grasp firmly across the tang.

5). Use SHORT, LIGHT, DELIBERATE STROKES. The razor should KISS the skin and float across the surface. If you're applying ANY pressure AT ALL - your razor's blunt, it isn't cutting, and you're doing it wrong. The blade should be sharp enough and smooth enough to skate across your skin and scrape everything off in one go without having to force it. If you have to, then something you're doing is wrong.

The more often you do it, the better and faster you'll get. Once you've got the basics, then you can advance to more fiddly stuff like how to rotate and angle the blade, how to shave with your non-dominant hand, how to get tricky spots, and so-on.

6). Aside from all that - remember - A SHARP RAZOR is a SAFE RAZOR. If you don't think it's sharp enough, sharpen it more. If you don't think you stropped it enough, strop it some more. Always better to have sharper than not sharper. First time I shaved, I gave myself razor-burn for a week and IT HURT LIKE A *****, all because I didn't sharpen my razor properly. So learn how to do that first. Once you've mastered that, then you can start shaving effectively. No point beginning if your blade isn't even good enough to cut the hair yet.

Nothing wrong with starting with a GD. Cheap isn't always bad. Cheap can be good. It's a knock-off of what razor in particular? It's just a razor. It is also a decent bit of steel, unlike all the RSO's out there in the same or even higher price range.

Generally a good vintage will lead to a better shave experience. I guess. The problem is a newbie doesn't know how to pick them, and 9 out of 10 vintage razors listed for sale online are unsuitable due to decades of terrible honing, or pitting or cracks or major chips, and are of course not shave ready, either. The OP is ALREADY starting with a GD so you unsubstantiated and opinionated warning is a bit late.

I have some knock-off razors. Very expensive knockoffs of the Bismarck #2 now the Dovo Bismarck. Nothing wrong with a knockoff if it pushes all your buttons. But a GD 208 is a knockoff of which razor in particular? You are letting your bias show. I have been shaving with the straight razor almost exclusively for going on 40 years. My first two razors were Dovo, a "Best Quality" and another Best rebranded for "Col Conk". Both were horrible, as received. My first Gold Dollar I got after the internet was invented. It came to me shave ready. I had long since (1) learned to hone razors pretty good, and (2) discarded the two "Best Quality" Solingen razors, along with another Dovo Best that I had bought in the meantime because after all, they are a famous brand made in a city of old world craftsmen famous for making high quality razors. Meh. Which do you think I enjoyed shaving with more? And yes by this time I had more than a few vintage razors. Maybe a couple would have been suitable for a beginner to have for his first straight shave. Picking good vintage razors is something I can do, now that I have significant experience. No doubt it is childs play for you, too. But not for a beginner.

Nearly all my shaves are with either a Gold Dollar, or a vintage Bismarck or Dovo Bismarck or a clone, or another Dovo model of similar pattern to the D. Bismarck. Both are fine shavers. The difference is one cost me just a very few dollars and the other cost between $75 and $170. BTW my favorite vintages happen to be American made. Not trendy, not fashionable, but good practical razors.

It is fine to have biases for or against certain razors. Just remember when you type it out on an open forum that you will likely get shouted down for it, and you are doing the noobs no great service in presenting your bias as fact.

 

[Kyle89]

Relax, it's shaving.

 

[Shangas]

I never presented anything as 'fact'. I present it as my opinion. I didn't say they were bad, I said they were cheap. You made that assumption on your own.

 

[rbscebu]

I never presented anything as 'fact'. I present it as my opinion. I didn't say they were bad, I said they were cheap. You made that assumption on your own.

I took Mr McCoy's post as one pointing out the difficulty of a n00bie having the knowledge to determine if a vintage SR is suitable for a first SR. There I believe that he has a very valid point.

I would also not suggest to a total n00bie that he randomly buy a vintage SR as his first SR. I would suggest that he buy a new SR of a reputable manufacturer as his first SR. The price point for such a SR is at the n00bie's discretion, anything from tens to hundreds of dollars.

 

[Straight up]

Odysseus,
the Gold Dollar is an excellent first razor because it is so cheap and can be honed to give a great edge. I started my son with this approach and he's still using it after 2 years (20 yo).

While it says it is shave ready out of the box, this is probably not the case. I own 7 Gold Dollars and all needed work to get them shave ready, but once setup they are fantastic blades. Probably the best bang for you buck, but never going to win a beauty competition or inspire and feelings.

You'll need a cheap strop to maintain the edge and I baby oil mine after use to prevent rust (Sydney is humid). Ideally you would be able to hone, but I'm guessing you can't. In this case find someone locally who can hone it into a shave ready shape then you're off to the races. I bet you have a brush and decent shave soap already, I prefer a 'dryer' shave soap so it doesn't flow off the blade between passes.

It's a journey, it takes time but is rewarding. I'd never go back.

 

[Kyle89]

I liked starting with a Gold Dollar because once I decided on picking up a few stones, I had a great platform to make those initial mistakes on something worth only a few bucks. And mistakes I made... haha. Plus I learned a ton real quick about honing with it because of its imperfections.

 

[Slash McCoy]

Honestly, if you start by bobbing the heel, and you get the bevel set properly the first time with something coarse enough to gitter done before you get impatient and give up, then yeah it can be a good learner. I used to disagree with that but I see all the hoops one has to jump through with ebay beaters as sacrificial goats, and I think a GD that has been properly introduced to the hone already is a relatively painless way to get started while still being very much expendable. In fact, if you get one for experimenting, you may as well get a dozen. Maybe order one shave ready from a US, UK, or Euro seller, and then get 10 with a discount from a Chinese reseller, in factory raw condition. I know prices are up but 10 at a time should still only cost around $5 each or less, with free 6 week shipping. Wet Shaving Products was pushing the 208 and I am told their edge was okayish. I have shaved with UK ebayer Jacky Walsh's edge and it was uninspiring but usable. Both are good places to start. You can tune either one up on 1u lapping film and run the balsa progression and you "should" be in the laserbeam zone.

The 10 will give you plenty of cannon fodder for experimenting and learning. Also, for modifying for the annual GD modding competition. Trust me, you will utterly destroy at least a couple of razors as you pursue perfection in steel.

 

[Slash McCoy]

I never presented anything as 'fact'. I present it as my opinion. I didn't say they were bad, I said they were cheap. You made that assumption on your own.

Okay, then. But the 208 and other basic GD models are definitely not knockoffs. If you know of a razor that they seem to be a copy of, let us know. They are just your standard basic straight razor, though a bit thick in the spine and not as pretty as most $150 razors. They are less hassle to hone from straight out of the box than the entry level Dovo razors. Fewer problems than the random vintage blades. Pocket change Sheffield and Solingen razors are not common enough for a noob to find. In fact, I can't find any myself. It has been years since I have ran across a good vintage for under $10 and now everybody expects to get 4x that much. And now American (superior IMHO) vintage razors are getting expensive, too. Meanwhile wholesale prices of GDs are still just a couple of bucks for most models, and resellers, well let me check real quick:

Meh. Prices are terrible right now, especially on fleabay. AliExpress for them. About $7 for a 66, about $12 for a 208 or 100, shipped.

This one is also okay, a little less work to break in than most of the GD models, and a little less ugly.

20.64US $ 20% OFF|free shipping Titan wood handle straight razor steel blade sharp already|Razor| - AliExpress

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

www.aliexpress.com

That one is not a GD and is made in Taiwan, not China. I don't care for most of the Titan razors but this one is pretty decent and is also the cheapest model that they make. Win/win.

 

[steveclarkus]

I started straights three or four years ago when I came across @Slash McCoy postings on The Method. I ordered film and Acrylic for a honing base. I followed his instructions PRECISELY and within a
week I was getting superb edges. I then ordered a half dozen GD 66’s and kept at it then got balsa and diamond paste and got absolutely blazing edges and gave my excess GD’s to Newbies. I later bought a set of Shapton stones but ended up going back to film.

Just don’t try shortcuts to the instructions. If you follow them exactly as written, you win and it doesn’t take long at all.