I am new to straights and have been playing with them for relatively cheap. I currently have six of them. With the exception of a Wostenholm, the rest of my razors are all cheap U.S. hardware store razors - one Torrey, the rest relatively unknown. By the time I've paid for them and had most of them honed I could have had a nice Dovo.
My late grandfather ran a general store until the Great Depression wiped him out, and he shaved with Belknap hardware John Primbles (probably leftovers pulled from his shelf, I'd imagine) until the day he died. I haven't found a decent Primble I can afford yet but one day I will. The old American hardware store razors appeal to me.
Am I missing out on not getting a Henckels or a Dovo or a Thiers or a Boker? Probably, and one day I may try one of those, if straight shaving works out for me. But for now there is just something about learning how to shave with an antique piece of American history that puts a smile on my face.
My late grandfather ran a general store until the Great Depression wiped him out, and he shaved with Belknap hardware John Primbles (probably leftovers pulled from his shelf, I'd imagine) until the day he died. I haven't found a decent Primble I can afford yet but one day I will. The old American hardware store razors appeal to me.
Am I missing out on not getting a Henckels or a Dovo or a Thiers or a Boker? Probably, and one day I may try one of those, if straight shaving works out for me. But for now there is just something about learning how to shave with an antique piece of American history that puts a smile on my face.
