Straght razors?

Masteroffajitas

Masteroffajitas

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I'm new to shaving, and I want to buy a straight razor. I have about $80 to spend. If you know a good brand or website that meets my price range that'd be cool. I also need to buy a brush, and cream, and I sappose aftershave.

Any other info would be great.:)
 
Hey there! Glad to hear your interested in straight shaving. I highly suggest you go to straightrazorplace.com. Its a great site, im there also under the same name if you want to pm me for help. you can get a used refurbished razor for 40 or less thats SHAVE READY make sure it really is or else you have to spend all that money on new stones for it! get cheap boar hair brush for like 5 bucks. you will need a strop eventually, which can be got there cheap as well. then all you need is a few cheap soaps, col conk is great and so is van der hagan. which are also very cheap.

be careful tho, you can soon have as many straights and soaps as you have knives!
 
Dovo "best quality" can be found around that price. I have a few and they make great shavers, if a little simple.
 
The above advice is good, but I'd recommend spending more and going with a premium brush. Even if you quit with the straight razor, you can continue using it with a safety razor. There's no comparison when generating lots of foam and getting your beard prepped for a great shave!
 
I use the same brush I started with when I was 14, can't remember the brand but it is a good quality badger brush. I used Old Spice brand soap for years but for the past ten years or so I have used a good glycerin shave soap. The glycerin doesn't dry my skin out as much I have found. I get my tonsorial supplies from Colonel Ichabod Conk. I have two shaving mugs, one for the amber glycerin soap and one for the bay rum soap depending on what aftershave I want to use that day. Bay Rum is of course the old barbershop standard along with key lime (may need to add another mug for it). I am back to using a safty razor these days but still have the straight razor I started with, a Rudolf Schmidt Bambola Solingen.

You can find the Colonel's good here: http://www.shaveshop.com/

I forgot to mention but will add that you should buy a brush stand as well, it will add years of life to your brush buy allowing it to hang bristles down to dry.
 
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Great thread. I'm also very interested in trying out straight razor shaving.

Is it a very difficult skill to acquire? Do you cut yourself a lot in the beginning compared to normal razor shaving? And how much more time do you use with a straight razor compared to normal razor shaving?
 
BadgerAndBlade has a very detailed section on what to buy and how to go about shaving with a straight. It's not that hard at all. There are things you need to remember though.

You need a very sharp edge, stropping is essential. So you will need a good, quality strop. I would go with a 4 sided paddle strop and use 3 grades of diamond paste on three of the sides and straight leather on the last. This will keep you going for a long time between hones,

I wouldn't bother honing your razor yourself until you get comfortable with the rest of the process first. Send your blade to a honemeister (not to be confused with a knife sharpener) or buy it presharpened from a well known razor distributor. Honing a razor is a lot different than sharpening a knife. A razor only needs to be honed every 6 months or so - especially if you are using a pasted strop.

Next is the soap. A nice brush and some Proasso is a fantastic way to go. I love that stuff. There are tons of shave soaps and creams to try which is what makes this fun.

When shaving remember, this freakin blade is sharp!! No pressure! If you shave with a Mach 3 or something similar you use a lot of pressure to get a shave. This same pressure will remove your face with a straight. This is also why you will get a better shave with the straight. Very light pressure means you are cutting the hairs, not your face. Your Mach 3 or whatever, forces you to use a lot of pressure which causes burn and ingrown hairs.

It takes some time to get used to a straight, so don't expect a perfect shave first time. It will take about a month to find your technique.

Best of luck!!
 
ruprazor.com is a good site by a fellow Texan Named Ken in San Antonio.
I bought a Wapienica and an intro strop from him for under 80. I am new to the art but improving. Better than coffee in the morning for a rush. All I can say is, be real careful around your ears.:grumpy:
 
I hit the antique stores in Puyallup, yesterday, looking for an estate double edge razor but only saw straight razors. One was a "new - old stock" Puma in the box. They wanted US$135 for it, but wasn't sure I wanted to get involved in all ritual. These days I have enough ritual smoking pipes. 135 seemed like a lot of money for a SR.
 
A "new old stock" Puma would be more of a collector than a user anyhow.
 
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