What's the rat 1 or skyline of straight razors?

tueller

tueller

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Mar 16, 2012
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I am looking for the straight razor equivalent of a rat 1 or skyline. By this I mean a quality straight razor that is the best bang for your buck, not gonna hurt the wallet and is good for the beginner. Thx for any input. I did a search and am thinking about a refurbished one but wanted to make sure there isn't a new better option out there. Thx again.
 
Yeah, the Dovo razors for new. For a solid, shave ready vintage go to whippeddog.com and pick up a "sight unseen" razor for $25 or so.


-Xander
 
Thx roadkill and fast14riot. After your recommendations it looks like my best options are a dovo best value for 70 to 80 or a whipped dog sight unseen for 50 ish or a whipped dog sight unseen "flawed" for 28. I am leaning towards the flawed sight unseen because it does not affect the shave. After learning and using it for a while, I will upgrade if I stick w/ straight razor shaving. Thanks for the advice and lmk what you think of dovo vs sight unseen vs sight unseen flawed.
 
The razors Larry sells are all "shave ready" where the Dovo razors aren't really, so add on the cost of a honing, which Larry does as well.

Jumping into straight shaving is a whole bunch of variables, especially if you have never honed or lathered with a brush/soap. Getting a shave ready razor takes one variable away, and gives you a benchmark for your own honing practice.


-X
 
I would recommend a shavette if that something you would be willing to try. Perhaps a Parker SR-1. The blades can be replaced very easily and you do not have to concern yourself with the honing aspect of straight razor shaving until later.


m-
 
I started out with a shavette-style razor as well, just because I wanted to know if the straight was for me before spending big $.

The important thing to think about when it comes to shaving this way is that it takes an average of 150 shaves to get the technique down. My own experience bears this out.

I have no idea what the rules are for posting URLs on this forum, but I have found that straightrazorplace is a great forum.
 
I'm not a fan of a shavette. I started on traditional straights for 2 years before ever using a shavette and it is a whole different animal! First off, the blades are sharper, the angle is weird, and often the balance is off.

-Xander
 
fast14riot said:
I'm not a fan of a shavette. I started on traditional straights for 2 years before ever using a shavette and it is a whole different animal! First off, the blades are sharper, the angle is weird, and often the balance is off.

-Xander
Click to expand...

Truth. It's not the same feel at all.
 
I haven't paid much attention to the market recently, but in the past, I've heard very good things about the Dovo with the faux turtle shell scales as a good value.

Jordan
 
fast14riot said:
The razors Larry sells are all "shave ready" where the Dovo razors aren't really, so add on the cost of a honing, which Larry does as well.
-X
Click to expand...

I am as fussy a straight user as you can find. I read about not shave ready gear on all the forums but my new gear has run 80% plus shave ready. Probably be better but some vendors hone them even when asked not to. Nine for nine shave ready on new Dovos. No knock to the poster but you gotta follow the money on some things. Good luck on your quest.
 
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