Straight razor advice

[brother cavefish]

I am looking for a NICE average money straight razor, my friend has some older Flics, FW Engles and Shumates
in great condition, but i was also looking into some Dovos and Boker
any advise is appreciated

 

[tomjr]

FW engels are my favorite. shumates are very good never owned a flic. so thats how i would rate them. condition and widith is a important consideration. i have shaved mostly vintage razors and i like them any german english french or american vintage straight should shave well if properly honed and maintained.

 

[BOOURNS]

Get a Boker, great shavers everytime.

 

[superbleu]

Pick any of thee above and run with it. If honed correctly they will all shave equally well for the most part. There may be subtle differences between them, but you probably won't be able to tell till you get some shaves under your belt.

 

[fine wine]

FW engels are my favorite. shumates are very good never owned a flic. so thats how i would rate them. condition and widith is a important consideration. i have shaved mostly vintage razors and i like them any german english french or american vintage straight should shave well if properly honed and maintained.

I could not agree more. If you can get the SHUMATE from your buddy get it! Look on the blade if it says St. Louis on it, it was made between 1923 and 1932 and may be stainless steel. Actually I'm almost sure of it. If not it was made in Texas. Either way it is a very good razor......JR

 

[trick420]

+1 to Tomjr... My F.W. Engels Special is a fantastic shaver and one of my favorite blades in my collection. BUT, I also have a Boker Tree and a Geo Wostenholm pipe razor that shave very well. Any of them would work well for you provided they're properly honed.

 

[Earcutter]

It kind of depends on your disposition. I like my vintage razors, but I find myself reaching for my new stock more often (for now anyway) when I go to shave. If the new calls to you more, go for it. There's lots-oh-time to feed your RAD later lol.

 

[Slash McCoy]

Nearly all of the old vintage Americans or Solingens or Sheffields, most of the Swedish and French, will be good razors. Just look for a half to full hollow, 5/8 or so, round point, with plenty of meat left in the blade, no nicks or cracks or deep pitting, for your first blade. If it is sold shave-ready, that is a huge plus. Practically zero razors on ebay will actually be ready to shave with. I'm gonna pull my chain and say consider getting a sight-unseen shave-ready vintage razor from Larry at www.whippeddog.com, to get the biggest bang for your buck. That will be a good razor to learn with, and cheap. For new, just about anything from the $58 Giesens & Forsthoff sold by www.starshaving.com up to a $100 or so revisor will work for you. Dovos are popular, though I personally don't care for them. The Boker King Cutter is a great first razor, but the price has gone way up from the $65 or so I paid for mine about 6 months ago.

 

[Mr Hump]

I would like to think finding a "shave ready" razor is more important then a specific brand.

+1 whippeddog.com

 

[ouch]

I could not agree more. If you can get the SHUMATE from your buddy get it! Look on the blade if it says St. Louis on it, it was made between 1923 and 1932 and may be stainless steel. Actually I'm almost sure of it. If not it was made in Texas. Either way it is a very good razor......JR

I love my WWI era Shumate. I'd have to look it up, but I believe the company started in the late 1800's in Austin, Tx. They moved to St. Louis in 1904 and sold razors stamped Shumate Razor Co. until 1920. Afterwards, the razors were stamped Shumate Cutlery Co. from 1920 until 1932.

 

[Brent]

I would like to think finding a "shave ready" razor is more important then a specific brand.

+1 whippeddog.com

+1. Almost any vintage model will get you a good shave along with most of the new makers (with a caveat of Gold Dollar unless you know how to fix it up right)

 

[brother cavefish]

how are JR Torrey's

 

[Possum]

What about Bannister's? Thanks, Possum