New - and need your help!

[jppv]

Hey all, as you can tell I am brand spankin new to B&B ;)

I would like to be able to stop buying cartridges for my Fusion as the price is quite ridiculous, and move up to a straight edge razor. I assume the only things I need to purchase often is lather which has to be done with any wet razor.

My question is, what is a great starter straight edge razor, lather, brush and strop (assuming that's all I need, right? hopefully) I'd like to get a razor that's "shave ready" (if it's shave ready, does that mean I only have to strop it every so often and get it sharpened professionally when the time comes? I read it should be sharpened every 6months - 1year. how correct is that?)

I know nothing about straight edge razors or how any of it works, and honestly seems quite confusing for something so simple. I just want to cut the hairs on my face with a straight edge. Could it be that simple? Or am I waiting for pigs to fly?

I'm looking at Dovo razors as the price isn't all that bad and they look good.

Please note I'm not looking to become a shaving professor or take it as a hobby as a lot of you do. I just want to shave with a straight edge razor lol I hope you can understand that.
But at the same time I want to make sure I am getting my moneys worth and purchasing the proper gear the first time.

Any help is greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Jon

[Sledgehammer39]

Welcome Aboard!

[Josh_WA]

Please note I'm not looking to become a shaving professor or take it as a hobby as a lot of you do. I just want to shave with a straight edge razor lol I hope you can understand that.

Welcome Jon. Somehow I think that's what everyone says then they end up with more stuff in the bathroom than their wives before too long. The experts will be along soon with good advice.

[DigJazz]

Welcome! Simpsons best badger brushes are great intro-mid level brushes.

[Oblique Human]

Hello Jon, Welcome to B&B!

Larry at whippeddog offers a great and pretty popular straight starter kit. While there, also download his tutorial at this page, scroll down a bit for the PDF link.

[The Kayaker]

Welcome and good look am new to all this to but am working my way to a straight with a safety razor first, the advice your going to get will be spoon from the guys on here.

Al

[NickCutlip]

Welcome to B&B !!

[rivieraranch]

You should get a razor that is honed and truly shave-ready. It is my impression that you have to strop the razor every time you use it. Then you should watch some You Tube videos of straight shaving to get a feel for how to approach it. Then you could begin.

[ackvil]

Welcome to B&B. Be sure to check into the straight razor clinic.

[Slash McCoy]

Larry's Whipped Dog Sight Unseen Deal is your answer for a shave-ready vintage razor at a bargain price, plus a beginner strop and also a pasted balsa bench strop. You will be much better served by a shave ready whippeddog vintage than a new entry level Dovo, and you get that. shave ready, plus the strop kit, for less than the Dovo, with enough left over to buy a badger brush. Larry sells cheap badgers, too, which are quite a bit better than boar brushes. Also generally a new razor is NOT sold shave ready. So figure another $20 or so to have it honed. Larry's edges are quite good and truly shave ready.

The Poor Man strop, included, is frankly not much of a strop, but it works, and most importantly it is cheap. Why is cheap important for a beginner strop? Because it is nearly a foregone conclusion that you will quickly ruin it as you learn to strop. No sense hacking up an expensive strop. Upgrade later, when you are confident that you won't cause it any damage. In fact, if I were you I would strop on newspaper the first few shaves and maybe spare your Poor Man strop from the worst of it.

Yes you will have to strop before each shave. However, you are better off NOT stropping before your very first shave with a freshly honed whippeddog. You are likely to hurt more than help since the edge will be very sharp when you get it but your stropping skills will need to develop for optimum results.

So from Larry you get your razor, your strop, and your pasted balsa strop. The balsa is used to help maintain your edge between shaves so it doesn't need honing so often. The paste is a very fine abrasive so stropping on it has nearly the same effect as honing on a very very fine hone. Give your razor a half dozen laps on the green side and a dozen on the red, after each shave, and if your technique is good you can easily go several months without honing. Possibly forever though I would say your chances of that would be better if you used diamond paste rather than Chromium Oxide (CrOx) and Iron Oxide.

The brush is used to form a lather from your soap or cream. As an additional benefit it exfoliates, and helps to lift and soften whiskers. In a nutshell, the procedure is to wet the brush thoroughly in very hot water, shake out the excess, swirl it around on your soap to pick some up in the brush, and apply to the face. Then a little more water is picked up in the brush, and worked into the soap on the face, forming the lather. A boar is cheaper but it does not hold as much soap and water as a badger. The black badger is the lowest grade and it is usually slightly prickly, similar to a boar, because the ends of the bristles are trimmed. Higher grades of badger like the silvertip are silky soft on the skin but cost more.

You will also need soap. No, don't use bath soap except in an emergency. Van Der Hagen (VDH in badger-speak) is cheap and good and available in your local walmart, drugstore, or most supermarkets. It is pretty cheap, too. Then you will need a mug, and you can just pick one up at the goodwill or grab one out of the kitchen. It needs to be safe to use in the microwave, so no plastic or metal. You can melt your puck of VDH in there, with about 20 to 25 seconds in the wave. Watch out that it doesn't foam over. Then take it out and let it cool.

Be careful handling your new old razor. The edge of a razor is very delicate, and dinging it against the sink or faucet will mess up the edge. When you close the razor, make sure you guide it in between the scales. Often a razor will not sit right in the scales or the pivot will be loose, and the blade can bite into the scales on closing. Oops...

Later on you can upgrade your strop and depending on your first brush, maybe upgrade the brush, too. You will also want a spare razor and a second whippeddog razor would make a great backup. For a strop upgrade I recommend the popular Big Daddy strop from www.starshaving.com. There are better strops but this one is an excellent value for the modest price.

A few other things you might want. A styptic pencil for treating cuts. An alum block for its antiseptic and astringent properties. An aftershave. Pinaud Clubman is pretty good and cheap. The alcohol burn is bracing. Masters Bay Rum is also a favorite, and very cheap. There are also balm type aftershaves which might be best for your first couple dozen shaves. Nivea is good. All those aftershaves should be available at the drugstore except the Masters Bay Rum, which can be found at Sallys Beauty Supply or online. My favorite is Ogallala Bay Rum, available only online.

Once you have your kit, come on back and we will show you how to use it.

[jppv]

I thank you all for the information! This sounds like a pretty great community!

Quick question about whippeddog. Confused as to how he sells. Apparently he doesn't show pictures of the products your purchase? That's odd IMHO lol. So I'm assuming you just buy something? Not necessarily knowing what you're getting what it looks like and the condition of it?

If anyone can please explain how he works.
I'm going to shoot him an email.

Thanks again everyone.

Slash McCoy, thank you much for that! Very helpful!!!!!!

Jon

[Slash McCoy]

Larry's razors are a mixed bag of vintage razors, with hardly any two even remotely alike. If he took pictures of each and every one of them and posted them on his site with a description, and removed each one as it was sold, he would be spending as much time cataloguing his razors as he would spend in cleaning and honing them. Of course that means he would have to charge more since his time is worth something, after all. I think his sight unseen deal is therefore a pretty good idea. It is efficient and streamlined. Pay your money, get a razor. Cheap. Simple. Perfect for a beginner who has not developed preferences yet, and just wants to get his hand in the game as cheaply as possible.

When you want to buy one of his deals, just email him. Tell him what you are looking for and he will make the best match he can from his stock to your specifications. White scales, black scales, half or full hollow, round nose or spike, etc. From there, it's like Forrest Gump's box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get. Except you do know you will be getting a razor that is ready to shave with. My suggestion is to go for the $55 deal that includes the poor man strop kit. The first few days, strop on newspaper so you don't slice up your poor man strop right away. Just fold a sheet of newspaper longways until it is a long strip between 2-1/2" and 3" wide. Pass one end over your towel rod and then pinch the two ends together in your left hand, and pull it back tight. Wa lah. Instant, disposable strop. It is NOT as good as a leather strop but it doesn't cost anything if you ruin it. After a few days, if you are confident, start using your poor man leather strop. After a month or two, if you got your stropping technique nailed, upgrade to a bigger and better strop. Anyway, that's what I recommend... the $55 deal, but use a newspaper strop the first few days and maybe your poor man will survive your learning curve and you can keep it for a travel or backup strop.

I don't think you could possibly disappointed. The price is right. The razor will shave. For I think $25 you can get an extra razor. Normally with more than one razor you do a rotation. However while you are learning I suggest using just one, keeping your spare nice and sharp and in reserve. When your first razor gets dull, use the backup and either send the first out for honing, or teach yourself to hone. You don't want to spend several days learning to hone on your only razor, and getting awful shaves because you can't get your blade sharp. Some guys catch on right away, some guys take a while. With a backup whipped dog, you got it covered.

[jppv]

I've made up my mind and decided to buy a new razor. One that is Shave-Ready.

Just need your help on deciding which one I want to get (not sure which ones are good quality, which ones are worth spending the money on). I'm not quite sure, I was looking at the Dovo straights as their prices are what I would like to spend on just a razor $70-$85 however, I have heard some bad things about them. I also saw a video review of someone who purchased a Dovo and after 2 weeks of use it was rusted beyond use.

If you would please post some website and straight brands that you highly recommend.
All of your help has been fantastic and I greatly appreciate this forum!
What a great and very helpful community.

I thank you all!!!!!!!
Jon

[Timogen]

Welcome!

[dpmtherrien]

Welcome to the group.

[Slash McCoy]

I've made up my mind and decided to buy a new razor. One that is Shave-Ready.

Just need your help on deciding which one I want to get (not sure which ones are good quality, which ones are worth spending the money on). I'm not quite sure, I was looking at the Dovo straights as their prices are what I would like to spend on just a razor $70-$85 however, I have heard some bad things about them. I also saw a video review of someone who purchased a Dovo and after 2 weeks of use it was rusted beyond use.

If you would please post some website and straight brands that you highly recommend.
All of your help has been fantastic and I greatly appreciate this forum!
What a great and very helpful community.

I thank you all!!!!!!!
Jon

I am absolutely NOT a fan of the entry level Dovos. However, I have to say that rust is not the fault of the razor but of the owner. ALL carbon steel razors will rust if you allow them to. Even stainless steel razors are not immune from rust... they just take longer to rust, and tolerate worse environments for a longer time before showing signs of rust. A Dovo will not rust any quicker than a Revisor or a Boker or a G&F or a TI or any other new razor. Also, I doubt that the razor was rusted beyond use in only two weeks. I am sure it could have been cleaned up and honed, as far as the rust goes. No, I do not think an entry level Dovo is a good purchase. The better Dovos, in the higher price brackets, get much more attention in the manufacturing process and should be considered, if your budget allows. But don't avoid the entry level "Best" Dovos on account of rust issues, because they have no more of a rust problem than any other razor. It is absolutely not a relevant issue.

I do think a vintage razor is your best possible value for your dollar. A razor is not a better razor for being new. A 100 year old razor is in no way inferior to a new one as long as it has plenty of steel left in it. The vintage razor is worth as much when you sell it, or maybe more, than it was worth when you bought it. A new one loses value immediately, as a general rule. Do you have a particular reason for wanting a brand new razor for your first blade?

[KyMash]

Welcome to B&B!!

[jppv]

I appreciate our honesty. I took your advice and placed an order last night with whippeddog paid the $55 for less flaws. Also got two bars of Mitchell's fat soap an extra poor mans strop and a silvertip badger brush.

I look forward to getting my hands on some of his gear, I'll be posting my experience when I do my first shave with the straight. Not that you probably care but maybe you all can critique my flaws.

Thanks again everyone!!!
Jon

[Slash McCoy]

Good kit. You are off to a good beginning. You are gonna love the Silvertip. You will love your badger even more if you ever grab a cheap boar just for kicks, and try that. The Silvertip will have you spoiled for anything but a nicer Silvertip! If you decide you don't really like the wool fat soap, mosey on down to Walgreens and get a puck of Van Der Hagen. That's what I use. It is cheap as dirt and lathers nicely. Probably the most popular soap, in terms of number of pucks sold. Kiss My Face cream can usually be found at walmart, and while it costs much more than a puck of VDH, it is still pretty cheap and gives a really slick lather. Try the Key Lime scent. I would bet even money, though, that you will find the MWF more than satisfactory. MWF fans tend to stick with MWF, for good reason.

After a month or two, if you are pretty sure you won't slice up a new strop, it will be time to consider upgrading. Have a look at the Big Daddy at www.starshaving.com before making your final decision.

See the youtube vids by GeoFatBoy and read the shaving threads while you are waiting for your gear. You are gonna DO this shaving thing properly, I can tell. Happy Shaves!

[jppv]

Ok, here to report my first straight shave experience.
Going to try an keep this short, lol.

Placed an order with whippeddog, ordered the following.
$55 straight razor
an extra poor mans strop
2x Mitchelles wool fat shave
silver tip badger brush

my first shave was not great, and i'm assuming it's me. First shave I lathered up some mitchelles wool which seemed a little difficult to do to get a good lather, i'll keep at it heard it was a more dense soap. Lathered my face, took a hot towel placed it on my face while lather on, let it sit took it off as well as the lather and did it again but without lather the second time. Lathered up again and shaved, all while keep my face wet. It felt like the razor was pulling some hairs rather than just slicing them off, and didn't make the shave as smooth as I expected. I was about 4-5 days worth of growth.
On some points the razor jumped while I was shaving. I applied a light pressure, but applied a little more on my second go around.

How often do you straight users shave? I seem to grow facial hair quick.
How often should I strop it? Before every shave? About how many strokes do you apply when stropping?

Thanks again for all the advice, youtube is very resourceful for straight shave tuts.