What's new

New to straights-tell me about the different brands

Can anyone give your thoughts or reviews, the good,bad, and ugly, regarding used straights that are likely to be found for sale on the forums?

Kind of a Boker vs. Hart vs. Thiers Issard kinda thing?

When I look at the BST, I really don't know what I am looking at. I see pricey sharp pieces of metal, but don't know what to buy or what to stay away from.
 

Antique Hoosier

“Aircooled”
Reviews run rampant across the board. Welcome first to the world of straight razors. It seems daunting at first (and it is actually) but I would suggest reading for hours the threads in the General Straight Razor forum. You will derive much knowledge there. I started with a 5/8 Wade & Butcher and it hooked me on the concept for life 7 years ago. A plain vanilla 5/8, 11/16, 6/8 Full Hollow Solingen from one of our esteemed members who offer straights for sale would be my suggestion as an entry point. Of course you'll need a strop as well.

Read...read....read...as much as you can first.
 
when you look at a razor you want to pay attention to the edge, check for pitting, cracks ,overheating from polishing with power tools, chunks of metal missing the next is, is it newly made or vintage. vintage razors have stood the test of time and some after a couple hundred years are still used. so there aree no badly made or poor vintage blades. they were weeded thru years ago the cream of the crop was left. I like wade and butcher, Fredrick Reynolds, mayer and grosh, some like Sheffield, some usa, some german. very many choices. if you want new gold dollars are usable razors if you get one already made shave ready. you can do a whipped dog razor and poor mans strop or look here on the forums.all of the razors I see for sale here on the forums are in excellent shape, they are used to shave by straight shavers. there you have it in a nutshell, so jump in and get your feet wet.
,
 
I have to agree that there aren't to many crappy vintage blades as long as the condition and hone is good, at least not that I've come across anyway.

Lots of the coming responses will be to get one of whipped dog's stater set-ups.

That's an easy way to launch into it, and you know you'll be getting what you need.
 
when you look at a razor you want to pay attention to the edge, check for pitting, cracks ,overheating from polishing with power tools, chunks of metal missing the next is, is it newly made or vintage. vintage razors have stood the test of time and some after a couple hundred years are still used. so there aree no badly made or poor vintage blades. they were weeded thru years ago the cream of the crop was left. I like wade and butcher, Fredrick Reynolds, mayer and grosh, some like Sheffield, some usa, some german. very many choices. if you want new gold dollars are usable razors if you get one already made shave ready. you can do a whipped dog razor and poor mans strop or look here on the forums.all of the razors I see for sale here on the forums are in excellent shape, they are used to shave by straight shavers. there you have it in a nutshell, so jump in and get your feet wet.
,

Not much to add to this advice. That's never stopped me though.

Nearly any vintage blade you see that passes the test Dewey outlines above is going to be a good shaver if it's honed properly so find a couple of razors you can use that are honed by someone who knows what they're doing and make sure you like doing it. I wouldn't spend a lot on them, 20-40 bucks a razor will get you something honed and useable if not necessarily pretty.

After you've confirmed you enjoy the practice, the brand matters much, much less than size and grind in terms of what you like. Focus on that and don't worry about name. After 3-6 months of shaving and reading the board and testing various grinds, the landscape will fall into place and you'll recognize styles and brands to which you're more drawn. The key is, as Dewey says, to get shaving.
 
Thanks folks- I have already started using a Gold Dollar that is giving me no trouble. Just trying to learn as much as possible for the future...I really can't afford the buy it and try it routine.

I've received some negative opinion about it, I think just naysayers, but I will keep on with it and form my own opinion, so far I have no complaints other than it is pretty homely.
 
Last edited:
If you have time check out antique shops. When I started I looked around these type of places and found several for around $15. I looked for "Made in Germany" "Solingen" "Sheffield" as I knew these were good blades. I may have missed some good razors doing this but I knew I was safe with what I was picking up.
 
Thanks folks- I have already started using a Gold Dollar that is giving me no trouble. Just trying to learn as much as possible for the future...I really can't afford the buy it and try it routine.

I've received some negative opinion about it, I think just naysayers, but I will keep on with it and form my own opinion, so far I have no complaints other than it is pretty homely.

If you're going for new on the cheap Dovo "best quality" and in think boker makes some on the lower price line. I can't speak for the latter but Dovo shipped can be like $90- or less. Vintage I would look around the vendor / hobbyist forms. To get I to honing on the cheap I'd suggest lapping film cheap and easy to learn on. I practice on my gold dollar.
 
Last edited:
There is not much difference between brands. They all make good razors: Boker, TI, Dovo, etc, etc, even unto the Gold Dollars. The most important thing is to have them honed properly.
 
There is not much difference between brands. They all make good razors: Boker, TI, Dovo, etc, etc, even unto the Gold Dollars. The most important thing is to have them honed properly.

+1 on that brother, I still use my GD at least once a week.
 
Don't buy a cheap modern outside of a Gold Dollar (Pakistan made blades and various Chinese razor-shaped knives are trash).
Buy something in good condition.
Get it honed well.
 
Don't buy a cheap modern outside of a Gold Dollar (Pakistan made blades and various Chinese razor-shaped knives are trash).
Buy something in good condition.
Get it honed well.

Yeah one website not to be named was selling "USA made" Pakistani blades
 
I'll agree with Seraphim.

From what I can tell, from reputable companies, the primary differences are to play to individuals preferences.

Assuming they're all decent brands: they'll all shave well. So it's down to:
Aesthetics (design, materials, fit/finish, etc...)
Wieldability / Feel (Grind, weight, shape, jimps, notches, etc...)
Shave Characteristics (Grind, honining)
Location of manufacture (if it matters to you: German/French/English/American/Spanish/Swedish/Chinese...)
 
Top Bottom