It's almost the anniversary of my first wet shave (been using various DEs since last Thanksgiving) and for some reason I came back from vacation with an itch to break into straights.
I've read through the Guides as well as a lot of newbie threads on the forum and feel relatively confident. Right now I'm trying to figure out what I should/need to assemble as my "starter kit". Razor and strop, of course, but I am away from home a lot (Active Duty) so I'm worried about needing honing, so considering a paddle strop as well with some 1.0 micron diamond paste? What do you guys think? I'd like to break into this for $150 or less, but I'm aware that to a certain degree you get what you pay for, especially regarding sharpening tools.
So far, I've found three candidates for razors on the Shaving Mall forum:
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showth...RA-BRUSH-(Marsh-Bros-Hart-Steel-Dovo-Special)
(Dovo - slightly too pricey, I think)
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showth...ller-Dorko-Heljestrand-Thiers-Issard-and-more
(TI Le Gnome)
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/432002-straights-for-sale-(tennis-Jos-allen-Puma)
(Tennis Solingen - best price)
As far as strops go, I was looking at just buying an Illinois strop and then a relatively cheap paddle strop with some diamond paste from ClassicShaving, but after looking at the Whipped Dog Poor Man's Strop package, it seems like that will take care of both my stropping AND sharpening concerns for quite a while...what do you guys recommend?
Also, I am currently deployed. Am I insane for wanting to try learning straight shaving while on a Navy ship? Note: The ship doesn't roll as much as you think - I shave pretty quickly/efficiently with my DE every morning with no issues whatsoever...but...I'm concerned about it nonetheless.
I've read through the Guides as well as a lot of newbie threads on the forum and feel relatively confident. Right now I'm trying to figure out what I should/need to assemble as my "starter kit". Razor and strop, of course, but I am away from home a lot (Active Duty) so I'm worried about needing honing, so considering a paddle strop as well with some 1.0 micron diamond paste? What do you guys think? I'd like to break into this for $150 or less, but I'm aware that to a certain degree you get what you pay for, especially regarding sharpening tools.
So far, I've found three candidates for razors on the Shaving Mall forum:
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showth...RA-BRUSH-(Marsh-Bros-Hart-Steel-Dovo-Special)
(Dovo - slightly too pricey, I think)
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showth...ller-Dorko-Heljestrand-Thiers-Issard-and-more
(TI Le Gnome)
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/432002-straights-for-sale-(tennis-Jos-allen-Puma)
(Tennis Solingen - best price)
As far as strops go, I was looking at just buying an Illinois strop and then a relatively cheap paddle strop with some diamond paste from ClassicShaving, but after looking at the Whipped Dog Poor Man's Strop package, it seems like that will take care of both my stropping AND sharpening concerns for quite a while...what do you guys recommend?
Also, I am currently deployed. Am I insane for wanting to try learning straight shaving while on a Navy ship? Note: The ship doesn't roll as much as you think - I shave pretty quickly/efficiently with my DE every morning with no issues whatsoever...but...I'm concerned about it nonetheless.