Need Advice on First Straight Razor Purchase

I was looking at the following razor: Dubl Duck, 11/16 width, full hollow grind, shave ready. Is this a good beginner razor? The price is right around $50 and shave ready, does that seem like a good price? I have no idea about pricing when it comes to straights of any kind. There seems to be some wear on it but nothing major, but then again, I have no clue when it comes to straights. Looks to be "Special No something"... not sure what that means either.

Is this not the place to ask these types of questions? Sorry for showing the same pictures twice, I don't know what happened.

Looks fine, the muting of the tip is a bit severe for my tastes but a rounded tip does help to ward off accidents when starring out.

Hi. I think that would be a fine razor to learn on. FYI, price valuations are not permitted on the site. You might try a search on ebay or some such site to see how similar razors are priced.

Outside of the standard "no comment" on the price valuation, the razor looks fine. Sure, there is some extra wear on the toe and heel, but nothing that seems to indicate the razor is beyond use. However, if you want to be sure you're getting a good blade with a great edge, contact Larry over at Whipped Dog. Yes, he's stateside, but that's okay.

There really are no "beginner" straights other than one without a cutting edge. Heck, even my crummy edges are sharp enough to give me a nice deep gash after nearly 700 shaves.

Depends on who the seller is. Shave-Ready means a lot of things to a lot of different people. Often - razors sold as SR aren't.
So - if the seller is known, trusted, and will back up their sale - that looks like a decent razor to start with. I prefer vintage straghts and Dubl Duck is a known and proven brand.
If the source is an unknown auction site seller - perhaps not a good option to consider. Worst case scenario is that it'll have to go out for honing though. Well - there could be something else going on too but the blade 'looks' good so I wouldn't imagine the worst here. Anything is possible though.

+1 on contacting Larry at Whipped Dog. He ships to us Northerners for a very reasonable rate and grab a poor mans strop kit while you are at it. It should hold you over until you are ready for an expensive strop.

I appreciate the feedback. Is there any way to do a general cleaning on the scales? Is it fine if I use some soap and water with a toothbrush or something? I assume if the razor has already been professional honed than getting dish soap on the blades edge would ruin it?

Nah, we shave with soap and water. I'm not sure those scales need too much cleaning in any case.

When starting out with a straight razors shave ready may not seem shave ready.Your tecnknique has a lot to do with the quality of shave you get.

Phenol said:

When starting out with a straight razors shave ready may not seem shave ready.Your tecnknique has a lot to do with the quality of shave you get.

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Ye I also heard even brand new razors that are presharpened are not necessarily shave razor, I found that kinda strange but I guess it's a lot of work for them to hone everything by hand.