need help with buying my first straight razor and accessories, but overwhelmed

hello everyone,

I have been wet shaving for almost a year with my DE razor and I love it. I am feel I am ready to take the next step and buy my first straight razor. I am sorry that this is probably the 1 millionth post like this but the more research I do, the more I am overwhelmed. I have checked other posts and I have not found one that completely relates to what I am looking for. I live in Canada so its hard to find many other Canadian sites other than fendrihan, classicedge, and menessentials as the exchange rate for the Canadian dollar is terrible right now, but I wouldnt mind buying from an American site if it was a good deal. My max is 200 or so and I would prefer a kit. in terms of brand I am a big fan of TI, but I know they can be very pricey so others brands like Dovo would work as well if it is a good quality and price. Sorry for rambling, but what I am looking for is advise on good sites to go to, good blades to start with, and good quality strops. I know this is very subjective, but all advise is welcomed and the more specific the items and advise, the better, I find, it helps me.

Thank you all for listening

Welcome to the "Dark Side"!!

For a starter set I would really suggest a vintage razor honed up by a reputable seller and a budget strop. Even better would be 2 shave ready vintage razors so you have a back up razor when you inevitably booger up the edge on your first few inaugural shaves. Another alternative would be Gold Dollar razors fixed up a bit and made shave ready. Once you cross the hump into intermediate shaving then look into higher quality razors and strops. There are a few resources for the above, I personally started with a Whippeddog razor and a poor man strop. The razor was snapped in half at the tang a week into my journey, and the poorman strop was soon after replaced with a Tony Miller practice strop.

I purchase a Dovo razor early in my shaving career but it has sat languishing in my pile of unused razors for years since I realized I prefer wedges and Kamisori. In hindsight it was a bad decision.

Kentos said:

Welcome to the "Dark Side"!!

For a starter set I would really suggest a vintage razor honed up by a reputable seller and a budget strop. Even better would be 2 shave ready vintage razors so you have a back up razor when you inevitably booger up the edge on your first few inaugural shaves. Another alternative would be Gold Dollar razors fixed up a bit and made shave ready. Once you cross the hump into intermediate shaving then look into higher quality razors and strops. There are a few resources for the above, I personally started with a Whippeddog razor and a poor man strop. The razor was snapped in half at the tang a week into my journey, and the poorman strop was soon after replaced with a Tony Miller practice strop.

I purchase a Dovo razor early in my shaving career but it has sat languishing in my pile of unused razors for years since I realized I prefer wedges and Kamisori. In hindsight it was a bad decision.

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+1 Larry does good work and can't beat the price..

Yeh, what Kent said. Best bang for the buck is vintage shave-ready. A second razor is something I highly recommend, too.

I have checked out whipped dog but I'm not too sure what razor to go with if I go that direction

Also listening to the info given here. I'm in the same boat.

Larry has flawed razors for 28.00, nicer ones for 43.00. He also sells a strop for 25.00. If pride of ownership is really important to you then get the nicer one. If all you want to do is learn to shave then get the cheaper one. Most of us own a bunch of eBay razors, a few store bought ones, and maybe 1 or more custom ones. Your first razor will almost certainly not be your last. In the end the ability to give a great shave has more to do with the skill of the guy sharpening the blade. For a beginner the type of scale material, type of grind and even the type of steel used doesn't matter much.

You could maybe buy the strop from Whippeddog and post a WTB for a shave ready Gold Dollar. I personally feel GoldDollars are really nice shaving razors once they are massaged and honed up.

If you don't mind spending a little more do a search for "seraphim" on the Panjo Marketplace. He has 2 blinged up what I believe are Gold Dollar razors for around 60.00. You could then get the strop from Whippeddog to round out your set. He is a long time member here and I know he can put a killer edge on a razor.

+1 to Kentos there. Nothing really to add except to agree you really want to go with a known and trusted honing source for your first razor.

awesome thank you for the great advice. I have narrowed things down to either going with Whippeddog or thesuperiorshave, which i heard from this forum. there are two sets I am looking at and just wanted to see if it is a good kit with quality stuff and if the price is good. Here is the link to the page http://thesuperiorshave.com/straight_razor_kits.html and i am looking at the Dovo #100581 (5/8") SPECIAL KIT and the Dovo #4580 (5/8") SPECIAL KIT thank you all again for the great advice, it has really helped

Going with one of Jarrod's kits at TSS will be a fine choice as well. I've had nothing but good experiences with TSS as a vendor and can vouch for his honing - I have a blade honed by him still sharper than I can hone myself, after a month of just stropping.

Larry @ whipped dog is a great guy. I've nothing but good things to say.
Phil @ Classic Edge is also a decent guy as well.\
I've a work colleague that had good experience with Jarrod @ TSS.
I would recommend both. Consider, however, Classic Edge is one of the few Canadian razor shops that also offers honing.

I'm not sure what you're looking for when you say "kit": I assume you mean razor & strop? Or do you mean more?

Sorry I should have clarified, ya I mostly mean a razor and strop anything is extra. Kind of like the sets I mentioned in my last post, that is what I am looking for in a kit or set. As far as classic edge is considered I would love to buy in the future, but from what I found on the site, it seems to be a bit pricy for me currently. I'm just more nervous about making the right long term investment as I know I will want to buy more and quickly I just can't afford to so I want to make the best long term choice until I can afford to go nuts lol

Larry's on the more frugal side (though the Canadian dollar isn't). His blades are no-frills vintage but are honed and he's got a lot of good advice and feedback if you ask.
Also: try looking on the forum, here, for a shave-ready razor (vintage or Gold Dollar). Some of the members here have been well known for good edges.

Classic Edge does offer a Gold Dollar honed up. It's a little more than what you'd find from some of the members but the benefit would be saving on shipping & on the USD/CAD conversion (it'll still cost more: I won't disagree).
As for strops: I started with a Big Daddy strop from Star Shaving. Good strop but the USD/CAD has really undermined that as a truly frugal option.

Ya the Canadian is really the biggest obstacle for me. I have gotten a lot of great advice and I thank everyone for the contributions and I think I have narrowed my decision to whipped dog or TSS but I might wait a bit before buying to see if the Canadian dollar gets at least a little better. And yes someone from the community has already contacted to see if I was interested in any blades he was selling, which shows how great a community B&B has

I was in the same boat as you (who am I kidding, I still am)!
I started reading. Then I read some more. Then I found some more stuff. Oh man, there's a link to something new that might be slightly better. Oh crap....hey that's new? It's cool.
I had some restrictions and that either made it tougher or easier, not sure which. I won't purchase leather so the strop had to be synthetic.
I didn't want to go GD because of all the noise. Finally, I decided to take the plunge. I asked a well-known source for his razors. He sells on GD. I got a long list of GD. I didn't want one! Anyhow, I couldn't decide so I told him to pick. He did. It should arrive tomorrow.

For the strop, there's been a few ideas. Tony Miller is the most well-known here. Being cheap, I didn't want to spend $80 on my first go-around. So, I found a synthetic on eBay for $18 from Russia (uh oh). Anyhow, I have complete confidence that it will arrive, I just don't know when. I'll report back on the quality in 6 months or so when I've really had a chance to learn.

I then found bigeasytools. This guy does all kinds of stuff and has a new, seemingly well received material for synthetics. After some back and forth, he agreed to put together what is described as a nearly indestructible (not his words but of B&B members) synthetic strop that is getting excellent reviews for $26 shipped. It should arrive Monday.

I purchased a synthetic brush from Larry at Whipped Dog and the quality of the brush is fantastic but even better, this guy is incredibly polite, responsive, and sure seems to know what he's talking about so while I don't know the quality of his other work, many speak highly of him and he sure will get business from me moving forward.

So, I'm in for $32 for a GD 208 shipped, $26 and $18 for 2 synthetic strops shipped, and a few free YouTube videos. No idea how it will all play out but we'll see. If I survive the first few days, it should be ok.

Good luck in your experience.

Thank you for sharing your experience, it always helps to hear from another person who is also figuring everything out

I'm in the same situation.

I want to try a straight razor. I've spent hours reading, watching videos, reading, watching videos, checking different sites for products.

Thanks to a posting here (don't remember the thread) I found The Superior Shave in Jacksonville. I live about four hours South of Jacksonville. I'd love to visit them but driving 8 hours is not in the works right now.

Thanks for the comments and feedback in this thread. Now, I just need to order and start the journey!!!!!
[MENTION=101074]thegreatest[/MENTION] and whodoneit68, I look forward to hearing how your journey goes.

thanks runnerspuf, I'll be sure to update. I'm about 1 hour 45 minutes west of JAX but sometimes fly out of JAX when my trips are domestic (rare, but it happens). I may try to sneak in there one of these days.

I did get my strop from bigeasy tools and I have nothing to compare it to but I can say this - Al is awesome and the strop definitely refines the edge - you can tell the difference easily. Not sure how I feel about the GD yet. I've got to refine my technique first.
Good luck!

whodunit68 said:

thanks runnerspuf, I'll be sure to update. I'm about 1 hour 45 minutes west of JAX but sometimes fly out of JAX when my trips are domestic (rare, but it happens). I may try to sneak in there one of these days.

I did get my strop from bigeasy tools and I have nothing to compare it to but I can say this - Al is awesome and the strop definitely refines the edge - you can tell the difference easily. Not sure how I feel about the GD yet. I've got to refine my technique first.
Good luck!

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Lots to learn and a ton of options! I learn faster when I have visual and hands on. Thus my desire to visit a local store.

runnerpsu said:

Lots to learn and a ton of options! I learn faster when I have visual and hands on. Thus my desire to visit a local store.

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agreed 100000%. SRP has a "mentor" program (I forget what they call it) and there is someone I remember in Southern FL which helps you more than it does me but you might want to check. Also, there's a Facebook group of South Florida wet shavers that get together a lot and I'm absolutely confident that those guys would help out. Check it out. PM me if you want the links or anything else.