Start Straight Razor Shaving for $100?

Hey,

I'm interested in picking up straight razor shaving. I've already got a brush and cream, so I need a razor and anything needed to maintain the razor. I've got around $100 (EDIT: This is somewhat flexible) and I want to know what you guys would recommend I buy.

EDIT: I should note that I am not particularly picky about the size, color, or brand of the razor.

Thanks.

timo1023 said:

Hey,

I'm interested in picking up straight razor shaving. I've already got a brush and cream, so I need a razor and anything needed to maintain the razor. I've got around $100 and I want to know what you guys would recommend I buy.

Thanks.

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Welcome to the Show, Timo!

You could get a $30-40 shave-ready razor in the BST, a starter strop from Tony Miller, and to refresh the edge of you razor, you can make your own pasted strop. Use the info and suggestions here. You would be at your $100 limit or even less, depending on how you go with the pasted strop.

Well your going to be pushing it for 100 bucks. I would recomend getting a four sided paddle strop with various abrasive pastes. This will be much cheaper than honeing stones but just as effective. As for a razor I would recomend this razor. it ws my first straight razor and I firmly believe that it is a tremendous shaver! And as for a strop I highly recommend this one! Agian this will be pushing your budget but I think it will be well worth it as these idems will last you for years. Good Luck.

AustinC9 said:

Well your going to be pushing it for 100 bucks. I would recomend getting a four sided paddle strop with various abrasive pastes. This will be much cheaper than honeing stones but just as effective. As for a razor I would recomend this razor. it ws my first straight razor and I firmly believe that it is a tremendous shaver! And as for a strop I highly recommend this one! Agian this will be pushing your budget but I think it will be well worth it as these idems will last you for years. Good Luck.

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But your suggested razor leaves him with no money left.

I do have some leiway in the budget, but I wanted to emphasize the fact that I do not want to spend too much money on this hobby.

Thank you both for your suggestions. I particularly found your suggestions, AustinC9, very helpful. I do have a question regarding your comment about honeing stones. I don't think that I understand what you recommend I use to sharpen the blade. You say I should get a "four sided paddle strop" and then provide a link to a strop that I don't believe is "four sided." Could you help me understand that?

The razor you linked to looks great, however, I would prefer that both items come from the same website if possible to reduce shipping costs.

You need a regular leather strop without any abrasive paste to realign and straighten the edge on you razor before every shave. Now here is the link to the four-sided strop. As for diamond pastes this, this and this should do you very well. Once the pastes are applied I would reccomend 20 strokes (a stroke is one forward and one backward) on the 1.0 micron, then between 30 and 50 strokes on the .5 micron and finally about 20 strokes on the .25. One thing i did not notice however is that the strop comes with a fourth smooth side for normal stroping meaning that you would not have to purchase the strop i mentioned in my first post. Also Since you could order all of the items from one site you will save on shipping. If you have any further questions please feel free to fire away. I hope this helped. I apoligize as I have put you about $75 dollars over your budget but Ibelieve it will be well worth it.

This may also be helpful to you

http://www.straightrazorplace.com/forums/vendors-corner/21694-fs-startup-razors-strops.html

$65, shipped, and that is everything you need to get started. There is no sense dumping a bunch of money into straight shaving before you are sure you are going to stick with it. Go with that started kit, get the green chrome on one side of the strop, and you will have a good started set that will get you in the right direction, and be everything you will need to keep a razor edge for the next few months.


When you are ready, if you still want to stick with it, you can upgrade to a nice 4 sided paddle strop, and even get a better razor. A 6/8 round point is a great place to start (I started with a spike point, and bit my ear twice with it on my second shave )



He also offers some more options if you take the time to read the thread:

I now have Wapis and Double Arrows in stock and ready to go.

The Double Arrow starter set with the DA razor and my Filly strop is still $65.00. The shipping included to US address. International shipping rates determined which country it ships to.

The Wapencia starter set with the Wapi and my Filly strop is $75.00. The shipping included to US address. International shipping rates determined which country it ships to.

Need a basic brush setup?

I have a basic boar bristle brush, soap and styptic pencil, add $10.00.

I have the Tweezerman silver tip badger brush, soap and Styptic pencil, add $25.00.

All you need to do is add a cup, water, and whiskers.

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Well I got 2 shave ready straights from straightrazorplace.com for $75 and $45. I got a brush and soap from Walmart for $7 and went to an antique shop and bought a strop for $10. With the $45 razor that shaves awesome and the $10 strop and $7 soap and brush you are well under $100. I also ordered a 4000/8000 Norton stone and won a Henckels SS razor off ebay for $89 and $70 respectively. This hobby can be as expensive or as cheap as you want it to be.

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone. Blazed Monkey, the seller you linked to looks great! One thing I don't understand is how I am going to keep the razor sharp with the products he is selling. It looks like he is just selling the razor and strop. I thought the strop was just to realign the edge, not sharpen it. Would I have to buy something else to sharpen it?

Overall, I like the idea of not spending too much on a new project.

The chrome oxide he's talking about ("will apply .5µ chromium oxide to the rough side upon request") is a very fine honing compound that is sufficient to keep the razor sharp if you use it whenever the razor starts getting the least bit dull.

I got a Dovo special from ebay for £30 ($60) and a strop for £15 ($30) I already had the brush and cream- but the one thing that couldn't be compromised was the honing service from a pro...it cost about £13 ($26) which takes you to the grand total of $116- and I took my time and picked things up as and when they were cheap and when I had cash (my pure bagder brush was a bargain at £22 $44) and the creams etc had to be bought new but I personally don't think it is possible unless you have a honing stone already and can do that part yourself.
The one money saving tip I would give is that pure grapeseed oil is a great lubricant/pre shave and costs almost nothing from a chemist and you only need to use a tiny amount.
I suppose you could wait until you are about to renew your Mac 3 and blades or whatever you use at present and then that would be a saving of almost £10 which you can offset against the straight.
Regards
Jem

timo1023 said:

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone. Blazed Monkey, the seller you linked to looks great! One thing I don't understand is how I am going to keep the razor sharp with the products he is selling. It looks like he is just selling the razor and strop. I thought the strop was just to realign the edge, not sharpen it. Would I have to buy something else to sharpen it?

Overall, I like the idea of not spending too much on a new project.

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mparker762 said:

The chrome oxide he's talking about ("will apply .5µ chromium oxide to the rough side upon request") is a very fine honing compound that is sufficient to keep the razor sharp if you use it whenever the razor starts getting the least bit dull.

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like mparker said, the chromium oxide will be sufficient to do some resharpening for the first few months, depending on how often you shave, it could be longer. You do use the clean leather side to realign the blade, which takes it back to a razor sharpness. When you start to find that just a clean leather stropping alone isn't getting it sharp enough, use the chromium side, and that will resharpen the edge.


This is just to get your foot in the door and decide if you like it. Those 2 items alone should be everything you need to get you on your way for the next 3-6 months depending on how often you shave. If you decide you want to stick with it, then you can invest in some honing stones like a norton 4k/8k, or a nice Tony Miller 4 sided paddle combo strop.

Why recommend him the expensive brands? There's Wapienicas galore here and on SRP (seller is Wojtec). You can also contact Kenrup on SRP, not sure if he is active here as well. He has nice beginners' sets. Instead of a pasted paddle strop consider an ebay barber hone.

Kenrup is here too.
There are people using the Wapi directly, but I find the scale REALLY heavy.
He will have to buy a strop, and the hone, that are already at least 35+20USD, the paste 4-side strop with one side without paste is not far from this price...
But I am a noob in straight too, so my $0.02, as you say.

I've got a thread going here about my budget entrance into the world of straight shaving. I'm the newbiest of newbies as far as straight razors go, but I'm having great luck and very encouraged so far with very minimal investment. I was able to pick up a blade that's in excellent condition on ebay for $8+$4shipping (pics in my thread). I had some glass cut (more glass than I might need) for $20. I was able to give the blade a bevel on 1000grit sandpaper ($5) that I glued to the flat 11x4x0.25 glass. I stropped on newspaper. I also have 15, 5, and .3 micron abrasive films on the way ($17).

I've spent $54. I don't have a cool leather strop but I don't know if I'll really need one.

Anyway, this is just my very newbie thought on it. It might not be the best way, but it works.

ditto for Kenrup (also a member here)... has wapi and another brand (w/ regular scales) as well as starter kits.

A Wapi is a really good blade, the stock scales suck but the price is right. You could get one (NOT SHAVE READY) on eBay for about $20 plus shipping. I think he is out at the moment, but there will be more.

Put a WTB (want to buy) up in the BST forum. Someone will get back to you I'm sure.

I cannot say enough good things about the strops from Tony Miller. He has a trememndous beginner strop that many people say they have been using for years.

My first straight was bought on EBAY for $8+4.50 shipping. I think it cost me another 15 to have professionally honed. I now do some really great honing myself, thanks to some other EBAY clunkers that I have worked on.

The basic advice I got for looking for straights on EBAY is to stick to Sheffield and Solingen. There is an article on Straight Razor Place to point you toward specific brands.

Pasted strops lengthen the time between proper honings but are not really necessary. That would be somethng you add later.

Check out Tony Miller at thewellshavedgentleman.com

He will give you tons of advice if you talk to him. You do not want to go bottom of the bucket for the fear of junk tools leading to junk results. He also sells sets that should be in your pricerange.

Jonathan