I have been wet shaving for about 5 months now. I have my favorite DE razor, a Merjur Futur and I have my favorite soaps. I am wondering if shaving with a straight would be for me. I don't want, and can't afford, to buy an expensive razor to start. So I have a few questions for straight shavers. 1. What is a decent, low cost (ie cheap) straight I can buy for my first time? 2. I know nothing about sharpening and honing. Where do I go to learn about how to do it? 3. What equipment do I need to get started. Razor, strop, stones? 4. Is it even possible to start shaving with a straight without investing a lot of money? Thanks.
Check out whippeddog.com. Larry offers sight unseen razors that are shave ready for a relatively good price. You can also get a poor man's strop for just a little. The razor isn't pretty, but they do shave. The strop also works. Glen at gemstarcustoms.com also offers some razors at a reduced price. Glen is fantastic to work with, and I send my razors to him for honing. My wife bought a razor from him for Father's Day last year and also had good things to say about him. I have not yet picked up honing, so I can't offer any advice. The advice I have been given, and am trying to follow, is to hold off on this for a while to focus on getting proficient with a straight. But like every thing else related to wet shaving, there are multiple paths to get to the end point.
1 - Our own Glen gssixgun runs Gemstar Customs. He's worked on all my str8s. Great guy. Also Whipped Dog - I've always seen positive comments. 2 - http://theshaveden.com/forums/threads/straight-razor-master-sticky.14946/ 3 - Just need a razor and a strop. Again, see Glen or Larry at Whipped Dog. 4 - If you checked out those two sites, you'll see it isn't overly expensive. If you do not get your razor for either of them, then I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND you send any razor you get to Glen so he can get it shave ready for you. Even though some will come saying they are shave ready, usually they are not. Getting a blade back from Glen will insure you have the perfect starting edge. I send my razors to Glen about once every two years so he can touch 'em up for me. I don't sharpen my own blades - stones get expensive in a hurry!
I agree with everything posted above. Get a strop and you are ready to go. You will not need to worry about honing for a little bit. Unless you want to take up honing as a hobby or own a lot of razors, it seems more cost effective to pay a pro to do it for you.
There are plenty of cheap, low-cost straight razors available out there, but with many, you wouldn't really enjoy the shave! Cheap steel that doesn't hold an edge, poor construction, poor value. You've some good recommendations above in order to acquire a decent quality 'shave-ready' razor. I'd recommend learning AFTER you've got a good handle on SR shaving. Honing requires considerable practice so best to focus on the safely dragging of razor-sharp steel across your kisser…. Razor and strop. Done. $40-60 for a decent shave-ready razor; $35-50 for a decent strop. so $75 to $110 (or less) can have you up & running. Many have started with less (paid $15 for a razor at a garage sale, had it honed professionally for $20; used strop for $15….total: about $50 out the door).
This plus pick up a pasted balsa strop too. This will get you started cheap and it works. Later you can add a finishing stone to help maintain the edge when the pasted strop no longer works. Come to the dark side, we have cookies.
You could also check the antique shops in your area. My first straight was a Soligen that I picked up from an antique shop. I paid $14 for it and then got it honed by Glen at Gemstar Customs. It turns out that it's a real nice shaver. This was a cheap and easy way for me to start and to see if SR shaving was for me.
That might be the route I go. I checked both websites and the prices are a little out of my range. I've been hoping to win a straight PIF, but I'm just not a lucky guy. If there is a pit in a cherry pie, I'm the one that gets the slice with the pit. Thanks everyone that replied. I'm still trying to figure out what to do. While I would love to try a straight, economics may prohibit me for a while. I'm stocked up with DE and I really don't need to spend any more money for a shave, but a straight is just something I really want to try. I may have to start a SR fund and save up for a good one.
When shopping for straights in the wild watch out for rust and pitting. While surface rust may be polished out with successfully finer wet or dry sand paper, I've encountered deeper pitting that can degrade the honed edge. Many vintage straights are nearly or even more than one hundred years old. Being made of high carbon steel they are susceptible to oxidation. Keep your eyes open for less than $20.00 pieces, and avoid broken scales, loose pins, chipped or pitted blades, uneven honing, or excessive spine wear. If you have a jewelers loup or magnifying glass tuck it in your vehicle for the occasional antique shop visit. Not only can it save you from purchasing a bad blade, you will appear to be very knowledgeable when examining a razor, there by reinforcing you "expert" appraisal and less than price marked offer. Good luck & happy shopping!
