Hello from Canada

Hi everyone, I am brand new to the forum and to wet shaving. I am looking to buy some stuff to get started and was wondering if I should buy a set (something like the shave nation all in set) or if I should buy a couple things separately? Really excited to get started and to be apart of this community. Thanks for any tips in advance!

*edit
Should probably add I'm looking at getting a straight razor

 

Should probably also mention around 200$ is my price range. Not too sure how much I should be spending to get started

 

Well hello there Canuck..bonjour et bienvenue..
There's lots of good stuff in your price range..starter kits and such can be had at places like..http://www.italianbarber.com/Search-Results?keywords=lord and http://connaughtshaving.com/index.html

 

edit add..you can get going for much less than 200 if you need to..don't be afraid to look around and Connaught has great shipping rates to Canada...

 

Welcome, eh. Here are some great ideas for an introductory set:
How low can you go? Recommend a low cost newb set

 

Welcome. There is two groups of wet shavers, sort of. That would be safety razors and straight razors. If I knew which direction you were heading I may be of assistance in finding stuff. I have to say I am only in the straight razor camp though, so I can offer no assistance in safety razors. There are many here who are in the loop in both or in safety razors, as we'll as other who are in the same boat as I am. As far as I can tell they share brushes and soaps as a common ground. A brush and a good soap will improve everyones shave. Brushes have a really long price range. There are very usable brushes at a lot of drug stores for around $15 in Canada. There are many places to get soaps as well. Good soaps can be had for cheap at the European and middle east grocery stores. Online there are a few shops in Canada. Fendrihan and Classic Edge and the aforementioned Italian Barber, Men Essential also has wet shave stuff in Canada. The prices are similar to the US shops but shipping is a little faster because CBS is not storing it for us. If you want any specifics let me know either in thread or message me. Happy shaving!

Now I see your edit. I think a set often has many inexpensive options and you can frequently do better by going piece meal. Straight can be confusing. Basically I would go with new form a vendor that hones them in shop. Or if you can find an individual that has some nice shave ready gear and can trust it is truly shave ready.

 

Newbies have enough problems going from cartridges to traditional safety razors... Really, I think you're better off using a GEM or Ever Ready as your training wheels before going into straights. I mention those SEs specifically because (I have shaved with straights, DEs, SEs/injectors) I think they are more similar to straights than any other safety razors. In blade feel, angle, and you learn to "listen" to the razor much more than a quiet DE, or a laughably easy to use (but VERY good) injector. I have read many horror stories from DE shavers that went to straights and that just hasn't been remotely my experience moving into straights from SEs. I credit some transferable experience I learned while SE shaving. Furthermore using a traditional safety razor gives you an idea of what a good shave feels/look like. Because you're not going to be getting a good shave out of a straight any time soon (the learning curve is very high). You will probably get too discouraged if you start with a less forgiving straight and you don't even know how to use (or find the right one) a soap, for example.

 

I don't know anything about straight so I will just say welcome to the shave den

 

Welcome to the Den from a fellow Cancuck! Do some research on this site to inform yourself. As a Canadian, you can benefit from free shipping from Italianbarber.com and Fendrihan.com. If you are interested in DE razors, research Edwin Jagger DE89L and Merkur 34 HD for some good starter razors. Look into a large blade sampler. I would recommend Proraso (especially white) as a great soap. Also, you can get a good omega boar or Vulfix badger from these sites for less than $100. Furthermore, view the videos by mantic59 on YouTube or at sharpologist.com to get a better idea of what you should be doing. Finally, strongly consider the 30 day rule ( look at other newbs threads or wait for @GDCarrington to post on your thread). Enjoy the journey to shaving bliss!!!

 

Welcome to TSD!

These threads are where you find the SR shavers...they have a great time, and there are many skilled people posting.

Daily SR thread-
http://theshaveden.com/forums/threa...r-did-you-use-today.35281/page-95#post-744980

Straight razor Master thread-
http://theshaveden.com/forums/threads/straight-razor-master-sticky.14946/

I shave DE, and I like this daily thread:
http://theshaveden.com/forums/threads/sos-november-10-2014-november-16-2014.41268/page-7#post-744872


Look around...then just pick a method and tools. Then it's pretty much all learning and enjoyment after that. Great shave experiences are closer than you think!

 

Me too, welcome!

 

Welcome to TSD!

 

to TSD "ShiftyFrenchman:

Buying either individual pieces or a complete kit works. It's up to you to do your research and figure which way would works best for you. How much money you want to spend is also a consideration. $200 will definitely buy you a TOP NOTCH kit!
However you can also get a decent starter kit for around $50 You can get an inexpensive shave kit from Van der Hagan(brush, bowl and puck of shave soap), then buy an inexpensive but decent safety razor such as a Lord, Parker, Cadet, Maggard, or spend a little more and get an EJ89 Muhle or FaTip or spend "ALOT more and get a Weber, ATT or iKon, pick up some Nivea post shave balm, some after shave locally and your ready to start. One thing you will have to go online for(assuming your DE shaving) and I would suggest you do so, is a sample blade pack, the more different blades you can try(especially in the beginning) the better. Ask ALOT of questions around here to help you make your decision.

 

Welcome to the Shave Den! You're bound to learn a lot from this group of knowledgeable shavers in the Den!

 

Welcome to TSD! Please sign up for the Newbie Give-Away HERE

 

Welcome to The Shave Den, fellow Canadian!

You can also take a look at Whipped Dog's straight razors sight unseen kit; great price!

 

Welcome to TSD!

 

Even though I am not a straight razor shaver, I tend to agree that your first set should be a good set that does not set you back a lot of money because this will be the learning razor. You will need to develop your stropping and maybe even honing techniques with this first razor.

I agree with Celestino that a Whipped Dog unseen kit is a great place to start because the razor is expertly honed and stropped and is truly shave ready. You can learn on this one and plan on you next step up as you learn about the razor and the processes involved.

Oh and one more thing ...


Welcome to the Den.

We know you'll fit right in.

So grab yourself a comfy chair,

and give our threads a spin!

Burma Shave

 

Welcome to The Den! I started out my straight razor shaving chapter with a Whipped Dog unseen straight and the poor mans strops. I agree with the others statements that you should start with a good SE or DE razor and follow the 30 day rule to nail down your technique before moving forward.