I'm absolutely clueless

I got this at the flea market today and have NO CLUE how to start, what to price/buy, anything. So, uh.... can you cool cats help?
Thank ya
Dapper

 

"OoOoOooo…shiney & sparkily!"

Is there any name, stamp, logo, mark on the tang or blade?
Cant see the blade in the photo so there not much to see.

 

I have a bad feeling about this...

 

My first impression is that I agree,
but I just opened another Dovo 5/8 Best that looks like it was ground by an impatient 6th grader.
How it ever got through QC is beyond me. I'll not buy or recommend a Dovo Best as a starter blade to anyone again. Hopefully Dapper's find is better than mine.

 

+2

 

.... now I just wanna chunk it O.O I didn't pay much for it, but bear & bull cutlery?

 

This here ---> *click* ?
Never heard of 'em, but that doesn't mean anything.

 

Hopefully its not a Pakistani razor.

 

Well, it didn't make this list.
http://straightrazorplace.com/srpwiki/index.php/Brands_of_Straight_Razors_to_Avoid
Maybe I can learn with it?

 

The cheap blingy look should of tipped you off. Looks like those Japanese fantasy swords made in China that break when you try to cut something.

Stick with trusted brands and not with unknown ones. Dont think theyre good just because theyre not on that list. (re-)Brand names can pop up suddely.

 

To be honest, I wouldn't even send it off to get honed (I can guarantee you its not shave ready), it is probably steel that is fantastic for knives or screws or something but not good enough for a razors edge.

 

I hate being duped. lesson learned.

 

At least I have a purty pocket knife.

 

Oooooh. Purdy.

This.

And this.

At least it wasn't a human ear.

Cool letter opener, at least. Or box opener for all those other goodies that one tends to buy while saving money wet shaving.

 

Try here ...

http://www.frostcutlery.com/productdetail.aspx?itemnumber=BB-148ABG

​

 

The Bear and Bull knives are the same knives as the Frost Steel Warrior brand. Rebranding them makes them sound like some of German brands but these are made in China.

Great pocket knives but not a shaver. IMHO

 

Notice even their photos show big smiling edges? Like this one: http://www.frostcutlery.com/productdetail.aspx?itemnumber=BB-148BLP

 

Call it a letter opener and move on with the lesson learned.

 

Try http://whippeddog.com/. This is a very reputable guy and he tries to make it as inexpensive as possible to start straight razor shaving. I would suggest a sight unseen razor ($43) and a poor man's strop kit ($25) just to see if this is something you want to pursue.

At WalMart or a local drug store you should be able to buy an inexpensive shave kit in the neighborhood of $12. http://www.drugstore.com/products/prod.asp?pid=155185&catid=196102&aid=338666&aparam=155185. If not, order it if you don't have soap and brush, it is your cheapest option.

The razor you have pictured looks like one I have from a flea market that cost me $12. I wouldn't use it if I were just starting out. It may or may not be safe to use. Some razors, largely made in China or Pakastan may have OK materials, but a lot of ill-constructed razors come from there. Some straight razor enthusiasts take some of these and re-work them into something that is nice.

The idea is to try straight shaving as inexpensively as possible, then spend the money if you decide you want to do this. You can get as involved as you care to if you decide this is for you. Here's an article that was helpful to me: http://voices.yahoo.com/is-straight-razor-shaving-you-4615447.html

Here's a free online book from 1905 that really helped me: https://archive.org/details/shavingmadeeasyw0020th
You can download it if you wish.

 

I already DE shave, I just want to learn all I can about traditional shaving; to be a well rounded enthusiasts per say.