# Straight razors



## azchef (May 18, 2013)

So I have been thinking of getting a staright razor to shave my my face and head. So I am wondering where to start and what to buy. Any help would be great


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## Mr.Magnus (May 18, 2013)

and head? hold your horses and start with your face  

i say go for a vintage razor it will cost you less and you get more for the money.

where to buy a razor depends on what you want. do you want to get it as cheap as possible just to try, then whipped dog deals are ok. well most of the time, i seen some very bad razors from him. but also ok razors. 

you can also look for razors on auctions but ask someone with some experiance before you get it, since it must be in ok shape for honing and a quality brand,.. look for razors that is from sweden if you want a razor that has in general a harder steel witch will hold a sharper edge for longer then etc most german or sheffield razors.


you will also need a strop, and i recomend getting a quality hanging strop by etc Neil Miller.


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## azchef (May 18, 2013)

Magnus
Thanks for the info


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## xuz (May 18, 2013)

What's your budget?

Rather let me just scribble something here:

Vintage Razor: $50-80
2&1/2 by 10 inch bench strop: $40
Brush: 13-20 
soap: 13-20 

You can see that it'll set you back about 160.
I've seen people go for about 50 shaves with good shave and sometimes more,
but you'll need to get it honed.
I can hone it for you first few time, for the cost of shipping.
Or you can get it professionally honed for $15-$20+shipping both ways every 10 weeks.

Anyways, if you are interested just go ahead and post here,
and I and others will help you along.
Thanks and good luck!


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## azchef (May 18, 2013)

Xuz well I don't want to spend a lot since I have never shaved with a staright razor. I'm a little nervous shaving with one and spending alot


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## xuz (May 18, 2013)

Also,
Consider joining one of the many shaving forums out there.
StraightRazorPlace and Badger&Blade comes to mind.
If you say you've never shaved before with SR,
but you'd like to learn,
I've often seen senior members donate/loan their SR's and other gears.
SR people are rather generous in sharing their sport.


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## xuz (May 18, 2013)

Actually, if you are really on the fence line and just want to try shaving with one for next to nothing,
I have this GD razor I got for free because of blade warp issue.





I'll send it to you for the cost of shipping.
I just did a 3-pass shave after hot shower,
and it shaved well.
You could probably get 3 to 5 good shaves in before you'd need a strop,
and it'll give you a time to decide whether you like the straight or not.


Honed on 1k/5k/8k/12k/Escher.


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## azchef (May 19, 2013)

Xuz
So are you trying to get rid of the razor ?


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## xuz (May 19, 2013)

Well I have bunch of these.
These sell for about 4 dollars shipped from China.
They are notorious/infamous for being terribly manufactured razors -
mostly because they have badly designed stabilizer,
warped blades, and bad quality controlled heat tempers.

But for a lot of them, if you just remove the metal from stabilizer using a dremel,
they can be sharpened just fine, and will work pretty well as a razor.

I buy bunch of these and give them away to friends who want to try SR.
It only costs me 4 bucks (this particular one, I got for free) so it's a nice thing to do.

I guess I'm trying to say
1) I'm not trying to get rid of these because they are bad razor; once honed they shave pretty well.
2) It cost me nothing, so you won't set me back anything if you want it.


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## azchef (May 19, 2013)

I'll take it, what do I have to do to get it shave ready


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## xuz (May 19, 2013)

It is shave ready since I just honed it.
I'll have it stropped and oiled before I send it, so you can just take it out and shave with it.
PM me your address.
We can take this offline.


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## Igasho (May 19, 2013)

azchef, I would suggest getting a trufitt and hill sample pack and work your way through that, there are some amazing scents and they are all easy to lather. http://www.truefittandhill.com/items_37.html . and I know someone on this forum that sells great brushes http://sharpandshinyshop.com/collections/wet-shaving/products/omega-boar-brush-10018 I would suggest trying that brush. these options along side that free razor will keep your discovery less expensive


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## franzb69 (May 19, 2013)

i have a couple of gold dollars and i can't sharpen those things for my life. lol.


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## xuz (May 20, 2013)

franzb69 said:


> i have a couple of gold dollars and i can't sharpen those things for my life. lol.



You are not alone!!!
If you are still trying, let me know. Maybe I can share some of my experiences.

Some issues like blade warping and great wall of china stabilizers can be worked on. But I had some with bad tempers. I toss those in the bin and say fogetaboutit!


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## franzb69 (May 20, 2013)

i might as well buy a couple dovos or a couple vintages.


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