Thread: General Newbie Questions

I'm a newb, much like yourself (just had my first straight shave two days ago) but what I did to find a starter razor(s) was to go to the classifieds here, find a cheap one I liked the look of, and get it. I asked the seller to give them a quick hone for me so I could forget about honing and focus on the basic mechanics of it for the first few shaves. I read up a little on the forums before doing it, enough to learn that a hollow grind is best to learn with, as you have better feedback from it (in terms of sound - you can hear better when it's cutting, compared to the silence of a wedge). Point style is a matter of opinion, I have two round points, two square points, and a barber's notch square point, simply because I liked the look of those. Some shavers prefer a point style, and TBH there's various thing to be said for each type, but for me it all boils down to personal taste.

Regarding travel, if you're travelling, you can do one of three things.
1. You can take a cheap disposable razor (ew) in your checked luggage.
2. You can take a shavette in your carry-on and check the blades - they're not that hard to find.
3. You can take a straight in your checked luggage. I'd recommend if you pick this option that you make said straight a cheap one that shaves well (again, check out the classifieds here) that you can afford to lose and aren't too attached to.

I second the styptic, and if you're after a cheap strop and brush, I'd recommend you buy the Tweezerman brush from Amazon.com, and the Fromm strop from the same place (made by the Illinois Strop Co - a reputable company, and only thirty-odd bucks)

Hope this helps! Happy newb-ing with me!

Tweezerman is the cheapest badger no doubt, but you could go with the VDH brush/bowl/soap kit for $10 bucks too.

Thanks to all who posted responses and sage words of wisdom. After further online research, I made my initial purchase yesterday on Straight Razor Designs (after comparing prices with other online merchants):

Dovo Black Micarta Inox 5/8" Straight Razor Set; for $349.98 it includes:
- 3" black latigo leather strop
- Simpson Beaufort B4 Pure Badger Shaving Brush
- Black onyx marble covered soap dish
- Sandalwood soap
- World of Straight Razor DVD
Pinaud-Clubman Styptic Pencil (1 oz.) for $2.49
Camellia Oil (8 oz) for $13.49
For a total of $365.95 (shipping free)

From eBay I purchased Truefitt & Hill luxury shaving soap in a wooden bowl for $29.99.

I figured this was the best compromise between cost and nice to have and your advice and info in the wiki saved me from a few potential mistakes on eBay. I'm watching other potentials on eBay and being very selective, but this way I got a great starter razor and the initial setup which should last me a while and can go from there. This was a little more than I'd intended to jump off with, but i figure it's worth it to get a good running start with high quality gear.

Thanks again to all who replied, and fair lathering and following strokes.

--Mike F. (EdgeWorks)

Making me drool here!
I think you're going to really love that inox blade. I got my first SS blade (a Dovo Renaissance 6/8) just a month ago and it's a marvelous shaver, even though some of the 25 or so carbon steel ones I have are very fine blades.

Congrats on all your gear! Yeah, I think we all spent a little more than what we originally intended to starting out, but I'm sure you'll think it's worth it.

Good luck, keep us posted

Yeah... thats not just a great starter kit. I bet that will serve you well for a long time, even after you buy more blades...