Thread: Hi everybody!

Hey, Steve from Nashville, TN here. Been intrigued by straight razors for a while. Picked up a Gold Dollar and strop a while back and have shaved a couple dozen times. But I was never really happy with the results, not as smooth as I figured I should get. Well, I was considering getting a different one, and then I stumbled on the Gold Dollar thread. "Well, maybe that explains it." I thought. So probably today I'm going to place my order for a new one, probably a nice aftershave too...you know, to save on shipping But choosing between a Dovo Shavette or a Best Quality. Not quite ready to break the $100 mark just yet.

Welcome to SRP ,

May I suggest that you avoid the Shavette. Most guys stop using them rather rapidly and go with a traditional straight razor. In fact, just this past weekend I honed up 2 Bokers for a guy who had been using a shavette & DE's. Here is a portion of the email that he just sent me about how they shaved.....
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Hi Randy,

Just this morning I shaved with the King Kutter that was such a bear to hone. It was phenomenal! No discomfort whatsoever. I do not even have razor burn on my neck! Now I understand that the irritated skin I always developed when using a straight was caused by too-dull razors. I hope to be able to keep the edge for a long time by using the strop as you showed.

The other razor that was honed in about 30 minutes was great too, but the King Kutter was the best. Man, I did not know that straight razors could shave that well!
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Get the Dovo Best Quality, it will serve you well for many, many years and be sure to get a plain leather hanging strop. The strop is to be used just before each and every day for 30-50 roundtrip laps.

Hope this helps,

Welcome from Knoxville. Have you spent time in WIKI here? There is a lot of great information for beginners in it.
Might I also suggest that you look into the classifieds here for a good first razor. There's not much in the price range you
are looking for right now but that can change in an instant. If you do purchase a new razor make sure you have it honed
before use.

Best Quality is a fine razor!!

Best of luck!

LOL, this is the first result I came to when I googled "king kutter


Anyway, I ordered the Dovo from Vintage Blades. They do say they're honed by hand. The three online places listed in the wiki, I'm pretty sure, all say they hone them (Classic Shaving, Straight Razor Designs, and Vintage Blades).

Any other good vendors I should be aware of?

Welcome aboard! Glad you got the Dovo Best Quality. I just started about a month ago with the same razor. Once it's sharp, you get a great shave! Also, there is a "meetup" in Atlanta Feb 4-5th. If you're able to attend...come on down!