how to get started?

M

marumba

Joined
Jan 25, 2019
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hi there,

I'm running from my Gillettes, and want to give straight edge shaving a shot.

Not sure what's the best approach, but my thinking would be to buy a mid-range/not so expensive blade to start until I learn to properly sharpen and care for it.

I'd hate to buy a nice Dovo or so, only to ruin the blade by improper honing etc.

What blade would you recommend to start with?

Thoughts?
 
Get ready to dump some cash. Best bet is to look up whipped dog razors and get a starter package. You won't need stones yet if you are starting with a honed razor. Razors in most retail channels are not "finished" and need final honing before use. You will need a strop, soap and brush. (canned goop and straights don't go anywhere)

There are some youtube videos to describe technique, expect a six month learning curve at least, and plan on over that time buying at least two more razors, as one wrong move while stropping will take the edge off, and it will need to be honed. Honing services can be found, you will have to decide on costs, compared to buying hones and learning it yourself (another skill, knife sharpening is related, but not at all the same) 4000 and 8000 grit water stones of high quality is a minimum, but many go past that to the 20k or higher range, and those are not cheap. you will also need gear to lap the stones, and they are not suited for use on knives, as the wear profile will need to be lapped out before razors touch them again.

Historically few men actually shaved themselves with a razor, many owned a razor that their barber then stropped and used, or the barber used his own.

I would recommend looking into DE razors as a starting point, as they are far cheaper and a much better stepping stone into straights. Straights are a time sink, and unless you have spare hours in your day, and are looking for a new hobby, DE is going to get you a better result.
 
I say go for it. But there's a learning curve for sure. The faster you learn to strop the easier everything is. ZY razors are made in China from good steel. And usually come with a decent edge on them. You can find them for $10 or so shipped. I say get 2 . If you own a paddle strop for knives you can use that.
 
marumba said:
hi there,

I'm running from my Gillettes, and want to give straight edge shaving a shot.

Not sure what's the best approach, but my thinking would be to buy a mid-range/not so expensive blade to start until I learn to properly sharpen and care for it.

I'd hate to buy a nice Dovo or so, only to ruin the blade by improper honing etc.

What blade would you recommend to start with?

Thoughts?
Click to expand...
I'm with G gadgetgeek as far as recommending double edged razors: the old safety razors our fathers and grandfathers used. Very inexpensive, and I think a much better shave than the modern multiblade crappy plastic razors.
 
if I were you and wanted to start with straights, I would go with larry at whipped dog shaving. hard to beat the prices on what he sells and you get a well honed razor to start with. remember the straight is made to cut hair. never use it or test it on paper,push on it with the pad of your thumb. either can and will affect the edge. its all about angle and technique. I have been using straights since I started shaving and am 63 now. I don't agree with the other post on few men actually shaved themselves, if that were true then why are so many straights out there. in their day they were all that people had to shave with. I own over 100 straights and I know of many who have as many or more than mine. many thousands of vintage razors out there to choose from.some like Sheffield some Solingen steel. the Sheffield is my choice for a good shave. master the straight and never look back.
 
Larry at Whipped Dog Shaving is the man! I got started in straight razor shaving with a kit from him and have never looked back. He can get you started with everything for under $100.
 
kn4wd said:
if I were you and wanted to start with straights, I would go with larry at whipped dog shaving. hard to beat the prices on what he sells and you get a well honed razor to start with. remember the straight is made to cut hair. never use it or test it on paper,push on it with the pad of your thumb. either can and will affect the edge. its all about angle and technique. I have been using straights since I started shaving and am 63 now. I don't agree with the other post on few men actually shaved themselves, if that were true then why are so many straights out there. in their day they were all that people had to shave with. I own over 100 straights and I know of many who have as many or more than mine. many thousands of vintage razors out there to choose from.some like Sheffield some Solingen steel. the Sheffield is my choice for a good shave. master the straight and never look back.
Click to expand...
I would have to go hunting it down again, but there has been some historical scholarship done on the subject. Its hard to know how many men actually shaved themselves, but I think its telling that when Gillette released the first DE and got a contract to supply the US army, the regulations on facial hair changed. This suggests to me that most front line troops in WW1 were not expected to shave daily while on active duty, and shaved when rotated off the line, where US soldiers were expected to. Also, having your own razor but getting someone else to shave you makes sense to me. The existence of fancy 7-day sets suggests that even if a man was shaving himself, his footman or butler may have been responsible for maintaining the blades, "OEM" blades done for certain retail outlets suggest that men bought blades at every economic level. How they ended up being used would then vary greatly between them. I know there are many stories that suggest that a straight was common in mountain man "possibles" bags, but there is also little evidence to support that. We don't hear of the guys who didn't bother to carry them. We know that it was common for a shave and haircut to be a common service provided in the frontier, suggesting that many didn't feel the need to be clean shaven all the time, but may have done so before hitting the town. I have also seen examples of barber's cases that could hold dozens of razors, with space for name-tags, suggesting that city barbers would have had a regular clientele who owned a razor, but kept it at the barber's. We also have records from some of those times where the price of shaves were factored into living expenses. There certainly would have been men who shaved themselves. But I don't think it would have been the majority. However its really hard to know, proving a negative is notoriously challenging.
 
I concur, I too am making the switch. I'm using up my last razors and practicing getting a lather, I bought Paraso because it seemed like an easy one to practice with, which it is. I will then get a de safety razor probably a mekur, or I'll start with a cheaper vintage one to play with.

I also have a badger hair brush, it feels so nice and works very well.
 
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