Thread: Trying to decide on a new SR

Hi
My name is Jeff and I've been shaving with a straight razor for less than two months. I have a new Dovo Astral, and some vintage razors from ebay that are of questionable usefulness. I would like to buy a new SR from SRP, and I'm debating on which brand. I already have a Dovo, TI are out of stock, Esbjerg is out of the my price range (which is ~$150), which leaves me with Ralf Aust and Boker. I had me eye on the RA 5/8" rosewood roundpoint, but don't really know much how the brands compare. How are these two brands different? Which brand to you think would be better for a relatively new shaver like myself.
Thanks!

I like my Austs more than my Dovos. Dovo makes fine shaving razors but for me the Austs seem smoother. I do also like TIs quite a bit but they seem less forgiving (stainless steel?).

Have you had your razors from eBay pro honed?

Originally Posted by JTmke

I do also like TIs quite a bit but they seem less forgiving (stainless steel?).

I don't believe TI makes a stainless steel blade. They have one with ss scales though.

Bob

My TIs are all great shavers and easier to maintain then Dovos or Austs when it comes to rust. They just feel stiffer for some reason to me anyway.

I'm more of a shaver than collector. Only have three razors in my regular rotation. An Aust 5/8, Dovo Bismark 6/8 and a TI 6/8. The Aust was my first and it is a great little razor. All razors from SRP come professionally honed, so you don't have to worry about a poor factory edge.

The Ralf Aust razors are great and I will probably get another some time this year.

You might want to consider a 6/8 if your current razor is a 5/8, just to see the difference. When I first got the 6/8, I didn't really like it and it took a little bit to get used to (was about two months in to straight shaving at the time) but they are my favorite now.

You won't go wrong with an Aust.

Good luck and enjoy.

Hi Jeff, I'm also a beginner. My first razor was a Dovo 5/8. I realized after a few attempts at shaving with it that it needed to be sent off for honing, so I used that as an excuse to buy a beautiful TI 6/8 with a French point. I really like the TI, but as a beginner I wanted a 5/8 and I've just never really warmed up to the Dovo. So I bought almost exactly the razor you're considering - a RA 5/8 square point with rosewood scales from SRP. That baby is fantastic! And in my opinion it's a great value for the money. I absolutely love it and won't be reaching for my Dovo anytime soon.

But as the saying goes, YMMV

Thanks to all of you who replied so quickly. Great advice. To answer the question about the ebay razors - they claimed to be honed and stropped (shave ready), but were obviously not done well enough for a comfortable shave. After several tries at refreshing (CBN, diamond spray, dovo paste) and stropping (Lynn's magnetic paddle strop), I gave up and sent a bunch of them out to Lynn for honing and I will get them back tomorrow. I'm sending the Dovo to him next. One of my ebay razors is a 6/8 (Ern No. 1000), and that was the best of the bunch. I did like the heavier razor, so maybe I will take apipeguy's advice and try that for my new razor. Anyway, I'm really enjoying getting into the whole routine of SR shaving, and I can tell my wife is starting to look at me strangely whenever she notices yet another razor or strop show up in my collection! Great fun! Again, thanks for all the feedback.

Buy which ever you like the best. Buy the other next time. There will be a next time. And wait you wife's look will be irritation before too long as the parcels keep rolling in.

I tell her she's lucky that my worst vice is buying too many straight razors! Ha ha!

By the way, I decided on the Aust Solingen 6/8" Palisander Wood Round Point. I don't think I can go wrong with that. Very excited about it!