Thread: looking for a starter razor

New guy here. I tried to place a WTB classified and had some difficulty. I clicked on new ad, WTB, and it asked for a category.....but no options came up. Anyway, I am looking for a starter str8 shave ready....used. I have been wet shaving with a DE for 3 yrs and I am ready to try this.

It should be way simpler than that. Go to the classified section, here:

Straight Razors - Straight Razor Place Classifieds

Browse around (there are several pages of listings) until you find a razor that you like and fits your budget. Pay attention to condition, shipping options and make sure that the razor is in shave ready condition. Good luck and happy shaving.

Al raz.

If you're looking to spend a bit more, I would strongly recommend a Dovo Tortoise presharpened. It's a really good quallity razor that is easy to use and maintained. It's also very good looking :P

Originally Posted by Alraz

Browse around (there are several pages of listings) until you find a razor that you like and fits your budget. Pay attention to condition, shipping options and make sure that the razor is in shave ready condition. Good luck and happy shaving.

+1... There is no such thing as a starter razor, just some razors that are a bit more forgiving than others. A 5/8 or 6/8 round point is generally thought to be a good razor for a beginner (it's what I started with). You can certainly learn with a spike point, many of our member have successfully done so. The classifides are a good place to buy a good quality razor at a very reasonable price. They are not junk razors being dumped, our members have reputations to protect. Just ensure the razor is shave ready (it will state so in the ad).

I started out with a basic Double Arrow. I think you can get them on Ebay off of a guy for about ten bucks plus a few shipping. It is a nice wide round point. You'll have to get it honed, so look through the vendors or classifieds and find someone to do that. I think you can get it done for about 40 bucks. Well worth it and you won't freak if you damage it. Also, you will curb some of your expense as you begin to add to your collection of razors, brushes, bowls, soaps, after shave, strops and hones. It worked for me.

Originally Posted by dward

Just ensure the razor is shave ready (it will state so in the ad).

A good point, and another reason to look for your first straight here. It's probably safe to say that by the time someone is ready to post a classified here, they know what "shave ready" means and how to get a razor to that point; and as Dan said, they have a reputation to protect. On eBay, a razor advertised as shave-ready may not actually be so--the seller may not be trying to misrepresent it at all, it could easily be honest ignorance.

Rich

Or as Dusty said, you could get a Double Arrow, or for a little more a Wapi (Wapienica)--just figure on getting it honed before you use it, if you don't get it designated "shave-ready" from here. There are several members here who do that--the fee runs around $20 or a few dollars more or less, I think, plus a bit for shipping.

~Rich

looks like you figured it out - the w&b you posted under is now marked as sold.
you should go to your ad and either delete it or mark it as sold as well (there are a bunch of icons at the bottom), this way it will disappear in few days and not clutter the section.

hi I really want to start straight shaving but i have no idea what to look for I know you say 5/8 or 6/8 round points but i have no idea what any of it means and also how much would i have to spend on a razor that i could keep if i liked it but wouldn't be to difficult to sell on if i really couldn't get the hang of it? any info/feedback will be highly appreciated THANKS

Just to address those two specific questions ('cause they're the easy ones that I can answer ), those fractional numbers refer to the width of the blade: a 5/8 is about 5/8" from edge to spine, for example. A round point means that the edge curves up a bit at the end of the blade, rather than being squared off or even shaped in a little point.

There's actually a lot of information here on the SRP site, including a bunch of downloadable documents here (look for the "Help Files" link on the main page).

Rich