Thread: razor as a gift?

Originally Posted by OHooligan82

when I first started shaving with a straight razor I was using a disposable blade straight razor. Then I bought a couple of razors off ebay. These razors were very cheap and i could never get either of them to give me a good shave. A quality razor is a must, good luck.

Quality razor is indeed important, but the ebay price has nothing to do with the performance. Most of my best razors have come from ebay in price ranges from $10 to $200. I'd take any of them before any current production Dovo.

Here's a link to some gift sets you may be interested in as a beginning: Gift Sets & Gift Ideas

If you are on a budget, like I always am, I would suggest the following:


A Shave-Ready razor from the SRP Classifieds or one of the vendors that advertise here. That would run $40 - $150 depending on your tastes (but more expensive doesnt necessarily mean better shave!)

A sample pack of soaps from Colleen: Customer Comments, criticism, encouragement cost: $16.00

A "Tweezerman" Badger brush, available at Amazon for around $15.00. There is no reason to invest too much into something you're not sure he'll take to..and this is a pretty darn good brush for the money.

Some Nivea Aftershave Balm, available at most department stores for around $5.00. A lot of guys use this stuff, even after having sampled more expensive stuff.

As for the strop, Maybe someone else can recommend a good cheap strop for her? I wouldn't know.. i splurged on the SRD 3" red latigo.. lol

Originally Posted by gugi

Quality razor is indeed important, but the ebay price has nothing to do with the performance. Most of my best razors have come from ebay in price ranges from $10 to $200. I'd take any of them before any current production Dovo.

Just to clarify for the op, yes, there are plenty of ebay razors that CAN be very good, but they usually need to be cleaned up and most importantly professionally honed. As others have said, this is the most important part for any razor you end up buying. You will need to either buy it pre-honed from one of the vendors, buy a razor from the classifieds here that is marked "shave ready," or send a razor you've acquired, that is not yet shave ready to a respected forum member here to have it professionally honed. (Check the member services section of the classifieds to find a honemeister).

So, as far as what you need, again, you need a razor and strop, at least. He could probably use some canned shaving cream or gel if a good brush and soap/cream aren't in the budget, but I wouldn't recommend it. At the very least, I would stop buy your local Whole Foods, or similar, and check out some shaving cream like "Kiss my Face." Though I haven't personally tried it, I've heard it's a very good cream that you can apply without a brush. It would run you under/around $10, I believe.

Here is a sample idea of a starter kit with everything he would need:

-The razor. Just about any "shave ready" razor you could find in the classifieds on this website that is within your price range. Alternatively, you could order a razor that is prehoned from one of our fine vendors.

-The strop. A strop such as this one RupRazor - The Filly is a good value, IMO, and a good starter strop. There are plenty of other options that go up in price accordingly, up to around $100 for a very very nice strop. But he doesn't need that right away.

-The brush. If you can locate a Crabtree and Evelyn best badger brush, that would be a great starter brush, but they have been discontinued and are not available at most stores. You can call around or try hard to find one online, but if not, you might look at the Kent BK4, or a Rooney style 3, size 1 (small) in pure badger, or, if you can afford it, the best option IMO would be the Rooney 3/1 in super (this option is pretty expensive, though, so you might want to be darn sure he really wants to stick with it if you are going to buy this one!). For a much cheaper option, that isn't generally as highly recommended, but there are definitely some big fans of them, you could grab a boar hair brush, such as an omega boar brush. They are not quite as luxurious, generally speaking, but reportedly do just as good of a job creating lather, and some people actually prefer them! The cost would be on the order of $15-20.

-The soap/cream. A good quality soap or cream. I'm partial to soaps myself, and one of the soaps that I personally really like is mama bear shave soaps (Mama Bears Soaps , Mama Bears Shaving Soaps and Bath Products for the Discerning Gentleman and Lady) - you might try ordering a scent or two that sound interesting (they are all very good!). Also, for a bit cheaper option, many of the vendors carry col conk soap, which is actually pretty good for a low price. And really, pretty much any of the soaps (or creams!!) the advertised vendors carry would do him well. Another very very cheap option would be the VDH shave soap you can find at walmart. It's not fancy, but it's definitely good enough to get the job done, and it's only like $1.50. Keep in mind that these shave soaps and creams do require a brush, though (well, except kiss my face, but even that one is best used with a brush).

Make sure that after you gift him, you tell him about this site so we (well, everyone else, lol) can teach him the ways!

Those four items would be a great start for your S.O., IMO of course Pick and choose according to budget. Really, with any of the items I've mentioned, I think he would be very happy. But there are sooo many options out there, feel free to search around and ask questions about whatever you find! Also, if you are going to start buying some of the higher end, higher priced items I've listed, you really might want to find out if he's going to stick with it or not, because as someone pointed out, it's not for everyone.

Good luck!

If he has shown no real interest or only talks in passing about how 'bad ass' cutthroat blades are, do him a favour and find another gift. My FIL expressed mild interest so I hooked him up for Father's Day. He ruined the edge on his first stropping ( I mean broke it off!) so I had to go and reset the bevel. Then he cut the tip of his index finger off before even getting to the shave. I have the gear back in my own possession now.

IF he has shown serious interest in straight razors, you will be the queen of his heart!

X

thank you to everyone for all the info!

i did let it slip about the present, and he's really excited. i told him since he's the one using it, he get to pick all the acoutrements. good thing i have until june. it may take that long to decide!

thanks again, all!

Stay tuned to the classifieds here. There are great deals on shave ready razors, but they don't last long. If he sees one he likes, buy it immediately.

X

Well since he gets to choose it I would agree that the classifieds is a pretty good option. Depending on his taste there are some great vintage razors that can be had for about the same price as a brand new Dovo, sometimes even cheaper.
I assume that since it's a gift it would likely have to be in excellent condition cosmetically as well. If you had to make the choice yourself I'd have probably gone with a new one, although personally I prefer vintage razors.