Thread: Angry Noob!

Originally Posted by Igglepud

I will post some pictures tonight of my two flea-market blades. One is a German brand and the other is a Duble Duck. I don't know if the blade with the curve at the end is chipped or if it is supposed to be like that. Also...I really like the Kriegar handle. Can I swap the old blades into the new handle? The other two are plastic and this one is a nice metal. Pics to be posted this evening...

Sounds you didn't score bad at flea market (I wish _I_ would find a DD somewhere), but lets see the blades since the condition is a factor too. Don't start swapping out scales just yet - depinning might break the scales and too heavy scales (=handle) can off the balance of the razor.

Welcome! There are many options from getting the vintage razors you have honed, to getting a Dovo Shavette (looks like a straight, but uses disposable blades). The advantage of the Shavette is that you don't need a strop or hones to sharpen it. Not a recommendation, just an option. Here is another option if you want an inexpensive new straight:
RupRazor - Gold Dollar

You will need a strop and others have already made recommendations. The Keen Kutter hone you have is a barber hone and it will fine for touching up a blade that has already been honed and shave ready (assuming the hone is in good shape and has been lapped flat).

Although it seems like a bunch of cash to get into straight shaving, once you have a couple of straights and the trappings to keep them shave ready, you're done. So, even if you spend $300., that's pretty much it for the rest of your life (and your children and grand children - straights last a really long time) as opposed to whatever you've been spending on cartridges. In the long run it's much, much less expensive.

One caveat... RAD (razor acquisition disorder). If you suffer from that, then any consideration for cost savings goes right out the window!

Oh... and buy a styptic pencil. You'll need it.

Good luck, as others have said, you do need to spend a little money to begin with. I now only use a straight and the combined cost of my favourite razor (which gets about 99% usage!) and my brush was a little under £100. I would imagine I've saved about £300 so far on cartrides though!

Have a look on ebay - there are definitely a few good deals to be found but do make sure the pictures are good enough to check the condition of the blade.

p.s. In case you're wondering, my favourite razor is a Dovo Black Star and it was worth every penny!

Dont bother going down the spend a fortune options, You can buy a vintage model as good if not better than some of the modern razors!
Metals have not advanced that much over 50 years ago and there is some gems to be had out there, I sold an almost mint "Thomas ellin 6/8th The Prize razor" for £10 UK and I had been honed to a shave ready state in fact it was so good I almost kept it but it was not to be as I have enough as is lol.

That would have seen you thorugh many shaves with out a problem.

Yes We would all like a shiny fast car a large mansion and more but life does not always play fair!

I want to chime in to add my voice to the "hang in there" advice, but to that, I would add that I, too, am pretty much nooby.

I also encountered several frustrations that had me contemplating putting my Thiers-Issard in a vice, and bludgeoning the egde all the way back to the spine, so that I could take a masochistically humorous photo and post it here.

Fortunately, things began to come together for me faster than frustration could lead to actual aggression!

I was in Wallmart the other night -- saw that a pack of cartridges for the latest-greatest science-friction razor (what is it up to now? a 5, 7, 14 blades?) was 30 bucks!

Let me recommend a plan to liberate money for str8 purchases by getting a pack of Good News, or Bics, next up, instead of Mach 3 cartridges. Put the difference in the Razor Bank. Make the transition gently, without a big cash outlay, taking advantage of the good cost savings options outlined above.

You really only have 2 options. Save your $20 until you get enough to buy a new Dovo (or whatever you choose) or go the ebay route. If you choose the latter option you need a list of the best razors available, buy one and then have someone hone it for you. When I started my restoration hobby I asked for advice on the aforementioned list and got the following suggestions:
Wade & Butcher
Geneva
J.R. Torrey
Puma
Dubl Duck.

My personal favorite is the Torrey as it gives me the best shave.

Rich

Always acknowledge a fault frankly. This will throw those in authority off their guard and give you an opportunity to commit more.” – Mark Twain

Welcome on board!

Save your money until you can afford an ok shave ready razor from the
classifieds on this site.

Good luck.

I don't know what CONUS is...I'm in the US?

Thanks for all the advice. I see a Gold Dollar in my near future...if they really do work, I'll try one. I'm using an electric sideburn trimmer now...slow, horrible shave but it doesn't YANK them out. Now I will attempt to post pics of my blades.

Assuming this works, Kriegar is in the middle, Duble Duck is on the bottom, un-known German blade on top in yellow. This pains me...I do photography and didn't have time to set up my Mark II...so here are some stinkin' iPhone pics.

Edit: I like how the BACKGROUND is nice and in focus...I'll try again tomorrow with a real camera.

And thanks to EVERYONE! That was a lot of responses. Whoever tried to sell me a razor for $18, I think your post was removed. PM me if that's not against the rules.