Ready to buy a real razor

harleystyles · Post by **harleystyles** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 1:17 pm

Well guys,

If you remember I started shaving with a cheap replaceable blade straight about a week ago. I got it jst to basically see if I would enjoy the experience or not. Well... it hasn't taken me long to start to wonder why there are even any other kinds of razors out there than the straights.

I'm ready to purchase my first "real" razor. I've seen many of you talknig about vintage blades and I have been looking there at the Dovo's. I'm sure I'm going to get answers like, it's about personal prefrence. But, is there a big diffrence between the 5/8 or 6/8 blades? Pros, cons? I don't have any experience with either.

Next is the blade steel. I see, carbon steel, silver steel, Sweedish steel, and Solingen steel. I've heard that stainless would be good for a beginner to stay away from.

The two I'm looking at are
http://www.vintagebladesllc.com/vshop/x ... 132&page=1
and
http://www.vintagebladesllc.com/vshop/x ... 132&page=1

Please let me know if I'm going in the right direction and feel free to add any others to the list. I'm okay with any suggestions Dovo is just the first reputible blade I found.

Edited to add:
I guess I forgot about the strop.

There are too many out there... Please steer me in the right direction.

ScottS · Post by **ScottS** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 2:05 pm

There is a chance you might not like the spike. Other than that, the steel in the two razors are essentially the same.

Don't forget to kick out the 20 bucks for the sharpening service.

You need a razor, a strop, and something to keep the razor touched up every month or so.

The strop I'd go for is a Tony Miller from thewellshavedgentleman. I went with a hanging strop plus a two-sided pasted paddle for touch ups. You could go with a 4-sided pasted paddle with one bare leather side for daily stropping, but you will purchase a hanging strop anyway, and probably sooner rather than later.

Dave_D · Post by **Dave_D** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 3:42 pm

The second razor is the one I would go with if it were me, tried the first one and wasnt much impressed with it. By the time you are up to $100 you might consider a Thiers Issard Super Gnome which is a better razor imo.

If you want a strop, I have one of Tony's starters that isnt used much anymore, pm if interested.

Dave

dada · Post by **dada** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 10:39 pm

You are getting a great offer on the strop!

As far as size goes - my personal preference is 6/8. It just feels right, even though I don't have a big face. Both sizes should work fine, don't sweat it too much. You'll probably end up owning both sizes just to try them, and you can probably sell whatever you like less (if you want)

Stainless *may* feel more "scratchy" than carbon, but won't stain as easily, of course. Some people are just averse to stainless on a personal level (for example, esteemed custom razor maker Robert Williams, iirc). Others love it (another esteemed custom maker - Joe Chandler). All steels that you mention will work fine too, of course

Cheers
Ivo

Padron · Post by **Padron** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 11:06 pm

I'd go for the 2nd one myself as well, and for $4 more I do the Bismark version with bone scales.

I have also been looking at these:
http://www.vintagebladesllc.com/vshop/x ... 132&page=1

Not sure how the 6/8 Bismarks shave, but I'd expect well and I like the looks. The Dovos I do have are nice shavers, but are the Stainless Steel models.

Enjoy!

SirCur · Post by **SirCur** » Sat Feb 23, 2008 8:11 am

Neale, that is a really nice looking Dovo, great looking scales and file work!

The original post asked about types of steel - it would be great for some experienced straight users to comment. From what I know about steel (not that much), there are some differences:

- Carbon steel - easier to sharpen, but gets dull much quicker. Can rust.
- Stainless steel - hard to sharper, stays sharp longer. Won't rust.

Is carbon steel better for a newbie since it is easier to sharpen?

Don't have a clue about silver steel, Swedish, Solingen ... Can anyone shed some light on this?

Best ... Steve

harleystyles · Post by **harleystyles** » Sat Feb 23, 2008 11:23 am

Well, I'm getting some good info here.

I am leaning on the seccond one. I'm going to let this thread stew over the weekend before I go ahead and purchase.

Is the route I'm going, as far as a new razor (with the extra $20 to have it honed) the way you would tend to stear first time buyers? Or is it just as good to get a used one?

Dave_D · Post by **Dave_D** » Sat Feb 23, 2008 5:12 pm

harleystyles wrote: Is the route I'm going, as far as a new razor (with the extra $20 to have it honed) the way you would tend to stear first time buyers? Or is it just as good to get a used one?

The usual recommendation is to wait until a used shave ready straight is offered by one of the 'known quantity' straight users on the forums. You can end up with a great razor at a great price if you have the patience to wait and arent too set on the kind of razor you want. This way, you arent out too much money if you find that straight shaving isnt for you, because you can then sell that straight on the boards here for close to what you paid for it.

A new razor is what I started with because it called to me from a web page I was browsing, and I was certain straights were it!

Good luck,

Dave

Post by **drmoss_ca** » Sun Feb 24, 2008 8:13 am

SirCur wrote:Neale, that is a really nice looking Dovo, great looking scales and file work!

The original post asked about types of steel - it would be great for some experienced straight users to comment. From what I know about steel (not that much), there are some differences:

- Carbon steel - easier to sharpen, but gets dull much quicker. Can rust.
- Stainless steel - hard to sharper, stays sharp longer. Won't rust.

Is carbon steel better for a newbie since it is easier to sharpen?

Don't have a clue about silver steel, Swedish, Solingen ... Can anyone shed some light on this?

Best ... Steve

Carbon is certainly best for the new straight shaver - it is easier to hone, and as posted gets sharper. Silver steel did at one time imply a silver admixture (~1% silver) but usually does not imply a silver content these days. Essentially it means whatever the manufacturer wants it to mean - for TI it refers to the high degree of polished finish. Swedish (Eskilstuna) steel is harder than typical Solingen carbon steel, and is thus harder to hone but worth the effort. The high end Dovos still use this, such as the Bergischer Lowe. All the old English razors used Sheffield-made steel (TI still do, and add their molten lead bath process to harden the surface). During the heyday of the heavy English wedge, the steels were somewhat softer than they are now, so these old razors are easy to hone but need refreshing quite often.

Chris