Originally Posted by
Rick Moyer
Brett Luna: any more insight on the advantages of "the good stuff" over the "starter kit"?
Blade: like almost any woodworking tool, you can get a solid, bare bones shaver for a modest sum. There's nothing wrong with my basic Dovo starter that now sees duty in my travel kit. But some of the higher quality blades are better balanced, have better steel, or are just plain prettier and a pleasure to use. Some are full hollow ground, half hollow, or wedges. Some are even Damascus. You can pay as much as your wallet will bear but you don't have to go brand new, custom, or high dollar. As with handplanes, there are plenty of vintage blades out there at a reasonable price that you can refurbish. There are also folks on wet shaving forums who offer refurbs for sale at fair prices and many of the old hands recommend this as a good way to get started for not a lot of money. An added bonus of that is the blade will usually come to you well sharpened by someone who knows how to do it. Some online vendors offer sharpening with the sale of a new blade but otherwise, they come with a factory edge that isn't shave-ready.
Brush: generally speaking, as brush prices increase so does the quality of the knot. The hair is usually denser and they tend to shed less over their lifetime than their cheaper cousins. The Art of Shaving brush I started with was okay but a bit sparse and limp...too much so for cake soap, really. Like woodworking tools, again, there are deals to be found among the high quality brushes, too. My Rooney wasn't the most expensive in its class but it has held up very well for a few years now.
Soap/cream: this is largely personal preference. It's your face after all and you'll be the judge of what feels (and smells) good to you. You'll see all kinds of ingredients mentioned...like palm or vegetable tallow, wool fat or lanolin, etc...that are meant to produce a rich lubricating lather. Prices often (but not always!) reflect the quality of ingredients and manufacturing processes.
Strop: Another item subject to preference with choices like cow or horse leather; or cotton, linen, or nylon canvas. I started with a narrow Col. Conk model that I beat up pretty good through poor stropping technique. I know better now and I'm quite pleased with my full width latigo & linen 2-strop set from Tony Miller. He also offers a practice strop as an add-on.
So, this is my 'nice' kit:
- Heribert Wacker 15/16 "Antik" Spanish Point Limited Edition, #1 of 16, with blond horn scales
- Rooney Model 1, size 2 "Super Silvertip" shaving brush
- Tony Miller 3" Artisan latigo/linen strop
- Dirty Bird 1.5 scuttle (not pictured)
It's not the nicest one out there by any stretch and you can certainly get a baby-butt-smooth shave for much less...but it was a birthday gift to myself a few years ago and I indulged myself.
Brett
Peters Creek, Alaska
Man is a tool-using animal. Nowhere do you find him without tools; without tools he is nothing, with tools he is all. — Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881)
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