Just getting into straights

I don't think shavettes feel the same as straights and if anything they are harder to use. As you may be able to tell, I don't like them.

I would start with a vintage straight (5/8-6/8 as someone mentioned above) and have someone hone it for you.
 
If you want to 'test the water' buy a shave ready Gold Dollar from the eBay seller that has been previously mentioned & a strop.You could always upgrade & get a nice vintage razor from that same seller at a later date.
 
I started with a vintage Sheffield razor from a guy called Pete who sells strops on ebay and reconditions a few razors. It was about £50 so not too expensive at all. I still only use a straight rarely as most of the time i need to shave pretty quickly but it is satisfying whe. you get it right.
 
I also started with a vintage Kropp recently. I considered my options and it was going to be iether a Dovo or a vintage from a reputable seller.
It's a steep learning curve as there are more things to consider. For starters, you have 3 inches of very sharp metal sliding down your face and if you don't concentrate you will cut yourselve.... that's how I got my first nick, I was shaving under my nose and focusing on that alone, the tip of the blade cut my cheek, nothing much but still.
It's very rewarding when you get good results but it's a very different experience to shaving with a DE razor.
I went for the "pro shaving" experience at Geo Trumpers to see how that would feel. I couldn't draw a good conclusion though, they use a shavette and that felt very much like a DE razor. Still, a very pleasant shave and I nearly fell asleep lol. result wise was a little disappointing, I get a closer shave with any of my DE razors, although I understand why they don't shave ATG.
The maintenance of a SR is wearing me down, something I need to build into my routine. It seems I'm stropping close to well enough :) at least my face tells me that, but stropping is tedious to me atm, so I'm hoping I will get used to it.
One more thing, I listen to the knowledgeable people here so I'm giving myself 100 shaves to learn the skill. I have shaved 11 times so far and I still need to clean up with a DE razor. I have high expectations so I guess I'll be cleaning up with a DE for quite a while yet ;)
 
My tuppence worth as a recent SR convert would be to pick a honer from the site. They are all good at what they do and will deliver you a real shave ready razor that will genuinely ready to shave with. The ones I know of are Billy Fergie, Jamie M and Pugh the special one.
Pick one and then contact them via PM and get them to put you in the right direction. They all know a gud un from a bad un and when you find one you fancy you can let them see it before pressing the buy button. They can then say whether it is worth bothering with or not. That will save you making mistakes and buying a lemon or at least one that requires too much work.
You will get a nice vintage off the Bay. Once honed it will be all you need.
Once it's been in Barbicide it will be as good as and as hygienic as a new one.
 
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