Thread: Practice Straight Razor - Blunt

I hesitate to tell you whether you should or shouldn't use a blunt edge to practice, because it's your hands and your face and I've only done it 3 times, so far, myself. I will say that practicing with a dull blade may not prove to be very helpful, since you could do some seriously wrong things with a blunt edge and not pay a price for it. Then you might carry that newly acquired habit over to the real thing and get an unpleasant surprise. For example, one could lay a blunt edge against one's face, find the angle and then press down to start moving the blade. That's not a problem with a butter knife edge, but a razor may well deliver a very different outcome. Besides, it's really not as difficult or as dangerous as some make it out to be. It's easy to get a nick, it's not very hard to get a minor cut, but you'd have to seriously mess up to do yourself any real harm. The key here is, if it hurts, stop.

Watch Lynn's shaving tutorial video on YouTube, read his article at the top of the Beginner's page, then take your razor and do what he said and you'll do just fine.

When I started out at the tender age of 14 there was no internet, nobody to go to for help, and no practice razor. I just jumped right in with Grampa's Army Navy straight...........even doing a "fool's pass". Gramp's razor really mowed off those baby whiskers on my upper lip and it felt so good I did a full shave even though there was no beard on my neck or cheeks yet. No blood and I felt like a MAN.

I say go for the real thing. Just make sure you do it when you have plenty of time, no one is around, and go slow. Proper angle and strokes will all fall into place.

I had a lot of problems with trying to figure out how to hold the razor and twist my hand so that I could shave near my ears when wearing my glasses. I used a practice razor to figure this out, didnt take that long but it was really helpful to me at least.
Buy a gold dollar, you should be able to find one for under 10$. Put electrical tape on the edge and use that. When you are done you can play around with it learning how to hone, something i am still working on learning to do. You could also get a Pakistani straight but you have even less chance of turning that into a useable razor afterwards.

Ok, count me in the with "just use a real blade" group, now. What they are saying makes perfect sense!

For what it's worth, I never used anything to practice with, and just started out using a straight. And I survived to tell the tale.

I could see the merit in learning to stretch your skin in the different areas with a " practice whatever" as to learning the angle , that is not a hard and fast rule of degrees. Sometimes in different areas it's 10 degrees , sometimes a little more , so it won't help any for that ,But using the razor and skin stretching ,, ? It might just help, angle has to have feedback on the cutting edge. On that there is no compromise, but stretching us as important as angle, especially if you don't want cuts and irritation.
So give it a go , and I think a cheaper razor with tape on the edge might be a way to go,that way you have two razors, just remember to knock the edge off and then get it honed after your done practicing,, Good luck. Tc

Well guys, I am still leaning towards getting the practice razor with the blunt edge, here's why:

I'm 78 yo and have competed in many sports that require hand-to-eye coordination (think tennis, golf, skiing, martial arts, Nordic walking and others) and I learned that repetitions through practice (of course using correct techniques) is the best way to develop your "muscle memory" in executing the proper movements. Since I shave (and I have started to shave with a real straight razor) only every other day, some times every third day, I would not get that many reps in while doing my "real" shaves. Any "bad habits" started using the practice razor would soon be corrected when doing my real shaves. Also, and one of the MOST IMPORTANT reason is that I am right handed and I NEED THE PRACTICE WITH MY LEFT HAND. IMHO, I think that $20 is a good investment in developing the necessary skills to shave properly with a straight razor. Does anyone here see where I am coming from?

I see where you are coming from. I think must of us see where you are coming from and we are trying to advise you that are talking about trying to practice playing golf using a tennis ball. It's close to the same ball, but in both cases you may develop a wicked slice (pun intended).

Ultimately, it is your shave and your face and your decision. We are just offering some advice from people who have been doing this for a while. If you think the practice razor will help you, then do it. The practice razor will definitely help with stropping and that is where you really need to develop the muscle memory.

Originally Posted by criswilson10

I see where you are coming from. I think must of us see where you are coming from and we are trying to advise you that are talking about trying to practice playing golf using a tennis ball. It's close to the same ball, but in both cases you may develop a wicked slice (pun intended).

Ultimately, it is your shave and your face and your decision. We are just offering some advice from people who have been doing this for a while. If you think the practice razor will help you, then do it. The practice razor will definitely help with stropping and that is where you really need to develop the muscle memory.

I like your "pun"! You, and most of those that commented, never said anything about training/practicing with your non-dominate hand. This is where I need to develop some "feeling of confidence" when using my left hand to shave my left side. Using the practice razor to develop muscle memory when stropping is also a great side benefit! Thanks again for all your advice! I did purchase the "Gold Dollar Practice Straight Razor - blunt edge" this morning from Straight Razor.com. I will post my experiences with it once I get it. I do not intend to have this razor honed in the future . . . . it will always be my practice razor/toy!

A lot of beginner's actually have less problems with their non dominant hand. I think it is because that they (we) actually pay more attention to what we are doing with our off hands. I have yet to nick myself with my off hand, it's always my dominant hand that gets me - just ask my left ear.

Originally Posted by ironmaned1987

Hi all, I am a newbie and just started straight razor shaving. I was looking on the internet for some kind of "practice straight razor" where you could just practice your straight razor movements, ie: holding the razor to the face at the proper angle, strokes, using both hands, etc. without actually cutting anything, including your face! You could even lather up and just scrape off the lather. Once you had this technique down pat, you could then go to a "real" straight razor and do a real straight razor shave without (hopefully) nicking your face all up. I found one advertised on the Vintage Straight Razor website as follows: "Practice Straight Razor - Blunt $19.99". Has anyone tried this method? I would really appreciate any comments from you guys, as I think that this would allow much more practice (as you could do it numerous times a day) without really hurting yourself. The price isn't that bad if the product really works! Please advise. Thank you! Ed Oh, I do own a real Ralf Aust SR, but it is very sharp.

I'm not a pro or experienced at all but recently I got a coticule and honed my first razor on it and that edge seems to be a very good practice edge imo, for me, a noob that is. Its not super sharp, but it does its job. no more no less. Pretty idiot proof to me at least. And I'm an idiot.