Thread: Just getting started

Hey everybody, I am just getting into straight razor shaving. I havery had a beard for the last 5 years or so and at the begging of this year decided to shave it for a change. Shaving daily again has been a struggle and I have been cutting myself and not enjoying shaving with the cartridge style razor. Before taking the full leap into strait razor shaving, I decided to order a disposable straight razor that you replace the blade. I figured this would get me started to make sure I liked it and every thing first.

I've been reading all about getting started and technique, is their anything I should do differently or anything I should know about using a disposable versus a regular straight razor?

Thank you in advance

From what I read, The disposable type straight razors are not forgiving and you might find it cuts you even more and not a comfortable shaving experience. I've never used one but this is what I've heard. I recommend you buy one here on the B/S/T. You will get a properly honed razor and a great piece to start with.

I started with a shavette but cut myself to ribbons. Much harder to use than an SR. Try a reasonably priced SR straight away. If you do decide you don't like it, you won't have lost anything as you can always sell it on. Be patient though. It'll take quite a few shaves until you really get the hang of it and start seeing results, getting really good shaves. Good luck.

Thank yall. That was the sense I got when I started doing some reading here on the forum. I'll have to check out the classifieds.

I have a Weck Sextoblade and it is fairly close to a straight razor. It has nice weight and the blades are a little longer so it feels close to a straight razor. I have not tried any others so I cannot tell you how it compares to other disposable blade razor. I have picked up a couple in shops that use 1/2 a DE blade and they did not seem to have much wieght. I know there are many brands out there and some are more highly regarded than others. Some of the really nice looking ones cost as much or more than a nice entry level straight razor. I think if you buy a nice, shave ready vintage, you will almost always get all or most of you money back if you decide straights are not for you.

Echoing previous sentiments, shavettes replicate the look of straights while sacrificing the comfort, so get yourself an inexpensive vintage razor from B/S/T here. A really nice Bismarck went for $65 or less yesterday. There are deals to be had...just be patient. Straight Razor Designs is a great place to get a beginner's strop, and they are SRP site founders and supporters.

Good luck, sir!

Hi and welcome. Haven't used a shavette but hear frequently that the angle is different so you will need to adjust to a straight anyway. The shavette can remove the edge variable though but possibly at the expense of comfort