Thread: My First Straight Razor

Hey all, I am new to this community and to straight razor shaving. I am currently shaving with a Merkur double-edge razor. Honestly, that has gotten kind of boring and I am eager to graduate to a straight razor.

I was thinking about getting a Feather "Artist Club" series razor with the "Pro Guard" blades.

Will shaving with the pro guard blades be basically the same as my double edge safety razor?

I've done some forum searches on Feather razors in general, and they seem to be durable, dependable, and sharp devices. Am I correct?

Thanks in advance!

They are not straight razors. They have spotty histories when it comes to being dependable. It depends on the lot of blades you buy. Most of them are pretty good, so I'm told.

They are wicked sharp, almost to a fault. I personally would never shave with one. I'll shave with a straight razor but not a Feather . . . I don't have the guts for that.

If you shave a few days a week I'd almost recommend one, almost. They are so sharp that guys that try to shave once a day often describe the razor as "thinning out their skin". Now, nothing turns me off faster than that description, but if your willing to give your face a break atleast a few days a week, I say, do whatever you want.

I think your choice of blades is the best, by far, considering my experience with the standard blades.

You'll be able to sell it if you don't like it, but I'd say atleast 40% of the guys that buy one report keeping it. Some guys like them a lot.

A feather is an expensive route to go on a trial run with. I have heard of people liking them, but others who have horror stories. When I started, I used a Sanguine shavette and an actual straight I picked up here from JoshEarl for a song. Honestly, the shavette was more like a DE shave than a straight shave. I don't know why it seemed more difficult, but it did. I tried the shavette with a number of different blades from the always mild dorco to the ultra sharp feather, none of them were as smooth, close, or irritation free as the $25 starter straight I got in B/S/T.

IMHO the money for a feather AC would be better spent on a shave ready razor and a strop from tony miller. Worst case scenario is that you hate it and resell everything for almost as much as you paid.

Thanks for the help guys. I think I am going to steer away from the feathers. I've been looking @ classicshaving.com and there are so many straight razors to choose from.

I already have a brush/mug/soap for my DE razor.

Price is not really a big factor but durability and beauty are. Any recommendations on what brand/model straight razor to get?
Thanks again!

Because you've mentioned durability twice, I'm going to go against my personal rule of recommending brands and say that I find Dovo stainless steel razors to be durable, easy to maintain and nice shavers.

I would recommend buying mid-range and getting it honed as a starter.

But many, many people would be quick to disagree with me, and I'm only giving out an opinion.

Thanks for all the feedback so far. One last question. I forgot to mention that I am using feather DE blades with my safety razor now. If I tolerate the feather DE blades well, do you think the feather straight edge blades should workout well for me as well?

Does anyone have experience with both of them?

Thanks a lot, this website has so much great information I have been addicted.

OLD_SCHOOL had a shaving journal when he started shaving with a feather, look it up, either here or in the shaving section, perhaps. I'm not sure there are many of us on this board that use DE - as you've noticed straights are pretty addictive.

I don't have much experience but since you've looked at classic, you probably already know what strikes your fancy. Just get it honed and you should be alright.

And don't worry to ask as many questions as you have - that's why we're all here. Hopefully we'll try not to confuse you.

Oh, and it seems to me that Alan is way too modest - I'd listen to his 'opinion' very closely if I were you