Thread: Why did you switch?

Haven't used an electric for over twenty years, and even then I didn't really enjoy it. Just walked around looking like the unkempt youth that I was - inside and out! I suppose my main reason for change, and this just at the start of the year, is partly to do with an appreciation of taking my time over certain things. Willing to put the effort into learning something that you can't do overnight. A sense of achievement and relaxation in the process. I have also got back into fountain pens and thoroughly enjoy the variety of choice and decisions I can take to suit mood and occasion. Nib sizes, ink etc. etc. I guess that a few people here are the same and maybe there is room for a 'Young Fogey' section to cater for this . This is all about relaxation for me - suffice to say I am thoroughly enjoying it and that's even at the stage where my shave quite often resembles a badgers arse! At least it smells nicer!!

cheers
Stephen

When I switched from Mach III to DE I found the shaving forums and the wonderful world of Badger Brushes and nice soaps and creams. I was finally getting a great shave and new at that point this is how I was going to shave from now on. Well in the forums there were threads about Straight Shaving and I picked up an interest and soon was trying that. I had already perfected the prep so it was a matter of time and experience before I was getting smoother and closer shaves from the Straight than I was getting from the DE. Now I say this is the way I am going to shave from now on. No looking back.

bj

I've got the worst of both worlds beard-wise. My beard hair is thick, hard to shave and prone to ingrowing. My beard concentration is such that if I let it grow for a few months, I get what can best be described as a shaggy five o'clock shadow.

First I tried finding the right shaving cream. This lead me to brush and bowl methods which gave me a closer and better shave than the best aerosol shave cream.

At the time I was using a gillette two-blade razor. When the Mach 3 came out, it worsened my razor burn. Ditto the four blade versions. Razor burn was also a problem (and the one time I tried electric... eugh, no shaving but tons of razor burn, how does that happen?). When shifting from my CVS-bought Burma Shave boar brush to a nicer brush, I discovered places like classic shaving.

First I switched to a double edge, trying the low-end model and eventually shifting to the Merkur Futur. I was getting a much better shave, much lower ingrowns and razor burn. I still wasn't satisfied with my shave (my face was mostly smooth, but I still looked spotty after a shave), but was put off by the start-up cost of straight razing. Plus, I had a habit of giving myself pretty horriffic nicks with my safety razor, and was worried about doing worth with an un-safety razor.

Eventually I decided to take the plunge and have been kicking myself for not doing it sooner. My face looks shaven after a shave (what a concept!), no razor burn, and fewer nicks which heal faster (I may be the exception here, but most of my nicks with the DE were probably from catching the corner of the blade when trying to get the difficult areas of my face shaven, which would bleed through lunch, the straight nicks are long lines, but are so clean-cut they barely bleed).

The lack of waste is also appealing to me, but is secondary or tertiary. I felt pretty comfortable about the relatively low level of waste my DE produced.

Also, I feel more manly and more of an anachronism. Both of these, particularly the latter, are good things.

As for saving money, as a former pipe smoker I pretty much expect that I'll never have enough straight razors. Since buying my first straight razor and strop, I've purchased a second one of each. I've been using a straight razor for less than a month. (But I had to get a razor that wasn't shave ready so I could learn how to hone, and I needed a second strop to travel with, so really, these were necessities.)

Nostalgia is part of it for me. I can remember waking up every morning around 5:30 am to the sound of my dad making lather in his shaving mug. He always "clinked" the brush handle against the side of the mug. My Mother recently ran across his straight razor and gave it to me, so I thought I would give it a try. He never taught me to shave with a straight though; for me it was a Schick Injector. Dad has been gone for some time but the morning ritual always makes me think of him.

Been using the 2 blade gillette since I started shaving. A couple of years ago, my wife got me a L'occitane boars hair brush and cade soap. Around sept 2007 , I was in Atlantic City and I saw the Art of Shaving store at the Piers. I picked up some pre-shave oil and their sandalwood soap. I also saw some of the expensive razor holders and straights they were selling. After some window shopping, I figured I better do some research before plunking down some money on a straight razor .

I found a video of Lynn shaving on youtube and then I found this forum.. It's all history from there. I now enjoy my shave time and the ritual every three-four days.

I've been fascinated by blades of all types since I could walk, pretty much, so naturally I wanted to try shaving with a straight. My first attempts didn't go so well, once my beard started to come in for real it turned out I was very prone to ingrown hairs. Eventually they got so bad all I could use was an electric that didn't really shave so much as trim close, then Remington stopped making blades for it. Re-enter straight razor and, more importantly, alum block. Now I can get a close shave without looking like a diseased freak. It takes a while, but it's worth it. So basically I came for the nostalgia and stayed for the results.

Everyone asks me "WHY!?" when I tell them. I don't know why. I was bored one day and I have a slightly addictive/collectible personality, so when I stumbled upon something that requires me to learn something AND I could collect it, I jumped all over it. How do I explain that to my girlfriend and family?

"Meh...I'm crazy/stupid. Hey, you're the one who's dating me. What's that say about you?"

The first bladed razor I ever used was the Mach3 that Gillette sent me in the mail when I turned 18. Until that time, I had been using an electric, didn't really know better. I was astonished at how much closer the Mach3 was, just using soap and water. Been addicted to wetshaving ever since.

Last year I was in Walmart buying some shave gel when I saw a little brush/bowl/soap set, and thought, "what the hell" and started using that. Much to my surprise, the vibrating Fusion I was using at the time gave a much smoother (not closer, but slicker) shave with the brushed lather. From there, I sort of got into different soaps, and then eventually found that there were modern manufacturers of straights, and took the plunge with a cheesy Dovo/Conk hone/strop/razor set.

From there it just sort of spiralled into an addiction

Why? Well, it's just cool. Straight razors are cool. Shaving with the sharpest sort of blade known to man mere millimeters from your vital blood vessels is manly and awesome. I don't care about the cartridges in landfills thing, nor am I going to delude myself that I am somehow saving money by using a straight. (Coupla hundred bucks so far THIS YEAR, and it's only Feb :-P wife is gonna kill me) Controversially, I really have not found the straight to give me a smoother shave (here come the flames) than a Gillette with a fresh cartridge and a multi-pass shave. I got BBS shaves nearly every time with a disposable, so I can't point to end-result quality as the reason, either. I just think it's cool.

I never shaved with a disposable, and looked in the mirror and said, "damn, this is fun." It was a chore. Not any more exciting or rewarding than zipping my trousers or tying my shoes... just another thing to do before I head to the office. With the straight, I look forward to shaving. It's a treat. It's a challenge. It's just plain FUN. 6 months now, and I still get a smile on my face when I start thrashing up some lather in the scuttle. I find myself planning my schedule so I can have at least half an hour to enjoy a nice leisurely shave. On days when I am too busy to get to shave, I find myself feeling disappointed.

The whole experience is fun. Honing, while repetitive, is soothing to me, sort of like cranking out ammo on a progressive press. Repetitive, but you have to pay attention or you can really hurt yourself. (anyone ever touch off a round that you inadvertently double charged? you can only make that mistake once) Stropping is a cherished ritual that requires a steady hand and a keen eye. The delightful scents of a dozen different soaps, each more exciting than the last, is a subtle thrill that can't be understood unless it's been experienced. The bracing fire of a spicy bayrum slapped on your freshly shaved cheeks is better than any kind of espresso at getting you going in the morning. The fresh smell and clean feeling you get when you walk out the door with a newly shaven and moisturized face will put more hitch in your giddyup than a fancy shirt or new shoes.

What can I say? I'm a huge shaving nerd.

I saw a statistic somewhere recently about the number of cartridges/refills that end up in the landfills...does anyone remember that number?

I'm excited about the ritual, and I love old-fashioned ways of doing things. Since I have yet to perform my first shave with a straight, I can't answer completely. But shaving with everything else sucks.

I guess the only thing unusal about myself here, is that I am in the process of switching over (or upgrading). The reasons that I have that have not been mentioned already is that I like the idea that I am doing the job the way my father, grandfather and great grand father did before me. Sort of honoring my ancestors by doing the job the way they did. I have several double edge razors that bare a striking resemblence to the razors my father and grand father used, and the straight takes the same idea and goes one generation further with the same idea. My great grandpop used a straight, saw no reason for these "new fangled things" when the straight did such a great job on him for most of his life.