If you transitioned from a double edge to a straight, why did you make the transition?
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If you transitioned from a double edge to a straight, why did you make the transition?
I belonged to B&B forum and kept reading about the good shaves with a straight and they had pictures of those nice looking razors so I had to give it a try. I also remember my grandfather shaving with one. He was 90 years old and his hand would shake and I wondered how he could shave without cutting himself. I also think it is the coolest man thing you can do.
bj
I always wanted to learn, since I was first shaving- they were the ultimate since they were so "dangerous" and unusual. A Paki blade that couldn't even remove the cream from skin was the first attempt.....several years later i tried again with the help of B&B and our wonderful community here... and here I am....
It's more fun, more relaxing, and to me more rewarding, since it is a 'dying' art that we, the few are continuing.
What they said
I got into it because of my father. When I started the DE thing, I was asking him if he still had any of his old DE razors. He taught me to shave with a DE 40 years ago or so. He said he had since gotten rid of them, but, he told me a story about returning from WWII and he had developed an interest in using a straight because while in Italy, he had seen all of the locals using them, and had many barber shave while there. When he got back to Arkansas, he went to the old home barber and bought 2 straights and had the barber hone them for him.
He put the razors away and never shaved with it because he just could not work up the nerve. He rummaged around and found them and presented them to me, along with a strop and barbers hone. All NOS and never used.
Well I am proud to say, that one of the razors was still shave ready, and after stropping, it is now my daily shaver! The other had a tiny nick, and is now on the way to one of our fine honemeisters to be added to my daily rotation.
Randy
It is the never-ending quest for the ultimate shave. There is something about wanting to master a razor that requires skill, attention to detail and proper razor prep. Plus my AD needed another avenue to grow. :D
I've given this a lot of thought since I've been shaving this way (Oct 2007) and although there are components that I can identify that are appealing/rewarding (pursuing the mastery of this art, the challenge, the great shaves, the slower pace, etc) , there is still a lot of the allure for me that I can't really put my finger on and can only say that in some ways I think it satisfies a base level desire to manipulate something that really shouldn't be handled (razor sharp piece of potentially dangerous steel). The blade really does command respect and some level of awe. Like fire in a way. You just can't get that with any other type of shaver. I've said it before (pre-crash) that every time I bring the blade up to my cheek just prior to the first pass, there's the little rush. I can't say there are any other daily routine activities that give me that consistently.
Cool stuff.
Chris L
Why do you think? Because shaving with a face axe is friggen cool.
Napoleon, is that you?:D:DQuote:
Originally Posted by 1adam12
I seem to be hard wired to have to do things different than the other 99%.
For me a DE just doesn't have the same personality a straight has.
No, mine don't talk to me! Much...:p
And who doesn't like a good strop?
I originally did it just because it seemed like something fun. After having successfully done it a while now, I stick with it because I like the skills and, most importantly, it gives a better shave than does a DE.
Shaving my head and face with a 1 ton merkur and a assortment of blades ranging from Merkur Super , Gillette Platinum, Derby and my favorite Feather to name a few. You tend want to try something new. Having had straight razor shaves from barbers with feather disposables, it's a great change of pace. Now it's time to do it myself. That's all really.
I wrote a longer version of this in another thread, but the short of it is that I've got very thick facial hair and a DE just didn't cut it (pun intended). I figured going straight might mean I don't look stubbly right after I shave. So far, it's worked pretty well.
There is a certain degree of skill involved in shaving with a safety razor. There is a much larger degree of skill involved in shaving with a straight razor. There is an even larger degree of skill involved in creating and keeping an edge worth shaving with. It's the natural progression. We all have acquisition disorders, learning new skills is just one of them.
As a newb who hasn't made the full transition yet(I have the blade, I just need the honing and a strop) I did it because of the allure of shaving with a blade that won't be in my trash can in a week. I like the idea that this piece of metal wasn't simply stamped from a sheet but hand worked into a fine instrument. I don't know if it's a newbie thing but I find myself just staring at the blade sometimes.
Double Edge took the expense out of shaving, but I wanted to have a blade I'd never have to replace.
Which is pointless, because I just bought a bunch.
Turned into a hobby and all that.
DE's are great, but there's just an allure to using a permanent blade I maintain myself.
Everyone else has pretty much nailed it. I've always been fascinated with straights, but was too scared of them to actually give it a shot. DEs are great, and I don't think I'll completely stop using them, but there's something about the ritual of a straight shave that's even more alluring.
I think everybody else summed it up perfectly...plus, I like a challenge.
And, not to be heretical, but I still use a DE on occasion
When I decided to move away from disposables my original intent was to use a straight, but at the time my college budget didn't allowed me to do so, thats why I decided to start with a DE, so for me using a DE was only a temporarily stage, I knew that eventually I would move to straights.
Well I changed over to DEs because of a MAJOR sensitivity issue that developed. In my search for a way to shave that wouldn't cause my face to freak I found DEs and "wet shaving". I had had a interest in it some time ago but never took it up. So given the excuse that normal shaving was ruining my face I jumped at DEs. After I mastered(?) DE shaving I found that conversations about straights kept pulling me more and more. Finally I just decided to go for it and after a couple of months researching I started. I have now honed a Antique store find and gotten 1 16 hour BBS shave. I figure thats good enough for my first month....I find that now that I have experienced shaving with a straight what drew me is much what others have said. The desire to master something that is more of an art form than a necessity. I had figured out DEs and straights were just ...oh I hate saying it but...cooler, more masculine. Straight shaving is primal more basic, grounded "Zen"....While DE shaving I thought I was concentrating....lol . I find that shaving now is more like when I am setting a large stone. The concentration levels are intense. ....
I used to be one of those skiers that you see going over the cliffs way out of bounds, climbing the mountain to get fresh tracks. Now I get my thrills in a more sedate setting....lol
Most of already stated the reasons. I have always been fascinated with barbers and knew that I would eventually make the switch. So I jumped in pretty quickly after starting with a DE. Plus, they are really, really, really cool. :D
I've been shaving exclusively with a straight for the past 2-3 weeks. I was in a hurry this morning, so I grabbed the trusty slim adjustable, and shaved faster and closer than a mach3 shave, plus no nicks or razor burn, which I tend to get even with a DE. I never tried to shave that quickly with a de before because of that reason, but I guess it seemed mighty tame after shaving with an exposed blade in my hand for a few weeks :D
-Brian
I switch because a straight is way higher on the machismo scale than a de and not many people can do it.
I can relate to Friggin Joe's reason. I started because I thought it would be cheaper than buying blades just to throw them away. HAH!
I've always wondered about them, but having had some REALLY crappy wet shaves in the past, I just gave up on wet shaving... then I found B&B.. got a de, then got a straight... and now I shave better with a straight than with any other method. That's enough for me to keep doing it
i have yet to shave with a straight, recently purchased a nice sharp one though thanks gssixgun. as i get older i find i like the best things in life and one of those is a good close shave with no irritation. i am currently using a DE but with the options out there i feel i am shorting myself by going through all the trial and error of each blade. and besides whats cooler than shaving with a straight?