Thread: Looking for comments and opinions

Hi all,

Before I did much research, I went to The Art of Shaving store and bought some soap and, under the advice of the sales guy, I bought the DOVO shavette, to try it out before I invested in a good quality straight razor.

My first attempt, I'm embarrassed to say, I cut my face up to a bloody pulp. But by my third shave, I only made a tiny nick on my upper lip. I still have a way to go but think this is something I'll enjoy and stick with.

I'd like to solicit your comments and opinions on where I'm headed.

1)
The way I envision this turning out, is that my daily routine I'll use a DE safety razor (probably a Merkur Futur), and on the days I have time I'll treat myself and take my time with a straight razor shave. Is this a common approach to shaving? Do many of you do that here?

2)
I like some of the sets out there, and like the idea of all my stuff on a stand for display. But I've only seen couple of stands that hold both straight and DE razors. If DE/straight razor use was fairly common, I would've expected to see more stands for them. How do you guys store your razors and brushes?
http://www.classicshaving.com/catalo...412/338006.htm
http://www.classicshaving.com/catalo...12/4514112.htm

3)
I like the idea of maintaining the razor and using a strop, but prefer to leave the honing to the experts and just send it away a couple of times a year. I know this is up to the individual, but I guess I just wanted to throw it out there and get a feel of who does this, at least from those who respond to this post.

4)
From what I've read I should probably go with a carbon steel blade?

Thanks for any responses!
Euge

Euge,

I would be inclined to say that most of us here shave with
a straight razor exclusively, or nearly so. Once you get the
hang of it it's tough to go to back to the DE. A traditional
straight will give you a great shave, leave your face feeling
smooth but not irritated, and instill you with a feeling of
accomplishment and nostalgia.

I personally do not use any stands, the counter works just
fine. If you end up with quite a collection like some of the
guys here... well they just don't make stands that big.

Shaving and stropping both take a lot of practice and learn-
ing, so why not take the time to hone as well? If you had
a pair of inexpensive (but sharp) razors, you should be able
to avoid pain and frustration in trying to learn all three tech-
niques at once. However, if you decide honing is not for you,
spend the extra money and get 3-4 razors so you won't
be too inconvenienced when you need to ship one out for
honing. Alternatively, you should be able to keep a razor
shave-ready sharp indefinitely with a pasted paddle strop.

I wouldn't limit your search to carbon steel blades, just buy
one that you want that is shave-ready and at a good price.

Good luck!

- Scott

Originally Posted by sebell

Euge,

I would be inclined to say that most of us here shave with
a straight razor exclusively, or nearly so. Once you get the
hang of it it's tough to go to back to the DE. A traditional
straight will give you a great shave, leave your face feeling
smooth but not irritated, and instill you with a feeling of
accomplishment and nostalgia.

I personally do not use any stands, the counter works just
fine. If you end up with quite a collection like some of the
guys here... well they just don't make stands that big.

Shaving and stropping both take a lot of practice and learn-
ing, so why not take the time to hone as well? If you had
a pair of inexpensive (but sharp) razors, you should be able
to avoid pain and frustration in trying to learn all three tech-
niques at once. However, if you decide honing is not for you,
spend the extra money and get 3-4 razors so you won't
be too inconvenienced when you need to ship one out for
honing. Alternatively, you should be able to keep a razor
shave-ready sharp indefinitely with a pasted paddle strop.

I wouldn't limit your search to carbon steel blades, just buy
one that you want that is shave-ready and at a good price.

Good luck!

- Scott

WHAT HE SAID....

Hmmm . . . well ideally this would be nice, but I can't imagine that a 3 pass straight razor shave would be as fast as a 1 or 2 pass DE shave, even once I get pretty good at it.

Granted, I wouldn't expect the end result to be the same, but most mornings I don't have the time, and would be willing to sacrifice quality to get out the door quicker.

I find that the time difference between using my straight and a DE is the small bit of extra time I use to strop. Since I strop just after applying lather that bit of time gives the lather time to work on the beard and makes for a better shave. I doubt that the whole stropping thing adds more than 2-3 minutes to the process.

Edit: Also, who says that you have to do a 3 pass straight shave. Many here are satisfied with 2 on workdays.

I also started out with the shavette. It wasn't long before I broke all my DE blades in half to use in my shavette and shoved my DE razor to the back of the drawer. I reached the point where a two pass shave with the Shavette was as fast or faster than a DE shave (you don't have to rinse as often) and closer to boot.

Now after quite a while with a regular straight, I find it more forgiving and comfortable then the shavette was as well as leaving less razor burn behind. It takes about thirty seconds for me to do a quick stropping which I get done while awaiting the hot water for my shower.

Of course if Quality doesn't matter all that much you could shave the night before and take your time every day to really enjoy it.

Odds are you will get a carbon steel blade, they are the most common. The type of steel is usually only mentioned if it isn't carbon steel. If you are going to send it out for honing anyway it really doesn't matter what type of steel it is, the greatest difference is noticed during the honing process, and if you aren't doing this...

Wildtim,

Thanks for your input. That helps a lot. I found that the shavette can have different cartridges, and just received the green one that holds the longer single edge Fromm blades. I'm going to try that out this weekend.

I'll likely get a carbon steel straight razor, since Scott's comments have convinced me that I might as well learn to hone as well. I'll just get Lynn's DVD, and make sure to buy one that is shave ready and honed by one of the honemeisters.

When you do a 2 pass straight razor shave, what do you do on the second pass? XTG or ATG?

Fists pass WTG the second XTG I only go ATG if I want it really close, closer than BBS all over. I only do that for Valentines or my anniversery etc. Ther is sometimes a touch of razor burn when I go this close. A sunday shave is two passes with ATG touch ups if needed, even then the touch up is rare. Weekday shaves are two passes only, I could get away with one but I enjoy shaving too much and haveing smooth cheeks through the entire day is nice.

Sorry for the newbie question, but this is the newbie forum, right? I was able to figure out what WTG, XTG, and ATG stood for, but what does BBS stand for? Its too short a word to do a search.

Baby Butt Smooth