Thread: Straightedge cutting vs DE blade

If your straight is properly honed, on the first pass does your razor cut the whiskers as smoothly and easily as a high quality DE blade, i.e. feather, Astra, Gillette Swede, etc. or does it tug more and not feel as smooth when cutting and take more effort to cut the whiskers? Thoughts?

Originally Posted by Garrett

If your straight is properly honed, on the first pass does your razor cut the whiskers as smoothly and easily as a high quality DE blade, i.e. feather, Astra, Gillette Swede, etc. or does it tug more and not feel as smooth when cutting and take more effort to cut the whiskers? Thoughts?

Seven months ago I would have said no way. Now I can truly say that if a straight razor is shave ready and stropped correctly an emphatic yes. The shaver needs the same prep as with the fore mentioned DEs and the technique to match but I get better shaves with a straight razor then I ever got with any DE and I have tried most of them.

Originally Posted by Garrett

If your straight is properly honed, on the first pass does your razor cut the whiskers as smoothly and easily as a high quality DE blade, i.e. feather, Astra, Gillette Swede, etc. or does it tug more and not feel as smooth when cutting and take more effort to cut the whiskers? Thoughts?

Well, even the hallowed Feather AC with a fresh blade tugs more than a DE blade, but the tugging thing is not comparable to when a DE blade tugs. A freshly sharpened traditional straight when done to my standard shaves me every bit as close as my Feather AC with a fresh blade but tugs ever so slightly more and yet, the shave itself is smoother and I'm not treading on eggshells like I do with a Feather Pro blade.

Feather DE blades when new just glide through my beard, almost zero tugging... but the edge is sharp/harsh and I have to be very careful or the shave will leave me a bit raw. I can't shave as close with a DE as I can with a straight, it has to do with the flexing of the blade... shave too close and the flexing/vibrating DE blade starts to irritate my skin. The straight razors thicker and stiffer edge resists the deformation and just glides smoothly across my face..... well... when I do my bit right, that is.

I remember that when my DE blade got dull, it started to tug painfully. I never get that with my straights, I usually just notice a decrease in shaving closeness followed by having to work more at my atg pass to get as close as I like but it's still not uncomfortable, just annoying that I have to make more strokes to get the job done. About the only time I get irritation from my straights is when I've done a crappy touchup hone or the edge is allowed to go past where I know it's starting to fail... an edge that is allowed to deteriorate past just dull tends to get jagged and harsh while requiring increased pressure to cut and that's when it gets annoying. A quick session on my coticule or Shapton 16K usually brings it right back and a finish with a Chromum pasted paddle strop smooths it right out for me. I think that's the best part about straights, I can tweak a blade to suit my face and shaving style, rather than having to search high and low for the right DE blade. Even when I found a good blade, it was only good for some of my DE razors, the others preferred something else.... Too many variables, and too many what if I can't buy this or that anymore....

I'm afraid you'll just have to take a straight for a spin yourself to answer your question. Not everyone gets along with straights, just like some can't get comfortable with DE razors or cartridge razors or electrics etc..........


Regards

Christian

Hi,

I wouldn't call it "tugging", but you get more feedback on the cutting process - acoustically and mechanically. This is even more true for the more hollower grinds, where the blade is more flexible.

As stated above, this is by no means comparable to tugging with a DE, and the result shavewise is better and closer with a straight razor.

Actually one of the things that I don't like about DEs is the lack of feedback - for me, long before there is tugging with a DE is recognizable, the quality of shaves goes south by large degrees. With a straight razor, I know with the first pass if the shave/razor sharpness is going to be ok.

Just my 2 cents,
-Axel-