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Howdy, folks.
I'm considering taking up shaving with a straight razor. I thought I'd try the disposable kind at first since they don't require so much investment in a strop and paste and a honing block and so on. However, regular disposable razors are horrible and are nothing like a cartridge razor. So can a disposable straight razor give an experience anything like a non-disposable blade or is it just as bad as other disposables?
Welcome to SRP!
I haven't used the disposable straights but I just started directly with an ordinary straight razor and it worked fine for me, I thought why get a disposable if I'm going to get the real thing anyway.
But anyway from what I've heard the feeling isn't really the same as with the real straight, and not as good as the real one.:gl:
my barber uses disposables to do edge-ups. honestly, it feels flimsy. like it lacks the sturdiness of a real razor.
I was in india a couple of years ago, and they managed to give awesome shaves with a "disposable" straight. (something like a dovo shavette) They broke DE blades in two and put them into the razor
That was actually what got me into straights
I have a Feather disposable blade straight. I find the cutting ability of the blade to be highly impressive and the overall experience of using it to be very similar in many ways to using a conventional straight.
In an objective sense, the main difference is that the blade is extremely unforgiving of sloppy technique. Press too hard and you will pay the price in the form of weepers and irritation. For me what this translates to is a need for a very light touch. This doesn't allow the Feather to cut the whisker as closely as a conventional straight does. The conventional straight tolerates a bit more pressure (relatively speaking), hence you get a closer shave. I don't notice this difference in closeness until several hours after a shave when the stubble starts to appear. The stubble shows up much faster with the Feather.
Where there is a huge difference between the two is in the subjective aspect owning and using them. I rarely find myself pulling out my Feather to admire it's beauty...and that's just what I do with some of my straights. (and I even popped for the Teak handle:rolleyes:) The process of stropping and honing is definitely time consuming, but I find it to be so in a good way. I have grown to really enjoy those aspects of using a straight. It's kind of like using a microwave versus cooking low and slow over charcoal. Which is better? Neither one, really, they are just different.
I did a bunch of research before starting down the road of shaving with a straight razor and alot of the the advice I read was start with the shavette (or a similar disposable straight). In addition to saving on the cost it allows you to focus on technique and not have to worry about up keeping the blade, your guaranteed a sharp blade every time. Now that I've had the shavette for a while I can not imagine struggling to learn the stropping and honing skills at the same time, worrying about the blade being sharp enough. Using the "disposable" has allowed me to approach just the shave, then the strop then the hone. It's been a great experience despite the brief "fight with the cat" look I had for a short period.
I've been shaving with a shavette for a little while now. My first mistake was definitely pushing too hard (even when I didn't think I was). One of the best pieces of advice was to focus on whisker reduction and not elimination. It should take multiple passes to get that clean shave. Another good piece of advice was to only tackle the sides to being with and progress slowly before getting to the difficult areas like the chin. I got alot of help from the DVD "world of straight razor shaving" by Lynn ABRAMS in this regard. It's avialable in the classified here: World Of Straight Razor Shaving DVD - Straight Razor Place Classifieds
Good luck,
A
Bill S could not have said it better!Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill S
I started Str8 Razor Shaving with a Feather, and I don't regret it a bit. It taught me how to shave with respect for the edge and to not press. Yes, you will go to a regular straight eventually, and everything that Bill S says will come true, but if you invest in the Feather system, you can sell it for almost what you originally bought it for. The resale on them is very good!
You'll be fine either way you go! :tu
Steve
Wow, that is some great feedback! Thanks to all who responded. I'll be starting with a Dovo shavette!
Good choice. Another good thing about starting with a shavette is if you try it and find its too time consuming or you just dont like it you wont be out a lot of money. That happend to someone I lent my shavette to, he liked the shave but didnt like waking up earlier and decided it wasnt for him without wasting money. Good luck!
I started with a shavette just to try if shaving with a straight was something for me. as said earlier the shavette is very unforgiving and sharp. I also looked like I had been fighting the cat. especialy on the difficult areas around the mouth. the cuts were not deep and heeled in a couple of days but they were not pretty.
The shave was pretty close for a newb with a straight. (better than my first shave with a real straight that I didnt strop enough)
here are my points:
pro's
++not expensive
+close shave
+dont have to worry about the sharpness of the razor
+dont need a strop
+dont need a hone
++you will learn to be easy on the razor real quick(see cons)
cons
--very unforgiving. If you have the wrong angle you will bleed. if you move the wrong way.. you will bleed .If you stretch your skin while the blade is on it.. you will bleed. too much pressure and it will burn.
-you will mis out on stropping.. I love stropping..
-it feels flimsy
--the shave is not as comfortable as with a real straight..
of course this was just my experrience... and I have learned. I would deffinetely prefer the shavette on vacation.
Maarten
I purchased a featherlite disposable a few months ago. When trying out a new razor for the first time, I think that it is nearly impossible not to cut yourself several times. It is insanely sharp. i don't think that angle or touch matters all that much because it really doesn't seem to matter how light or how perfect your angle is sometimes. I try to get things as close as i can get it and comparatively to what it is with my mach five razor and that is when i get into trouble.. but i really can't stand not having a close shave. After it is used several times it is much better. But I think that I may have to make the switch to a regular non disposable as it will not be as sharp and I will be able to get a close shave.
that is true, but I don't experience these problems after the razor has been used a few times. I get a pretty darn close shave then, comparable to the mach 5. no hairs. And where I experience the problem is when i go for the second pass up and against the grain. if there is a better way, and it takes time for that, then I guess I will see. however like I said, when it has been used a few times I don't get this problem as much.. still a few nicks here and there but not like when it is new. i also wonder if people are as much of a stickler as me. does everyone go back against the grain? do others also try and make it so that they can't feel any stubble at all? if that is the case with most people, and I only have to keep getting better at it than i already am, then that is definitley heartening!Quote:
When you are starting out, nicks are to be expected, even with a traditional straight and starting out, you may most likely end up nicking yourself while you learn this new form of shaving, which is completely different to the old one where you put a 20 blade cartridge shaver to your face and it does all the work.
As for the angle and the touch it does matter. Having a correct angle means you are less likely to nick yourself, and a light touch helps when you don't get the right angle and nick yourself, it won't be too deep.
I occasionally shave with a disposable blade straight when I am in a hurry coz it saves time. Now that I am more experienced, I no longer nick myself.
Straight shaving takes time and patience.
When I first started with a straight I didn't do to well. I didn't know if there was something wrong with my razor, or if it was my technique. This time around I bought a heap of these cheap disposables. The label say it is a Sayuri. They cost me 5 baht each (which is about 1/6th of a USD). This way I knew if it didn't work it was my technique. Then when I was happy with the result I switched back to my Dovo.
The straight is a world better than the disposable, but great thing about the disposable it eliminating a variable when you are learning.
Well I dont nick myself anymore with the shavette after about two months and realy get a BBS with it.. so hang in there you will be fine..
With me it was just a matter of shaving angle, pressure (none is better so dont try so hard) and wrong movements with the face and/or razor.
I do share the experience that the first shave with a new blade is even more unforgiving than the next shaves...
Maarten
I agree with kljr and bill s.
Its flimsiness will get you cut if you use pressure, but it cuts hair much effortlessly, sharper.
I got one to try to see if i liked cut throats before going the whole hog.
Not that much different. I had one where you snapped double edged blades in half.