IS STRAIGHT RAZOR SHAVING FOR ME?

Is straight razor saving for me?

Hey guys,

I'm 23 yrs old and I became interested in straight razors because I like the tradition and art of shaving "the old fashion" way. I would lie if I didn't disclose that I also want to do it because I think it is "bad ass".

I already started the process of putting my shaving stuff together, but now I wonder if straight razor shaving is for me at all.

I don't think I grow enough facial hair yet. I get a 5 o'clock shadow -well more like 8 o'clock haha- that is most prominent in the goatee area (lip brow /chin) and my neck. I also have a very soft and sensitive facial skin.

I read that straight shaving is very useful for those who get ingrown hair and razor burn... but fortunately I don't get any of those.

Should I wait until I grow older, hence growing more facial hair, or is it OK to start from now?

I have to wonder because it is big investment -at least in my book- of about $200 to $400 bucks.

Thanks,

Welcome to SRP ! At 60 years old with many years of shaving one way or another under my belt I would say go for it. You can buy a razor shave ready in the SRP classifieds for a reasonable amount. The rest of the gear like a shaving brush, soap or cream and perhaps a scuttle can be used for shaving with a DE or whatever you choose. All you really need beyond that is a strop and if you find that you don't like a straight put the razor and strop back in the classifieds and you haven't lost much. IMO there is no better way to shave. :gl:

No where near $400. certainly less than $200. Pay attention for reasonably priced shave ready razors ON THIS BOARD. I think you will get a much better razor here than on ebay. Get yourself a strop. Buy a strip of balsa and some paste. You are ready to rock and roll. The pasted balsa should keep you sharp for long enough to figure if you want to stay with it. You should be able to get all this for around $100.

If you decide you like it you can upgrade slowly but incrementaly and get some hones.

By the way it is not bad ass, it is WAY bad ass.

Welcom to SRP!

As mentioned above all you really need is a razor and a good strop, Tony Miller comes to mind, but there are others out there too, the brush&soap&creams can be used with DE or even a cartridge razor. So it should be possible to keep the startup cost fairly low, the balsa setup with paste mentioned above should keep you in business for a long time, and by the time your razor needs to be honed, you should have been able to make up your mind if this is something you want to do, and then start looking into honing and getting a second or third razor.

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Originally Posted by Preussen555

I have to wonder because it is big investment -at least in my book- of about $200 to $400 bucks.

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I have to say that I can't speak for the quality of the items in this package because I won't have mine until Wednesday, and I would have nothing to compare them to; however, you might want to check this out. Based on what I've read, the razor in that set is a good quality one and great for a beginner, plus, the entire package (that I got) came to $192 shipped. (I upgraded to the 6/8 razor and got the pre-honed option, which, by the way, Lynn does the honing for them.)

Hi Preussen555

I also have a very light beard at 34 and I found that a straight works great on a light beard.
especialy when you dont shave every day and the hairs that you do have get a bit longer. The longer hairs are terrible if you shave them electric(done that and it feels like the shaver janks them out and the hairs get stuck) and shaving them with a cardridge tends to flatten them and shaving them in stead of lifting them and then shaving them... on the first pass and the second gets better.

A straight just cuts the longer hairs without a problem. Although is shave almost everyday now because I love it.

I've been shaving with a straight for a month now and my skin never felt better. I used to have some agnee (not very bad but some) and thats gone now.. I dont now if its the blade, the soap (I used to use caned goo.. and yes it is not the best a man can get) or the time I take for cleaning up and rinisng with cold water afterwards but its GOOOOOD..

Have fun!

Maarten

Would you be willing to practice a song on the piano until you got it right? If so, then straight shaving could be for you.

If you get a 5 o'clock shadow at 8 pm I suggest you shave around 7:30 . . . :D

Welcome to SRP. Yes go ahead and start now. As far as the cost think about the disposables you will be throwing away. That money is down the drain. The razors will last a lifetime and you would be able to sell them for what you paid for them. Shaving with a straight is one of the pleasures in life that we can do until we die. I wish I started when I was your age. Go ahead and get started and let us know how it is going.

bj

Welcome to SRP!! Yeah, go for it. Even if you find it isn't for you the only things that won't be of much use when you go back to your other razor are the strop and straight razor. You can sell those in the classifieds. I was using shave soap and a nice brush prior to starting with straights. Besides the classified, you can check with Kenrup (a member here) who sells starter sets. Look in the Vendor's Corner forum at the bottom.

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Originally Posted by Preussen555

I don't think I grow enough facial hair yet. I get a 5 o'clock shadow -well more like 8 o'clock haha- that is most prominent in the goatee area (lip brow /chin) and my neck. I also have a very soft and sensitive facial skin.

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this is exactly why i wanted to start straight shaving. maybe it sounds weird but i only shave 2 to 3 times per week so i thought "why not make them the best shave i can get". now that i realize how much i enjoy shaving with a straight even if i had to shave everyday i would still use one. the shaves are great and learning the skills and perfecting them is something i really enjoy.

i think AFDavis11 has it right on with the comparison to music. i wouldn't think twice about loads of time practicing a SRV song on guitar, but some people would. i guess it depends what type of person you are.

Hey guys,

Thank you for your replies. All of them well very helpful and original to say the least.

The price of my package is kind of high because I literally fell in love with two stainless steal Dovo Razors.

One of them being the Dovo Ivory Micarta, 5/8" Stainless Steel Straight Razor and the other the Dovo Perlex, 5/8" Stainless Steel Straight Razor. I had chosen a cheap small pure badger Vulfix brush (25 bucks or so), but the gentleman at the store advised me to get instead a Rooney silvertip small brush worth about 80 bucks. On top of that I have to get the Dovo Russian leather strop, and I already got the nice Dovo leather traveling case for the two razors as I will be going overseas soon.

I'm buying 90% of the items described above from one of the companies that advertises on this website, and I have done plenty of research when it comes down to prices.

I feel encouraged by all your replies and now I'm eager to try shaving with a straight razor!

Best,

Preussen555

PS: Any advices and/or opinions are ALWAYS well received by me... so if you think I'm wasting my money please feel free to beat some sense into my head! Figuratively... or course! haha

Thank you for the tip Michael... I'm using that company to get some of my supplies too!

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Originally Posted by Preussen555

Thank you for the tip Michael... I'm using that company to get some of my supplies too!

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My razor arrives today... I'm really excited about trying it out for the first time. I'll post and let everyone know how it goes. Maybe I'll get my wife to take pictures.

Oh, and I loved the Pearlex as well... but decided to wait on getting a nice looking razor. There are so many I love... but my favorite is WELL out of my price range. I figured I'll learn with the cheap razor, then upgrade in a year or two when I've got it down.

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Originally Posted by OLD_SCHOOL

I am tempted to say, that at 23 if you don't have full facial hair, chances are you won't get anymore. But each person and beard is different, so who knows.

Better to start while your still young, and before you get too attached to that contraption, known as a Fusion, that has about 70 blades in one cartridge now. ;)

A others mentioned, check BST, plenty of good deals to be had. You can get a decent setup for much less, than what you think you may "have" to pay.

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Spot on, that's the picture!

Hello, Preussen555...
First of all, you'll see that str8 shaving is hell of a hobby/obsession... :D
You'll literally want to try out everything you see or hear about...
But first things first...
You already saw that SRP gives you a very good background when it comes to any aspect of either preparations, shaving or the things that come after shaving...
I'd like to give you a tip on aftershaves, since I have also very sensitive skin...
Go to your local pharmacy and buy a large tube of 99,9% or pure Aloe Vera gel (I paid around 10$ for 250 mL)...
So, after your shaving and cold water splashing, use a clean towel to dry your skin a bit and then gently rub Aloe Vera gel over shaved areas... Repeat the process 2 times, and they you can put a double-distilled spirit over your face and it won't sting or burn a bit...
I can tell you that Aloe Vera does a pretty good job...:)

Yes, it's for you. Your statement, "it's badass" confirms it.

Now, spend 60 times as much effort to study up on how to hone, strop, and shave with a straight as you did on cost and equipment.

How funny. I bought the same two razors when I first started. Very good choices!! Mine are still in my shaving rotation many razors later. Make sure to have them prehoned, it is well worth it in the long run.

Enjoy and be patient, it is one of my favorite ways to relax and spend a few minutes pampering myself. you will find yourself looking forward to the ritual of SRS.

Spend some time on these message boards, they are INCREDIBLE sources of info. Every question you have or can come up with is covered.

Good luck and great shaving!!

Cool deal fellaz,

Right now I'm about to place the order for my razors... but I have a question.

Do I really need to hone my razor before using it for the first time? I ask because a gentleman from Classic Wet Shaving Safety and Straight Razors, Brushes, Soaps and Creams told me not to bother to buy a hone just yet. He told me that Dovo razors come already ready to use, and that all I needed for the first 6 months or so is the strop.

However, other gentlemen like the owner of Vintage Blades have told me that I need to hone it before using it.

Sooo... what is it? I have read in the forum that people say you must hone your razors before using them for the first time, but many others have point me in the opposite direction.

At the beginning, I'm just planning to use the straight razor once or twice a week only while I get the hang of it.

If I hone it, should I do it myself or pay someone to do it?

For a hone I'm planning to buy a synthetic #8000 Japanese stone, as prescribed by razor central (abrasion, introduction). Would a Northern Mountain suffice if I can't find the Japanese one?

Thanks,

;)

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Originally Posted by jjpharris

How funny. I bought the same two razors when I first started. Very good choices!! Mine are still in my shaving rotation many razors later. Make sure to have them prehoned, it is well worth it in the long run.

Enjoy and be patient, it is one of my favorite ways to relax and spend a few minutes pampering myself. you will find yourself looking forward to the ritual of SRS.

Spend some time on these message boards, they are INCREDIBLE sources of info. Every question you have or can come up with is covered.

Good luck and great shaving!!

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Thank you! I'm glad I'm that off-target.

Go for it!

IMHO, I have gotten great results with a 220/1000 norton for bevel setting. (which you wont need with a prehoned razor), a norton 4k/8k and a chinese 15k. The follow Lynn's honing pyramid when stropping doesn't work and things get dull, and you will be set.

I have found the stainless razors need a few more strokes on the hones. Not sure why but it is true.

The Nortons are around $75 and the large chinese can be had for around $40. (they need to be lapped which is no prob)Unless of course you want the more expensive stuff, (eschers, coticles, thuringians) then the sky's the limit.

Hope this helps,

welcome to srp if you use the srp classifieds you should be able to come in under $200 eith some good equipment

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Preussen555

Cool deal fellaz,

Right now I'm about to place the order for my razors... but I have a question.

Do I really need to hone my razor before using it for the first time? I ask because a gentleman from Classic Wet Shaving Safety and Straight Razors, Brushes, Soaps and Creams told me not to bother to buy a hone just yet. He told me that Dovo razors come already ready to use, and that all I needed for the first 6 months or so is the strop.

However, other gentlemen like the owner of Vintage Blades have told me that I need to hone it before using it.

Sooo... what is it? I have read in the forum that people say you must hone your razors before using them for the first time, but many others have point me in the opposite direction.

At the beginning, I'm just planning to use the straight razor once or twice a week only while I get the hang of it.

If I hone it, should I do it myself or pay someone to do it?

For a hone I'm planning to buy a synthetic #8000 Japanese stone, as prescribed by razor central (abrasion, introduction). Would a Northern Mountain suffice if I can't find the Japanese one?

Thanks,

;)

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Hi Preussen, I'm a newbie too and I haven't bought anything yet, but here's what I've seen advised over and over again:

1) YES, you need your razor honed before you shave, UNLESS it's already honed by someone skilled in honing (prehoned by the manufacturer still needs honed)
2) The honing should be done by a "honemeister" (someone skilled in honing), not you yet.
3) You shouldn't buy your own honing gear if your a beginner, but you might want to once you get more into straight razor shaving.

Again, this is just my newbie research, so I could be wrong, but I read #1 and #2 all over this board section.

Hey JCW thank you for the tips. I'm still deciding which hone to buy, and yeah I agree that we newbies shouldn't try to hone our first razor. I'm leaning towards the Kitayama 12,000 grid stone.

Cheers,

Preusse555

go to your local antique store or buy a old carbon steel razor off the bay to practice honing on that way if you destroy the blade you are not out a lot of money :gl: