WOW, the one word that describes everything!

I am 24 years old and my facial hair is spotty at best but where it does grow in its semi thick :| . I was getting tired of spending the money on mach 3's and the like and suffering with skin irritation, you know.. where it feels like someone poured kerosene on your face. So after a few weeks of reading this site and others i decided to take the plunge into straight razor shaving, i purchased a dovo shavette (disposable blade razor) just to see if it would work with me and my schedule.

Yesterday i received my new razor and some shaving creme (i didn't purchase a brush or bowl or anything because i didn't know if i would stick with it.) So as soon as i received it i decided to try it out...I had shaved about 3 hours before with my mach 3.. i was terrified of the blade, i could feel it skipping and was considering packing my bags ahead of time for an extended hospital stay.. i nicked myself once. The shave was so much closer and cleaner even considering i just shaved a few hours prior with a mach 3.. it was insane how close it was!

Today i woke up and watched a few video's on youtube.. whoops i had been holding the razor as if i was performing surgery.. my angles were all wrong too. so much for the research i had done prior to purchasing the razor :(.. i took a shower and decided to give it another shot with the proper holding techniques i just learned.. wow.. what a difference, blade didn't skip about or anything, was easy as pie. did not even knick myself once! The shave is even closer! Only thing i am having issues with is my chin i do not feel as im getting it close enough so i go over and over it. Its hard for me to look in the mirror and do a second pass either across or against the grain.

Now after my 6 pages of excitement and rambling..my question..

would a real straight edge provide a better shave than the disposable blade?

For those of you considering going the straight razor route i recommend it, although i was worried more about it taking to long i do not think it will take me that much more time than useing a safety razor.

YES! And when it comes to your chin, use smaller strokes, visualizing the contours as small flat planes and use the strokes accordingly. Sounds like you are on your way! Welcome and have fun!

Well, the "real" straight may need maintenance (honing, stropping, etc. ) that the disposable does not. The feel is also different because of the difference in weight and particular characteristics of the steel. You may also become interested in collecting or restoring which is not something that you usually hear people talk about with disposables. Do not quote me on this one but I heard (rather read) Don say that you cannot get a straight as sharp as a disposable but I could be confusing things since it was in the chat where everybody talks at the same time and it is hard to keep the conversations straight. However, it makes some sort of sense to me. I would say that if you liked the disposable, perhaps you may want to try to "real" straight. If you decide to do so, please let us know how it goes. Ah, and the chin is one of the harder parts to shave, especially if you have a cleft. I have not done mine in a long, long time...

Al raz.

for me the chin was also the most difficult nun2sharp gave you some good advice use short strokes and always be aware of your angle you will get it with a little practice :gl:

Welcome to SRP. For the first couple of weeks that I got started with a straight I continued to use a DE to get my chin and mustache. Once I felt more comfortable with it I put the DE away and haven't seen it since. No harm in doing touch ups with a DE while you're getting the hang of the straight. If you buy a straight get one pre honed. The vendors who are forum sponsors all offer that service with their razors. :gl:

With practice you can get just as close of a shave from your shavette as with a "real" straight. However, for the next month or so while you practice your technique, you'll have more consistent results since you're cutting out stropping and honing from the process. Not that you couldn't go to a straight right away, but I'd suggest sticking with the shavette for a while until you're confident in your technique and can shave as fast with the shavette as with your M3.

Plan on making the switch sometime though. While the end product of a shave from either a shavette or a straight in experienced hands is likely exactly the same, a regular straight is more enjoyable during the shaving process.