Thread: Why a Straight Razor

• Saw someone onscreen shaving with a straight razor.
• Thought "I wonder what it's like to shave with those. I wonder if I could do it. I really must try it."
• Did nothing about it for years.
• One day was browsing on Web researching best replacements and suppliers for existing shaving kit (electric and cartridge shavers.) Discovered B&B and SRP websites in the process. And Mantic59's YouTube videos.
• Realised that not only is it easy to buy DE and straight razor gear, but there is a ton of good advice on how to make the change.
• Replacing the cartridges with a DE was a no-brainer (cheaper AND better.) Getting a straight was more for fun - fulfilling my earlier wish to try it.
• Enjoyed using the straight so much I haven't used anything else since.

I think many people are following the same path, but they are stuck on the "doing nothing about it" stage. Poor souls.

Originally Posted by Robert1988

Well, it was a mixture of my love towards traditional way of doing things and my growing repulsion towards the Mach III and expensive replacement cartridges...

Then I found SRP...

And I became obsessed...

Same basic story here.

In more detail:

• I've always been a "knife guy" to a degree.
• I've always thought straight razors were dead sexy and bad@ss.
• I've always found it amusing when people get the heebie-jeebies at the thought of a straight razor.
• I like the old ways of doing things.
• I like vintage stuff.
• I like "sticking it" to the megacorps like Gillette.
• I love the wealth of info here at SRP!

because I am tired of paying over $16.00 for a pack of eight cartridges. It makes no sense to me, given there is a good alternative, to spend $2 plus for a single cartridge no matter the number of blades.

There is an initial investment to get into the str8 game (brush, good soap, strop, razor and maybe a hone) and a learning curve. I am not "there" yet, but I believe the end result will be worth it in more ways than one.

And, once I get there, I intend to start spreading the word about straight razors.

Originally Posted by GeauxLSU

I refuse to be bested by a machine!

Well said that man

Mark

Originally Posted by GeauxLSU

I've always preferred "old." Mechanical watches, cars with carbs, phones with bells... This was a natural progression. Definitely a learning curve. Besides, I refuse to be bested by a machine!

I work in high-tech, IC design, but like some old stuff. I've got mechanical watches, traditional espresso machine (as well as a moca pot for the stovetop) and now a straight razor. All my tech toys are fully loaded though, but there's nothing like playing games on the ps3 on a 50" plasma while having a nice espresso and stroking my shaved cheeks. That sounds a bit disturbed, but I claim innocense due to being a non-native English speaker.

Why a straight razor? I guess it just fits my personality. My motorcycle is a 1984 Honda XR600L enduro. Would I like a new bike? Sure, but nobody makes a big single anymore with a kick start. I just gave away two chainsaws. I hate the damn things. Stinky and noisy. I'd rather do my woods cleanup with my Snow & Neeley axes. Rifles? I favor the single shots and my last deer I took with a muzzleloader. Automatic transmission? You gotta be kidding me. I've owned several canoes, never owned a motorboat. I love to cross country ski. Have no use for snowmobiles. I started carrying a pocket knife when I joined the Cub Scouts, age 8. Made Eagle when I was 17. I know how to sharpen a knife and an axe. Now I'm learning to sharpen a straight razor. Nothing could feel more right.

My initial motivation was money -- over a lifetime, cartridges are disgustingly expensive.

Then I think I followed a typical noob pattern; researched, read SRP and watched YouTube videos, ditched the aerosol goo for good cream and a brush, then went for the gusto and bought a strop and a razor.

Shaving was an unenjoyable, mindless chore before -- now I look forward to it. It'll probably be a long while before I've actually saved any money, but it's much easier to justify that cost on something that will last decades instead of weeks.

Bonuses; I now use an heirloom razor (great grandather's blade), my tiny collection looks cool in our bathroom, people are usually interested in straight shaving in conversation, and it has that masculine, Mad Men nostalgic feel.

Like many, it was the initial idea of cost savings for me. I actually thought one razor and a strop would be my only investment. 100+ razors later...it's sometimes funny to think this is my hobby now.

Finding SRP really sealed the deal for me though. This site is just as inspiring for me as everything else that goes along with the hobby. Actually I can't separate SRP from any part of the hobby.

Everything about it appeals to me. It's a ritual that I enjoy more and more each day. If I'm not having a breakthrough shaving, I'm having one honing, or restoring. I love a hobby with a lot of depth to it.

I guess this is a good time to say thanks to everyone here.

I just like old fashioned things. reel mowers, fountain pens, etc. harder to use, but once you master them, ultimately better. so that's how i got into it. and, much like fountain pens, et al, it's FUN.

Lynn,

Long ago and far away...

Actually it was long ago, somewhere in the vicinity of 50 years, and 350 miles or so up to Grandma and Grandpa's farm where I watched Grandpa shave with his straight razor. I was fascinated by the process. A few years later on another visit to the farm, I learned that Grandpa had broken the scales on his razor so I offered to make some new ones for him and took his razor home with me. The new scales (I didn't know what they were called then) I made from a walnut scrap in Dad's basement shop with rivets and burrs I made from some copper wire. I mailed it off when I finished and got a nice letter from Grandpa thanking me for the repair job. My Dad said when I received the letter that this was something special as Grandpa was not a correspondent.

I bought a straight razor for myself when I was in my teens as I had visited a barber supply shop to look for an old razor(s) I could grind into a whittling knife. The owner of the shop brought out a box full of new razors which were badly corroded from fumes released by their handles and I got 3 or 4 for little or no money. If I remember, they were Christensen wedges and made wonderful whittlers. My first razor was a Black Diamond, which I still have. I had a chunk of an old mirror that I squared up, framed, and hung up in the basement close to my room. My first shave was OK so I kept with it until I went into the Army.

As to why I shave with a straight, I don't have a clue. Although, it seems that I have an affinity for old stuff or it collects around me. My lawnmower is a 37 year old Lawnboy; my vacuum cleaner is a Hoover that belonged to my city grandmother and dates back to the 30's; and my favorite hone is a coticule which Howard says dates back about 400 million years. Ain't nostalgia swell?