Thread: Straight or Safety razor?

Greetings to you all,

I just discovered this forum while looking for information on water stones, and became intrigued by the notion of using straight razors for shaving.

My question is a simple one (I think)

Is a straight razor shave better than a safety razor shave? If so, how much better?

I currently use a Gillette Fusion with five blades, and I am pretty happy with the results, apart from the cost of replacement blades.

From what I have read so far on this forum, a straight razor is a pretty big commitment in time and effort. So, before taking the plunge and investing the time, effort and money, I need to know if it is worth it.

Thanks in advance for your responses.

Cheers,
Rick

Originally Posted by Unclericky

Greetings to you all,

I just discovered this forum while looking for information on water stones, and became intrigued by the notion of using straight razors for shaving.

My question is a simple one (I think)

Is a straight razor shave better than a safety razor shave? If so, how much better? YES, MUCH.

I currently use a Gillette Fusion with five blades, and I am pretty happy with the results, apart from the cost of replacement blades.

From what I have read so far on this forum, a straight razor is a pretty big commitment in time and effort. So, before taking the plunge and investing the time, effort and money, I need to know if it is worth it. YES, COMPLETELY.

Thanks in advance for your responses.

Cheers,
Rick

Do it. You will either 1) love it immediately, even though there is a learning curve, your first shaves might not be too good, and you mighjt get a little nick or cut or irrititation. 2) Not love it immediately, but stick with it, then love it. or 3) Not like it, not grow to like it, or quit before you grow to like it. If you purchase your starter stuff wisely, you can sell almost all of it it to a new beginner at nearly no loss.
The shaves are AMAZING...and my favortie part (yes, even better than the shaves), is the fact that it took something that was a chore I had to do every day and turned it into a joy, and an enjoyable hobby, fun and luxurious products that I GET TO use EVERY DAY, in time that has become MINE again, time that I can breathe deeply, calm down (safer that way!), and focus on the day ahead.

Well...

There is a larger up front investment with Straight edge over Double Edge safety razors.

but...and thisis a big but... If you dont go nuts and just stick to 2 razors, a strop, barber hone for touchups. You will be good for life, just send out your razors if you bump the sink or something for honing.

You can get very good shaves from either.

the only person who may have an idea whether this way of doing it is worth trying out is you.
if you're looking for a cheaper alternative a safety razor (the one with the double edge blades) is not terribly expensive. replacement blades cost $0.10-$0.50 as opposed to few dollars for a cartridge.
razor, strop, hone would cost you somewhere in $100-$300, depending on what is important to you.

I am a new straight shaver myself so I do not know much in the way of straight razors, although I do have one of my own. I have been using a safety razor for years. The way I think of it is that the straight razor will cost a lot more in the short term but will coast less in the long term simply becuase you need not buy anything additional ever. The double edge removes the ability to sharpen the blade so you need to keep buying hence it will cost more.

I still use a DE when traveling on short trips.

Other than shave prep. Learning to use a DE will not help you learn to use a straight and vice versa.

If you want to start out with a DE then get your butt over to B & B!

Just kidding Rick, welcome to SRP! The others have already given some good advice from a starting point of view. All I can tell you is that if you have the itch to try a straight razor the itch will never go away until you give in to curiosity. If it's not for you it's easy enough to recoup your losses, especially on the classifieds.

which has more attraction to you?

I think we can pretty much accept that the shaves they give are more or less on a par, there are guys who love their DEs and have absolutely no interest in straight razors and vice versa.

I would deffo go the route that holds the most attraction to you. Personally DEs scare the crap out of me and straight razors are cool.

If you want to ease into the arena try a Gem or EverReady. They are considered SEs or Single Edge Blades. They have a couple of advantages.

1 - you really do not have to search for the "perfect" blade to match the razor as most have to do with DEs or double edge razors like Gillettes.

2 - SEs operated similar to a str8 in that you still need to watch the stretching, and the prep.

3 - The blades are stiffer than a DE so the shave, IMHO, is better.

4 - Price, SEs are not particularly looked for on the Bay or in the Antique stores, so they are sometimes cheaper than Gillettes.

5 - If you go with a DE you have two and 1/2 choices. There are the Gems and Everreadys that have a set angle on the head. I love them both. They shave easy and comfortable. Shoot for a 1912 Gem or ER. The other choice is Schick. They made an injector style since the 1930s. They shave very similar to a cartridge so your learning curve will be less. The 1/2 is the Rolls Razor. A great start to getting into Str8s. They are a small piece of str8 blade that sits on a handle. Again stretching and proper prep are needed. These are like str8s with training wheels. The downside to Rolls are price and condition. You can find them cheap, but you have to make sure that the strop and hone are in good shape as well as the mechanism. You also need to make sure the handle is there and that you have at least 2 blades.

If you came to me and said SW I wanna learn straight shaving and I knew you had a background in cartridges, I would hand you a Schick and a package of injectors. When you got that down, I give you a Gem, and then a Straight or a Rolls which ever.

Also go to youtube and see Mantics videos on shaving.

I haven't used a cartridge razor for well over a year now and for the better part of this time I've used straight razors exclusively. But I do remember the shaves from cartridges to be pretty bad and rather expensive - too expensive, considering that the companies advertise that this new gizmo is the best ever... The straight razor is a lot better and a lot closer, not to mention the reduction of irritation as soon as you get the hang of it.

Straights are more expensive in the short term. But unless you go crazy and buy a lot of razors and strops and hones and whatever catches your fancy, the difference in cost will be enormous and you'll feel like this was the best bargain of your life. The equipment you'll need is quite small: one or two professonaly honed razors, a leather strop, a good brush, some good soap or shaving cream and, eventualy, a barber hone or a pasted strop so you can touch up the razor. Learning to use this equipment is not very hard but there is a learning curve. But unless you are a talentless twit - which you are not - you'll get along just fine and be proficient quite quickly, although there is always something new to learn everyday.

The DE is considerabily cheaper when compared to the straight razor option. But the shaves are much better if compared to the ones you get from a cartridge razor. If your shaves are good with a fusion, the ones you can get from a DE will be way better... as soon as you get proficient with the thing. You'll need less stuff if you choose the DE: a DE razor, blades, a good brush and some good soap or cream. The cost, however, is higher than with a straight because you'll need to purchase fresh blades from time to time... but it's a lot cheaper than using a cartridge razor.

Whatever your choice is, you'll find that our "policy" is always correct: one blade is always better...

Two other things that I might add to this:
1) wether you choose the straight or a DE you'll be breaking out from the pack and doing something that is always unique, needs focus and dedication and therefore is no longer a brainless chore... this means that, if the enjoyment factor kicks in, you'll enjoy shaving and start your day in a better frame of mind;
2) even if you choose not to take the leap into DEs or straights, do jump into the whole wet shaving thing... goo from a can is not a good way of shaving. I don't know if you are a wet shaver, but trust us on this... wet is best.

As a final note: welcome to the forum! You'll love this community, I reckon... there is no place like this in the world wide web. Enjoy and participate. You'll find that no question you pose will be forgotten and that all the people here are helpful and courteous at all times.

So... good luck on your quest for better shaves!