Thread: At the risk of asking an heretical question...

Skin types are like opinions.It varies from person to person. Yous skin may just not accept against the grain passes. Before going to a new tool expecting instant improvement and then being disapointed try narrowing your variables.Get a routine going. build your lather the same time every time and use a new cartridge every time.Yes I now it will be expensive to do this but your beard may be coarse enuf to be dulling the edges with only one shave.Also try two do 2 passes with the grain then 1 across, omit against the grain pass. This may or may not help. If it doesn't improve then a different tool may be just what the doctor ordered.

Welcome, Adrian.

I've never shaved with a fusion, so I can't compare to it, but it does give me closer and more comfortable shave than mach3.
Getting to that point though is not instant, but since you've been through a PhD training you most certainly can handle a learning curve.
The sooner you start, the sooner you'll get where you're happy with the shaves.

Welcome to SRP. I can say yes to the straight being the best and most comfortable shave. I like straight razors and even collected some when I didn't shave with them. If they didn't give me the best shaves I've ever had I would be back with the double edge safety razors or the Gillette "Good News". In my 60 years those are the only things I've shaved with. Straight razor shaving has my highest recommendation.

Unlike with Fusion, when you shave with Straight rzor you do not get stubble by the middle of the day.
Forme with fusion I can never get smooth shave to begin with and I used to wait 6-7 days between shaves (no wonder with such crappy shaver..)
Now I shave every day with my straight razor, and it is awesome.

Stygian,

I used to shave with a safety razor and double edge blades.

With a six (6) pass routine, I could get a BBS smooth shave. It would sting like hell when I put on an alchohol based after shave

Since moving exclusively to straight razors, I can acheive the same BBS shave with three (3) passes, and the after shave hardly stings at all (without the ATG pass it doesn't sting at all !).

In addition, my skin condition is so much better when using the straight.

The mood created when you shave with a straight cannot be under-estimated, and as Mr Abrams says, you start the day in a much better frame of mind.

best regards

Russ

Excellent! Thanks everyone for your responses.

I have got a little money coming to me at the end of the month; I see me giving Lynn over at Straight Razor Designs some of it. I figure I might as well jump in feet first. I'll still be using the Fusion for a while (I read Lynn's Beginning's Wiki) but that's cool, with all the experiments and the writing I have only been shaving twice a week (at most).

Thanks again.
Adrian.

Best of luck, and remember to visit this site often. I've learned so much from it. There really is an amazing amount of knowledge here.

Originally Posted by stygian

Excellent! Thanks everyone for your responses.

I have got a little money coming to me at the end of the month; I see me giving Lynn over at Straight Razor Designs some of it. I figure I might as well jump in feet first. I'll still be using the Fusion for a while (I read Lynn's Beginning's Wiki) but that's cool, with all the experiments and the writing I have only been shaving twice a week (at most).

Thanks again.
Adrian.

Feet first? Shouldn't it be face first? Considering that is what you intend to shave first correct me if I'm wrong.

I've switched about a couple of months ago from safety razor to straight, and now I don't understand how I shaved before, even while enjoying that learning curve that by the way hasn't been too hard with all the valuable info and wisdom gathered here. The cartridges always gave me bumps and rash and that was the reason why I shaved every other day instead of everyday.... in other words there is no comparison of the results.
Now, on the other hand it takes a while more to shave (in my case it takes about 20 minutes now, and counting down as I practice more and more), but as I read someplace else (or was it here?!?!?): Straight shaving is an art and therefore shouldn't be made in a rush......
Well, good luck !!!

Welcome aboard :Beer:

It does. You've entire control over the razor. You can reach trouble spots that a safety razor needs 3-5 blades in order to eliminate one spot. The latter is also uncomfortable. Even being new at this I found it to be fun, relaxing and of course addicting. You can have as many razors as you want in your arsenal, soaps/creams and brushes make straight shaving fun. Most if not a lot of people buy several soaps just so they can have different ones ( SSAD ). Further others get into buying several razors to have say 1 razor for each day of week ( RAD ). The list goes on and on. The fun to be had in straight shaving is limitless.

Here's an interesting read if you haven't encountered already:

Rediscovering the Barbershop - Straight Razor Place Forums

Why Shave Straight - Straight Razor Place Forums