At the risk of asking an heretical question...

I have to confess... My only interest is a close, comfortable shave. I currently use a Gillette Fusion and I can mostly get one or the other, never both. And if I shave every day then I usually get neither. The best shaves I get with a Fusion are after a few days growth (which for me is quite a bit of growth) and I then get something approaching both. I'm about to finish my Ph.D. so I'll need to start shaving daily and that is not a pleasant thought if I have to do it with the Fusion.

Does a straight razor really produce a significantly better shave, both in terms of closeness and comfort? And if so, why? Seems almost heretical to ask here but I have looked through the beginners forum (also saw the "Why a straight razor" thread but most glossed over the shave question) and the wikies and haven't seen the question handled directly.

Thanks,
Adrian.

Well, Here's what I think the real thing is: the important part for a COMFORTABLE shave is the lather. Traditional lather, with a brush and soap or cream, is very good for your skin, lots of nice moisture and oils. It also protects your skin a lot from the nasty nasty steel. SOme people say they get great results from cartridges with a wetshave lather.

Closeness comes from the blade. The thing about a straight is, YOU are in control of things like angle and the like. With a good, sharp straight blade, and some skill, you can get just as close as (or closer than) any cartridge razor, and since you only have one relatively thick blade, there's less damage to your skin. With all those really thin blades on a cartridge, you're actually scraping a WHOLE LOT of skin off your face.

For me the difference in both closeness and comfort is remarkable. I never could shave everyday with a fusion, and closeness was always an issue. Even shaving every other day, I always had a red burn all over my neck. Little bumps would follow. With a straight, I can shave every day, I have no razor burn, and my skin feels baby smooth. I do not entirely understand why, but the results are so good that the reason it works doesn't really matter to me.

i had the same experience with a mach 3. better shaves when i had some growth on my face. i switched to a de last winter. closer shaves with less irritation. took a while to get there though. there is a great variety of different quality de blades out there and you will find one that's right for you. unfortunately they are all mail order as are the razors. go to: shavemyface.com forum for info about de's. now the str8's. i started shaving with a str8 about 6 shaves ago. i believe the learning curve is shorter if you have de experience. that said, i did get a few nice cuts. now that i'm getting better at it i think i get less irritation from a sharp str8 but that's the catch. if you go with a str8 be prepared to learn how to hone and ready for the time and expense. i'm at the point now where i shave for pleasure with the str8 and follow up with the de for finishing. i'm sure going solo with a str8 will happen but not for a while, are you prepared to go to work with a nice cut on your face? it may happen or it may not. but i think it will:). at least in the short term. so,,,i would suggest getting a good de razor (merkur) and a variety pack of blades from an internet source. after getting good that the de then go into the str8. this is all my opinion and i'm sure others will have a diffferent opinion as well.

To Captainboog: I get the same thing on my neck as well and it is really bad when I shave every day.

Welcome to SRP! The learning curve for using a straight razor is a tad steep, but if you are willing to take the time to learn, you will find it to give you the best shaves ever. As for the closeness and comfort of a straight shave, I believe it has a lot to do with having a "Shave Ready" razor. This means it was honed by a person with the skill to do so, not some mass produced piece of crap aka Fusion.:)

I haven't seen that redness or irritation since I made the switch. I dealt with a little different kind of razor rash for a bit as I learned to use the straight correctly. That didn't take that long to improve, and now there is no irritation.

But here is something else you might try. Recently I went on vacation and forgot to take my strop and razor. I had everything else that I use. So I bought a fusion with one blade from the store. I had more irritation than when using a straight, but much, much less than before.

That leads me to believe you might be able to improve your results using better products even if you don't end up using a straight. It's also a good thing to try in advance so you can really learn to make a good lather and figure out what kind of preshave and postshave products work for you.

I put hot water in my soap mug (mitchell's wool fat soap) and soak a brush in that for about 5 minutes. I put proraso preshave cream on my face and rub it in. I brush my teeth to give everything time to absorb. I make a lather out of the soap, and sometimes add a little proraso shaving cream to the mix for thickness. After I shave, I use a witch hazel aftershave (magical). About 5 minutes later, I rub a little of the proraso preshave on my face again.

For me this works wonders (even with a crappy fusion). If you are thinking about making the leap to a straight, you'll end up with a bunch of products like this anyway.

Two other things:

1) Even if you keep using a cartridge type razor, study the growth patterns of the hair on your face. I had no idea that my neck hair grew sideways and upwards. I was always shaving against the grain in places without realizing it. Using a straight forces you to consider this. Make sure your first pass goes with the grain regardless of razor type.

2) Rearden steel is absolutely right. If you get a straight, get it from a professional that can get it honed right. I started with a poorly honed straight and almost gave it up after two days.

Best of luck.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by stygian

Does a straight razor really produce a significantly better shave, both in terms of closeness and comfort? And if so, why?
Thanks,
Adrian.

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Simple answer... YES.
A major reason, but not the only one, is that the blade on a straight, if honed optimally will far exceed some mass produced effort & unlike the one size fits all Fusion you can buy a str8 that suits you & your beard.

A straight gives me a closer shave than anything else and is the easiest of the 2 to achieve.

A comfortable shave is harder to achieve with a straight as there is a learning curve involved. Eventually I managed to get a more comfortable shave with a straight and that is one of the reasons I still shave straight.

You need a sharp blade (honed by a honemeister), a good strop (Tony Miller, SRD) and a good cream or soap and a brush. And Lynn's DVD. Hones will come later when you know for sure straight razor shaving is sth for you.

Some will recommend to start with a double edged blade as that resembles a straight shave most. I personally get worse shaves with a DE than a cartridge razor but this is n=1.

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.

Quote:

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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.

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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

I have a pewter handled twin blade cartridge razor that I have used since I was 16 (more than 40 years now) but felt that my shave wasn't as close as I wanted. I used an electric for nearly three years but felt that I was rubbing my face raw in order to get a BBS shave. I went back to the twin blade but felt the main issue was that this razor didn't have a pivoting head which meant I either had to pay close attention to the way I held the razor or get something different. I decided if I was going to get a pivoting head I might as well increase the number of blades to decrease the number of passes required to get the desired smoothness. That's when I decided to go with a Fusion. The more (blades) the merrier, right? As you say, the shave isn't really comfortable even if it is close. I decided to re-way my options. That's when I found this site.

When I first started using a SR I followed the recommendation that I use the SR for the initial pass (WTG) and followed with my Fusion for the remaining pass(es). Next I used the SR for the initial pass and a ATG pass. Over time I grew in courage and began to shave WTG, XTG, and most of the ATG pass. One thing that I noticed was that the final results was closer than with the Fusion alone after using the SR for the initial pass. I also began to look forward to shaving with the SR. Finally, I got to the point that I used the SR exclusively unless I was in a hurry. I found that using the SR had made me far more cognizant of the way my beard grows which allows me to get that BBS shave even with the Fusion.

It takes a while to get used to using a SR. I have cut my face several times and still nick myself at least once each day. I think after I have the razor honed this will dissipate.

I would suggest that if you are interested in using a straight that you go ahead and get started before you finish school so that you will be used to using the straight and will have to go to work with fewer nicks and cuts.

Good luck with your decision and let us know what you decide.

i think patience and willing to learn will give you best shave you want. It just takes time. if new person starts to use straight razor and after week says i am getting best shave ever i wouldn't believe . When you get that level then you will enjoy with every shave.