Thread: 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.

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.

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.