Thread: Want to try a straight razor but am concerned...

I have to agree with TheBaron. Unless you were infused with atomantium (sp?) at some point in your life, hair has no match for a well honed straight razor. If your beard can be shaven, then it can be shaven with a SR, that's just the facts. Your old barber just didn't want to give a shave at that time for whatever reason he had & gave you his excuse, it could have been you, me, or Joe Blow. You are on the right track & once you take the time and do get that first shave you'll want to kick yourself for waiting for so long.

Originally Posted by Malacoda

The significant tugging and slight-but-very-short-lived irritation I've regularly felt when other barbers have used straights to trim under my sideburns after shortening them with the clippers seemed to confirm his words.

I used to experience the same unpleasantness when I was a kid whenever I had a neck shave & trim. Of course I had no stubble then so I'd say the barber just didn't have a properly honed razor.
You may do better to start with a stiffer grind rather than a full hollow razor but you'll do just fine with practice & the right gear.

All the advice given above about beard prep, having a well honed razor, technique, good soaps and creams, brushes etc... is bang on. This is 99% of the battle for newbies and if you have, as Nun2Sharp says, good beard prep, a shave ready razor and good technique you are basically there.

There is one other thing you might also try if you are still concerned. I have read other posts where people have said this worked for their tough beards.

A thicker beard might respond much better to a more wedge like razor (such as a full wedge or a quarter/ half hollow ground) than a full or extra full grind.

The full and extra full grinds are obviously thinner metal over the whole of the blade and tend to be more flexible and so are maybe slightly more likely to get caught up in the stubble. A wedge is much thicker and so will just plow through it all..!

I would say that there is not a beard out there that cannot be tamed with a straight razor. As you said yourself, what did people do before the safety and cartridge razor was invented? What it really comes down to is finding the right razor for you and making sure you know how to use it.

Read the WIKI site as well, it has loads of good advice and information.

Straight Razor Place Wiki

Give it a try and I'm sure you wont be disappointed! Good luck!

It's sad that there are barbers out there who are giving people bad advice. I would think that if you have a tough beard then a straight should be recommended.
Having said that, when you first start you will cut your self, you will experience pain, and you will bleed. But once it starts to come together you will be getting the best shaves you have ever experienced.

Thanks guys, your comments have confirmed my suspicions that it was merely some type of problem with the situation/barber that day and not my beard in general.

My concern now being eased, I definitely plan on pursuing straight razor shaving as soon as I've gotten my DE shaving down and have, in the meantime, read up a bit more on shaving with a straight and obtained some starter gear. Will probably be ready to go right after Xmas (gives me a little time to save up a little cash and get the gear).

Glad you're gonna give it a try!

Like was said, make sure you get the beard prep going real good. Hot shower, hot towel, maybe some pre-shave oil/astringent and good lather.

I ditched my cartridges as well. Most of the time, it's nothing but straights, but if I'm in a hurry, I'll use a DE.

Look forward to hearing your experiences

Originally Posted by Malacoda

Thanks guys, your comments have confirmed my suspicions that it was merely some type of problem with the situation/barber that day and not my beard in general.

My concern now being eased, I definitely plan on pursuing straight razor shaving as soon as I've gotten my DE shaving down and have, in the meantime, read up a bit more on shaving with a straight and obtained some starter gear. Will probably be ready to go right after Xmas (gives me a little time to save up a little cash and get the gear).

If shaving with a DE is going ok, a straight should be no problem. I took another step in the learning curve and used a Gem SE razor as these are a little closer to how a straight feels.

I've got a fairly tough beard in places and after a year of mostly straight shaving I get a MUCH better shave with a straight than anything else. The pulling or tugging is about the same as a DE or a SE and much better than a cartridge.

I'm also a newbie, and just ordered everything I will need. What I realized was I really wanted to try this without going broke, and it can be done on a budget, so if you want to give it a try you can get really good stuff on a budget.

Like the other poster said, it's a lot like a triangle, and you need to start out with a good, shave ready blade that's been professionally sharpened, not "shave ready" from the manufacturer. You can change strops and soaps and brushes, but a good razor to start out with is the one thing a newbie really needs so he eliminates a lot of variables, IMHO.

Maybe you'll have to work on your technique and prep, but you want to be doing this with a very capable razor, and that doesn't necessarily mean expensive.

Originally Posted by Malacoda

... The thing is, I don't want to spend a couple hundred dollars, 1-2 years of time, and countless harsh or even bloody shaves only to find out he was right. ...

You already have lots of good advice on how to get a good shave but let me address that part.

You can spend less than $100 to try it out. See RupRazor - Gold Dollar Razor and Filly Strop. Hunting around the classified section here can also get you good deals.

It won't take two years to figure things out. I consider myself to have a bit more than "adequate" skill and have been at it for only about six months. I did go through a period early on where I wondered if all this talk about how great straight razors were was just a bunch of hogwash, but it did come together. There are others who ramped up much faster than I did.

Now for my newbie's how-to hint: I believe poor stropping technique dulled my razor and prevented me from making good progress. The day it all started to come together for me was when I got a freshly honed razor and realized that my technique *had* improved but the dull razor was masking that. I bought and paid for another razor, increasing my actual overall cost but I didn't *need* to do that. Ken at RupRazor would have re-honed my razor for free -- a free second honing comes with his razors.

Second hint: I believe one learns to strop in two stages: First, you get to the point where you can strop the razor without chewing up the strop. Second you get to the point where your technique is actually maintaining the blade and not dulling it. That all takes practice, like any physical activity. Reading about it lets you know what to practice, but the practice itself is what counts. That goes for the actual shaving techniques as well.

EDIT: OK, you will need to put up with those harsh shaves! And like the title of the move, "There Will Be Blood" (just not all that much to worry about).

Malacoda, thanks for the post. This has answered many of the questions I have had also. I have been "lurking" for a while preparing to take the SR plunge. This post has been most helpfull.