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

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.

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).

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.

Originally Posted by nun2sharp

There are three major factors in a good shave; beard preparation, blade preparation and technique. If you can get these three things down, you can get an excellent shave.

Do you mind if I quote this in my sig? Been looking for something good.

One possibility is that your barber may not be as confident in doing shaves as he is doing haircuts.

I've heard of some barbers warning people off rather than risk cutting them if their equipment or technique is not up to scratch. The last straight razor shave I had at a barbers was not very close, I asked why and they barber said they preferred to err on the side of caution and not risk nicking the skin or causing razor burn. They also told me I'd probably be able to shave myself closer as I know the contours of my face better, since I shave myself every day, and they don't.

Yes your barber was correct and all the guys with really coarse tough beards either grew full beards or tried shaving and bled to death. Therefore only the guys with the full beards could pass on their genes for tough beards so your probably related to one of those full beard guys and should grow one too. Har har

Count yourself lucky that barber didn't give you a shave. he was probably incompetent and lacking confidence. You are correct that at one time everyone had to use a straight if they shaved so that's the rest of the story.

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.

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.