How did you get hooked?

One day several weeks ago I was minding my own business and getting my haircut by some "new" guy. Just before he finishes up, he pumps a little hot lather out of a gadget on his table and dabs it on my hairline from ear to ear behind my head. He then proceeded to pull out what I could only describe as a face-sword at the time and trimmed up everything nice and neat. I noticed the ultimate smoothness before I even left his shop (and that wasn't even on my face!). I didn't even have a chance. Dangerous looking vintage tools, classic pastime and the results...oh my god the results...I was HOOKED, dammit. Now I'm jonesen for that shave again but this time I have to be able to do it myself with my own "face-sword." I'm addicted and the only treatment is more razors (and maybe faster beard growth...you know...for practice.) :)

Anyone else care to share?

I've always been fascinated with straight razors since I first saw one. I messed with straight razor shaving in my twenties and thirties but gave it up each of those times. Finally found SRP in my late fifties and thanks to Lynn and the forum members I'm living the dream. :)

I always thought they were hella cool. Then my brothers wife bought him one. So naturally I had to have one, then two, then three, well this can go on forever you get the point! Now I can't imagine ever using anything else.

I inherited 2 straights and a loom strop. Until I had found SRP I only got mediocre shaves with them. SRP facilitated a steep learning curve and a few addiction disorders. The rest is history.

Interestingly it was economy that brought me into the fold. Not necessarily the idea that I would save a lot of money; although, that isn't a bad motivator.

I was really discouraged by the thought that razors, and cartridges were made to be thrown away. They don't even try to hide it with clever marketing. The word "disposable" is right there in black and white.

So I started with an old Gillette red tip. I feel a bit better about that because at least I'm not tossing plastic into a landfill when I replace the blade. Ultimately I started using the straight. The shave from both is great, and I like the whole routine of it.

I know that, like any hobby, this thing can get expensive. I haven't really spent that much, and I'm sure that I have saved a mint compared to cartridge razors. I look at this as a nice fringe benefit from straight razor switch.

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Originally Posted by apples439

One day several weeks ago I was minding my own business and getting my haircut by some "new" guy. Just before he finishes up, he pumps a little hot lather out of a gadget on his table and dabs it on my hairline from ear to ear behind my head. He then proceeded to pull out what I could only describe as a face-sword at the time and trimmed up everything nice and neat. I noticed the ultimate smoothness before I even left his shop (and that wasn't even on my face!). I didn't even have a chance. Dangerous looking vintage tools, classic pastime and the results...oh my god the results...I was HOOKED, dammit. Now I'm jonesen for that shave again but this time I have to be able to do it myself with my own "face-sword." I'm addicted and the only treatment is more razors (and maybe faster beard growth...you know...for practice.) :)

Anyone else care to share?

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That's how I got hooked! Wait, or was it when I saw Mr. Baltar shave with one on Battlestar Galactica? Can't remember...

:)
-Chief

I initially had a strong interest to try it out. After I was getting BBS shaves with the disposables straight razors and had a good badger brush along with my shaving soap, I was hooked and starting plopping down the big money to pick up fixed straight razors and accessories.

It took about 15 shaves to reach this decision and I never looked back. This was one of the best decision I made for myself in 2009.

Pabster

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Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

I've always been fascinated with straight razors since I first saw one. I messed with straight razor shaving in my twenties and thirties but gave it up each of those times. Finally found SRP in my late fifties and thanks to Lynn and the forum members I'm living the dream. :)

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My story is pretty much the same . I was trying to hone a razor from my modest collection , on a Col. Conk hard Arkansas hone which I found to be an exercise in futility . During my searching the internet for any info I could find about straight razors I stumbled onto this forum , and discovered the Norton 4k/8k hone . After some trial and error I finally was able to get an acceptable shave , but I was still not a commited straight user . During this time I ran out of cartridges for my mach 3 , and went to Wal Mart to get some more . I couldn't find any of the 3 blade cartridges because all they had were the new 4 blade things , which cost more . Totally ****ed off , I bought a 4 pack of Shick disposables , and went home determined to learn to shave with a straight .That was back in March 2007 , and I've been shaving with straights ever since . THANK YOU SRP :y

I went a different route I guess. I just like old stuff but I don't like to "collect" just to look at. I like to find old things (the older the better) that I can actually use. I get a thrill out of an ancient tool that was made so well I can use it just as effectively (sometimes even more effectively) than a modern day tool.

Couple that with increasing frustration with shaving. I hated spending money on what I consididered an afterthought and never being satisfied. I wanted it to be simple and yet could never get a good shave. These two worlds collided as, a couple of years ago I mentioned to my wife how cool I thought the old shave soap and brush thing was. She actually found (I never knew this was available then) a brush, soap, and bowl set at walmart and had it under the tree the next Christmas. I used it with my disposables for a while still not quite satisfied, though I could tell I liked it better than the CC (can crud). Then I found SRP...{insert shining heavenly light and angelic singing here} and learned that I could use restored 100+ year-old razors to get a better shave than I was getting with disposables. I was definitely hooked! :y

For the past several years, I've been intrigued by a BLADE used to shave can cut whiskers and not your face(if done right, of course!). Once I found this site, I found there were many facets to the art of shaving such as restorations, customizations, and brush making and the list goes on. I've been shaving with one once every two days all this month, and vow never to use another disposable razor again. Ever.

My barber (RIP) is responsible! When I was younger and needed a really great shave for some special occasion I would go to the Barber Shop and get fixed up. Got to thinking that I should be able to do this myself so I bought a new Dovo and tried a shave with it as received. To say the least that shave was REALLY BAD. So off to the barber shop and left razor there for a few days so he could hone it for me. Next shave - not bad at all. That lead to finding SRP and a great hobby/pastime and a number of incurable AD's.

I read an article about men using straight razors to shave. I couldn't believe straight razors were still being used! Suffice to say my curiosity was piqued. It was classic, it required great skill, and not many people would think about using one. That is always a good combination to get me interested in something.

I did a lot of research. Finally found Tony Miller online and ordered one of his starter sets with a shave ready dovo. The first few shaves didn't go so well, but that only boosted my obsession. I knew I could be successful and I was determined to master this skill.

Three years later I have a nice collection started, I have never shaved with an edge I did not sharpen myself (excluding the edge that came with the first razor), and I am loving it just as much as when I first started!

Matt

I've been hooked on sharp edges since my childhood, knives, axes, razors, the point of a fresh honed fly hook, you name it. As a toddler, lurking in the doorway watching my dad shave, guess it's always been there...............

I'm with Jerry on this one. I tried many different ways of shaving, electrics were always the worst ripping my hairs out, so it was always the Mach 3s for me. I hated the thought of that plastic sitting there for so long in the landfills, long after I'll be gone even, I hate that thought. I try to avoid anything platic whenever possible. I do woodworking and try to build things I need rather than buy them. On my last trip to costco I saw the price of Mach 3s go out of my affordability, I knew I had to look for a new solution. So i decided to get set up for straight razor shaving. I'm two weeks in now and I've found it very enjoyable so far. I'm not getting the same results as the mach 3s yet, but I've got a lot to learn still, I know I'll get there.

I really like the thought that if I care for my tools and maintain them properly some day someone else can inherit this stuff and enjoy it as much as I do.

I used to get a lot of irritation from The Plastic Fantastic (AKA a Mach 3), so I started to look for alternatives.

I got a Merkur DE from Amazon and that really helped with the problem, so I kept looking around for better methods.

During this time I went to Trumpers in London for a brush and soap, and saw that they sold straight razors. This piqued my interest so my girlfriend bought me a shave there, and I spent a few weeks lurking on SRP and reading up before the shave...!

Once I had the shave I knew I was hooked and I bought my first razor and strop from them right afterwards.

The rest is history..! :D

I'm barely hooked, as far as straights go, I'm a novice. I'm a hooked stone collector, and have been known to buy a knife just because, but I'm working on honing my first straight to a BBS using my two virtues of stubborn and ignorant. ;)

It may help I've gathered a hernias worth of fancy rocks, or it may not, but i'm not SHORT any..

anyway, I'm going to accomplish shaving with my own honing and then decide if I'll survive the experience done regular. no bets..

In my teens i used to use my fathers "fatboy" then as an adult i used the disposables and moved to the electrics... then my father gives me his "fatboy" and i was enjoying it again and started to look up online for more info about the razor,landed here and started to read some post then i registered and purchased a SR from the classifieds and have been in shave heaven since...:)

I inherited my Grandfathers shaving mug and wanted a straight to "display" with it. Then bought a replacable type straight and just had to give it a try. Found this place and it ruined me for anything else.

Zacsdaddy

You'll know you are truly hooked when you (or your spouse/partner) wonder where did all this paraphenalia come from and decide that you need to start getting rid of some of it to make more room for the other things you want to buy! :roflmao:roflmao

Since I was old enough to shave I'd always hated it. I tried electric razors which were horrible so I then moved on to disposable razors. They irritated my skin every shave but "What else am I supposed to use?" I thought. I got to the point where I would shave every other day or every 3 days if I could swing it. It was always a chore. Then, one weekend I was coming home from college for a wedding and realized I forgot my shaver. I needed a haircut anyways and so decided I'd try getting a cut and a shave at a barbershop. I'd never set foot in one before. Haircut was good and then came the shave.....WOW! Not only was it BBS but it didn't irritate my skin at all. From then on I knew I had to get one. I did a little research, saved a little money, found SRP, and here I am today. I love every minute of shaving nowadays, have SSAD, and I think RAD is setting in...

Hello, everyone:

I wanted to shave with the straight razor as far back as I can remember. Why exactly I don't know. For sure I did not think about the benefits of using a straight, or the savings.

I think it was because of the romance in shaving with a straight razor, much in the way I would have liked to live next door to Dickens, Chopin and all the rest of the good guys from the 19th century.

One day, several years ago, I made my decision and proceeded. Except for a short interruption because of physical problems with my hands, I haven't stopped. Now I stand before the mirror every morning and nod with much pleasure for having made one of the best decisions of my life.

Regards,

Obie

I was interested in knives and keeping them sharp, which eventually sent me over to this forum. I got hooked just lurking around here.

I've only been into this for a little while, about 6 months or so. I was introduced to it by my bro who is in the USMC. Actually, he tried to introduce me to DE shaving, as he was introduced to it by a buddy of his while in Iraq.
I started looking into DE shaving and found a lot of SR stuff coming up, which piqued my interest. Being the older brother, I, of course, had to "one-up" my bro, so I decided to take the plunge. One of my other bros had a couple of brushes and some creams that he wasn't using, so he sent them to me, along with a small selection of DE blades, and I went out and bought a shavette from a local beauty supply store and started in.
The shave was O.K., nothing to write to mom and dad about, but I stopped getting those danged ingrown hairs on my neck and lower lip, so I said "This is for me!" Plus the brush and cream felt so much better than the canned crap. Now I've got 3 traditional SRs that I rotate through and love every minute of the shaves. In fact, if I don't have time to take my time with the shaves, I will just skip it until I do.
As so many others here, I have taken a vow that I will never, ever use a cartridge razor again. In fact, I'm not even going to allow my boys to use one, once they get old enough to shave, I'll be teaching them with a SR.

I'm a former Marine myself, and I've got to admit I started playing with straight razors for the same reason I joined the Corps... It's cool/ comes across as dangerous/ something the average Joe wouldn't dare to try :)