If you're not looking for a hobby ...

I offered an opinion in chat that maybe not everyone shares, and thought I would kick it around here.

Someone asked whether he should change from a safety razor to a straight razor. I said that you can get even closer shaves with a straight, but you should figure on another 10 minutes a day, mastering some skills, and putting out some money.

It's a hobby. If you just want a close shave without spending time and money on a hobby, straight razor shaving doesn't make sense.

Do you agree with this? For the record, I'm enjoying this hobby ... but I can't explain it to my wife on purely practical grounds.

It does become one heck of a hobby, but if your looking for a smooth shave I dont think there is a better choice. I havent tried a DE before so maybe the difference isnt that great but there is no way to get a comparable shave from a cartridge or electric as far as im concerned.

For me, an electric is useless, and a cartridge is nowhere near as close a shave as a safety razor or a straight razor.

A straight razor does give a closer shave than a safety razor, but for me, the difference is not all that huge. However, the process of shaving with a straight razor is much more enjoyable, the toys are fun, and I look forward to shaving with a straight razor in the morning.

That enjoyment requires more time and money, though. So if I were deciding how to shave on purely practical grounds, I'd probably go with a safety razor. Of course, I'm not a purely practical person ...

I think I could make a better case for str8s being practicle. The convenience argument would be lost pretty early on and I think is the main reason str8s were replaced with other options in the first place. As long as someone keeps their aquisition disorders in check str8 shaving makes economical and enviromental sense. Most of us have one or two vintage razors, recycling, and right away we dont throw much away. It also makes us less dependent on others, who cares if the power is out or if there is too much snow to make to the store for more cartridges. What ever the curcumstances we are capable of getting a great shave.

I disagree. You can get buy for a long time with 1 razor, 1 strop, 1 brush, 1 soap, and barber hone.

No worrying about replacing blades. Every shave is good.

You see the same thing with DE shaving. People collect the various safety razors,brushes,soaps,creams,blah blah blah

Once you get a straight down, it does not take any longer to shave than a DE

I think many of the things we do and skills we develop can't always be justified on practical grounds.
Some of these skills could be regarded as pure pastimes, others can be put to practical use. Most men need to shave every day, but not ride a bicycle or swim. Some people can go their entire lives without either being able to or needing to drive a car. One man's hobby could well be an essential skill for another.
If you have to be clean shaven, whether you use a cutthroat or a Braun Micron, the use of neither could be said to be a hobby.
A large collection of shaving tackle couldn't be justified as purely practical. Nor could my wife's collection of shoes or earrings.

The DE was never a hobby for me. The razors are easy enough to find for cheap or free. The blades cost 10 cents each, and last for a week or more - at that rate, I can shave for a long time before justifying the price of a straight.

The straight really is a hobby for me. I've only been doing this for a week, so it definitely takes me longer. But I like the straight better, and that's what I'm using unless I'm in a hurry.

I'm hoping to keep it simple with straights too ... wish me luck!

Whether you're into it for a hobby or just like the closest shave possible: everyone has their own reason.

As there is only very few who actually shave straight we need a forum to teach and get taught. In times gone by you would turn to your father or the local barber for a shave or for help when needed.

You dont have to spend $200 on a straight razor.

a $20 vintage razor will outlast you and probably your children. Same with a strop(which you also dont have to spend big $ on).

For the cost of one year of DE blades, you are buying one straight. $0.10 a blade is if you are using a Dorco blade or equivalent. If you decide to start using blades like feathers, your investment goes up.

When I used a DE 3 or 4 shaves was about all i got. I refuse to shave once the blade got to a certain point.

The transition from everyday task to hobby is all up to the person. Just go look at b&b. there are people spending big $$ on DE related items.

More than most spend on straights

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Originally Posted by Bootstrap

The DE was never a hobby for me. The razors are easy enough to find for cheap or free. The blades cost 10 cents each, and last for a week or more - at that rate, I can shave for a long time before justifying the price of a straight.

The straight really is a hobby for me. I've only been doing this for a week, so it definitely takes me longer. But I like the straight better, and that's what I'm using unless I'm in a hurry.

I'm hoping to keep it simple with straights too ... wish me luck!

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bootstrap

I offered an opinion in chat that maybe not everyone shares, and thought I would kick it around here.

Someone asked whether he should change from a safety razor to a straight razor. I said that you can get even closer shaves with a straight, but you should figure on another 10 minutes a day, mastering some skills, and putting out some money.

It's a hobby. If you just want a close shave without spending time and money on a hobby, straight razor shaving doesn't make sense.

Do you agree with this? For the record, I'm enjoying this hobby ... but I can't explain it to my wife on purely practical grounds.

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Honestly….

I think it turns into a hobby for many of us.

By the time one gets settled with shaving soap, brush, mug, razor, strop and a hone they have put out some decent cash. Then you need to learn how to use each piece you just bought.
With all that time and money spent, it would only be natural for it to become a hobby.
Just my thought on it.

I gotta disagree, Although it is without a doubt a hobby now... it wasn't for many, many years...

I started in 1981 with a finishing stone $105
two razors $50
one #805 Illinois strop $20
I had a Burma shave brush, and a puck of Williams, or Old spice can't remember

I still have the stone, the strop, and the brush... I dropped the two razors by 1999 or I would still have them...
So it does not have to be expensive at all, it can just be shaving...

I could careless about close either, for me it is about comfort...

I would disagree. The hobby for me is talking about it. The shaves though are simple and carefree. It remains an interesting way to shave though.

It took years to get simple BBS shaves, but I'm there. The cost of purchasing DE blades is not the problem for me. Its the silliness of it. To get the blades that I like I order them off the internet and then they get shipped to me. They last about a week. Seems inconvienent and silly to me. Particularly if prices and access vary. I have one blade that I like to buy at the BX on base, but they run out a lot. It seems like a silly waste of good steel, steel that should just be left for other purposes. Its the disposable society that I dislike. You can't be against a disposable society and continue shaving with a DE. I can justify the idea of disposable stuff, but shaving just isn't important enough to me to be selfish about it.

My straight razor is simple and easy to sharpen. Takes a few passes on a stone and I'm good for about a month. It couldn't be any easier. A DE blade does not shave anywhere near as smooth or close. Big problem with a DE for me are the nicks. If I get blood on a $60 work shirt that ****es me off.

I can't even say anymore that a DE is faster. Since my level of demand on closeness has gone up a DE takes just as long. In the end, it NEVER achieves a finished shave. So, in my book, never takes longer than a straight razor.

I never got HAD, RAD, SAD, NAD or whatever. I haven't bought a razor in about 2 years, and I don't shave with the razors I've bought in the last 5 years. I figured out years ago that if you really want to get good, stick with one blade, one stone, and one strop.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bootstrap

It's a hobby. If you just want a close shave without spending time and money on a hobby, straight razor shaving doesn't make sense.

Do you agree with this?

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Not really - it's what you make of it. Using a straight razor in a repetitive, boring routine to keep one's face clean is still an effective and viable method of shaving. Time and energy spent learning the skills is up to the individual

For me it is not a hobby but just a best way to shave. Before straights i used DE's for years (still do when at work), and i can get a good shave with straights and DE's with 2 passes. Some DE blades are better than others, and you can get a ok (but not perfect) shave with a straight razor that isn't scary sharp.
Nowadays i use only straight razor when at home. I've learned how to make it sharp enough to make a good shave.

any daily activity can be made into a hobby if one feels like it. I am trying to resist that aspect, but with little success. My thought is that if you are here reading about it, writing about it, discussing it, then you are treating it like a hobby. For all we know, there are toothbrushing forums and rump-wiping forums and hairgrooming forums too. Me, I'm not going exploring....

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Originally Posted by AFDavis11

I never got HAD, RAD, SAD, NAD or whatever. I haven't bought a razor in about 2 years, and I don't shave with the razors I've bought in the last 5 years. I figured out years ago that if you really want to get good, stick with one blade, one stone, and one strop.

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Did you try different razors before you settled on one favourite blade?

I suppose I could call it a hobby. If by definition a hobby is something you enjoy and strive to perfect and learn more about, yes.


I just wish my shaves would be closer. I still get better shaves with a DE.

I agree with AFDavis11. The "hobby" for me is discussing it. I shave with both DE and a straight. Which one I use on a given day is dependant upon my mood at the time. I took my first shave years ago with my grandad's DE but used cartridges until late last year. They always ate my neck up but I don't have that problem with either my Gillette Tech or my Dovo Ebony. I used to hate shaving, but now I enjoy it and like the idea of shaving the way my grandad did. I must admit to having a very mild case of acquisition disorder when it comes to soaps and creams though. I currently have 2 soaps and 2 creams and only want to add 2 more soaps...Tabac and MWF. Once those are by the sink I'll be through acquiring...maybe :)

Let's face it - if you are reading this, then it's more of a hobby than a necessity ( shaving I mean ! ). Some people enjoy trying all the different products available ( to the extent that their finances allow !! ) while others are less obssed. To each their own ( myself, I am somewhat obssed and have the bank acount to prove it !!! ). Either way, there is no right or wrong as long as you are enjoying what your're doing.

Ken

I think it's six and half dozen of the other, sure DE shaving can be quicker, but I'm only a year and half into straight razor shaving, not 10+ years like some guys so I can get a BBS each time, but it takes me 15-20 minutes to shave.

I started with DE's about 4 years ago, and I still have my Merkur Futur, but I have used it maybe 3 times since getting into straight razor shaving. The closeness is outstanding with a straight when it's done right with a DE it takes no skill and you can do it in under 5 minutes, but it's boring to me, honestly, there's no skill involved or art, it's plain jane.

Straight razors are for those who want to live life without a safety net, for those who want to challenge their own skills and improve upon them.

When I shave with a DE, I feel nutered, like I'm petting a lion with no teeth or claws, totally boring.

Cheer
David

I'll throw in on this one with a bit more of an answer than may be warranted, but why not?

I love the things in life that reflect the investment of time, of craftsmanship, of art. Having now held razors that are generations old, I get a little connection to times gone by, but also to hands that cared about what they were making. In a throw-away culture, that matters to me. I appreciate things that have been handled with care by others.

When I began contemplating straight-razor shaving, I did it thinking of my grandfathers, great-grandfathers, etc. for whom a straight was the only option. They all lived to be reasonably old men and all had some sort of appreciation for fine things, even if poor. My great-grandfather cherished his Bible and his banjo. Another was a coal miner, but insisted on dressing well. Another was a car salesman who had previously been much more, but was ruined by the Crash.

The one thing all these men shared in common was that they wouldn't be seen in public with a stubbled face. That meant they all paid close attention to their straights. At one point, I even had my grandfather's strop. When I inherited it, it was immaculate.

I have a beard that starts curling the instant it emerges from my skin. My skin, itself, is very sensitive, and fair. Shaving has ALWAYS been a pita. It has NEVER been pleasurable.

So at the tender age of forty-six, I finally started down the road of straight-razor shaving. I've got one good shave under my belt, but that one shave was more of a pleasure than I've EVER had with some mass-produced pos from Gillette or anyone else. It was the first shave I ever had that felt "right." It was a good thing that took a little more preparation, but was a portion of my finite time that felt immensely well-spent.

Beyond all the foregoing, I happen to live in West Virginia. My friends, neighbors, loved ones are subjected to the use of 3.5 MILLION pounds of high explosives per day in a coal extraction process called "Mountaintop Removal." It's a crime that ruins our communities, poisons our children and steals our future. It is, in fact, the single most UN-sustainable action taking place in the United States.

As such, sustainability means a LOT to me. By abandoning cartridge shaving, I was able to commit to an act that meant I would NEVER again buy a "disposable" blade on a planet being daily assaulted by the very idea of "disposable," and could pass it on to my teenage son.

Is that a hobby? Perhaps. Something inside me says otherwise.

As a new Straight user I'm going to jump in on this thread. For me this is strictly a hobby. I have been using several different shaving methods over the years mostly cartridges and electrics and because I didn't know any better that's what I stuck with.
One shave sticks out in my mind that brings me to this forum and shaving with straights. When I was getting married back in 1993, I went to my local barber to have my hair done and get a shave. He used a straight for that shave and I never had a more smooth and comfortable shave before or since! In fact, up until a few months ago I didn't even know you could get a straight razor. It was just so far off my radar that it just didn't even register. In anycase, I saw sraights on ebay and while I did not buy one then, the pictures and the memory of that incredibly smooth shave back in 1993 kept on tugging on me. finally I started to do some research and it brought me to SRP. I was amazed that there was a group of people that not only used straights but knew how to care for them too! I finally bought a straight, hones, strop and sundry accessories. While I am learning to shave with straights at this point it is nothing but a hobby as I still use cartridges during the week. I don't know at this point if I will ever use only straights as my primary means of shaving but my experience is that they give the best shave out there even with all of todays "modern" shaving technology.
I like the fact that I am using a system of shaving that is well over 100 years old that is better and cheaper than the modern way of doing things.
In addition, when you take into account the "manliness" factor of holding a blade to your neck that could literally slit your throat and skillfully using it without a cut, I just like it!
I know I got off of the topic but just wanted to give my perspective on the hobby aspect of it!