Thread: is the straight razor for me?

About 100 years ago most 16 year olds were shaving with a straight razor. The danger of it is HIGHLY over rated.

Ask your parents about a double edge (DE) saftey razor...the kind you buy double edge blades for and put in the top. This is probably the next best thing to a straight razor. You can check them out on a lot of sites: classicshaving.com; bestgroomingtools.com; and vintagebladesllc.com are some of my favorite sites. I recently purchased a DE razor and love the results: a close, smooth shave without the digging! Check them out!

THe best advice has already been given; if you focus on good traditional soaps, creams and balms (and they don't have to be the expensive luxury brands) you will be streets ahead in the shaving stakes.

They are interesting and enjoyable to use, and they look after your skin, from both a protective POV and skin health. Making lather is a great skill to learn early and will ensure, whatever you shave with, you will get better results than canned foams and gels.

It is worth asking your parents about a DE razor - if they are providing your shave products, this will save them a fortune on Gillette disposables. One DE razor will cost as much as a couple of Fusions and last a lifetime. Blades are arguabley much better and very cheap. They are as safe as any cartridge razor.

Yeah, thumbs up on the Weishi DE (proper spelling). Although the J.B. Williams' classic animal fat, triple-milled puck of soap and its brethren are some of the cheapest shaving soaps around it is more difficult to create the perfect lather from. I've found a cheap glycerin-based shaving soap at $3.75 a 3 ounce puck which will have acceptable longevity and far superior in slickness and cushion to the canisters of foam sold in most places. I also like the 7 AMs (bangledeshi), supermaxs (indian), dorcos (korean) and the no-name little box of israeli (which from mantic59's account are actually the personnas?) to be very good double edge razors. The indian and korean blades were twelve bucks per hundred packs.. hard to argue with a twelve cent blade with two sides! Ebay has a bad reputation on this board, and is not advisable for newbies without a clue on the purchase of straight razors, but new 100 packs of DE razors are a safe bet with known brands.

My experience with disposables and the Gillette "Sensor Excel" were difficult, razor burn prone experiences.. with standard shaving foam canisters. Get the leg-up on the shaving with the soaps/creams and a non-aggressive DE safety razor. I think the Weishi is great. I was getting reliably close shaves with it, depending on what direction I was ultimately shaving at.

I doubt the disposables are any safer than the DEs... not in my experience. The only difference for me as been heft, with the greater heft of the standard, relatively small, all-metal DEs providing a more comfortable shaving experience. The only real difference is heft (not a problem but an asset) and the widge of the shaving head, which shouldn't be a factor except for the corners of the jaw near the ears and just under the nose. Certainly not an issue with basic hand/eye coordination!

It's preposterous to think that those plastic disposable single/double bladed (not double-sided) safety razors are any safer than the double-edged safety razors. If his parents object to that without even considering it than maybe their authority shouldn't be regarded as sacrosanct, not even in a 16 year old's life.... ?

Also, since he will most likely be getting a real shaving soap it would be prudent to also get a cheap little bowl for whipping up the lather after "loading" the brush. A scuttle I believe it's called. I have a cheap melamine (plastic) little bowl for under a dollar from an Asian grocery store. I have three different shave soaps in second-hand store coffee mugs and a broken handle free tourist mug from the workplace. No reason to break the bank. The fine, luxury items can come later after a solid relationship with the daily "chore" of keratin razing has been developed.

Originally Posted by jesseblues

Hi everyone!

... and since I'm only 16 my parents won't let me have one because it is too dangerous! I can understand that it is dangerous but with enough practice and care I'm pretty sure it won't be more dangerous then you make it. So is the straight razor the best option for me or is there something else I could try?

Thanks

Hi. All very good advice so far. One more option that I am suprised wasn't mentioned (unless I missed it) that may appeal to you (and your parents) is the type of "straight" razor that uses half a double edged blade in a holder... looks like a straight, shaves like a straight (sorta), but the only part of the blade that is actually exposed once it is properly loaded is the very edge, so it would be very hard to injure yourself seriously. Its what many of the barbers today would be using on you if you go to one for a shave as it allows them to use a fresh (germ free) blade for each customer. I'll try and attach a picture below. You can get these for about $10 at a barber supply place (check yellow pages). You snap a safety razor blade in half, set it in the slide in holder part, then slide that into the handle assembly. Your parents may find this an acceptable compromise, and it will certainly give you the "flavour" and experience of a straight razor.

and here's a you tube of a shave using one of these... YouTube - Luxurious shave at Grafton Barber