Thread: Is a str8 really better?

Originally Posted by Hawkeye

I just had my rotator cuff repaired. Which brings me to the reason for this too long post. With only the wrong hand available (right) I reverted to my 3 bladed whiz bang. I washed my face lathered up and mowed down the whiskers. A clean smooth comfortable shave. The first non str8 in maybe 6 – 8 weeks. The first str8 I used was almost sharp, I bought a “shave ready”, not much better. I sent the shave ready to SRD. When it came back it shaved well but left my face burning. Looking at other threads I found this advice.
JEFFE posted in response to Last hope of a Desperate Man!!
“I'm not an expert, but having just put together some of these building blocks in the past few months, I can say that I walked a mile in your shoes, and I've found one thing, and one thing ONLY, is really responsible for any variation or disappointment that I've had with SR shaving . . . THE BLADE ANGLE”
He goes on to recommend a test with your DE.
So if I can get a very nice shave with a disposable, with minimal prep, why do I need elaborite prep to use a better shaver, and end up with a burning face? Angle only!!. Maybe I'll try str8 with the one wrong hand, so I can expirament with angles. There would be no skin stretching or stropping tho, so maybe not a good idea.
John

One reason for your excellent "non straight" shave could be the knowledge and techniques you have acquired through your interest in straight shaving.

[QUOTE=xman;542314]Did you use that three bladed whiz banger a second time?

Twenty-three months ago I brought my last two cartridges of Gillette Trac II disposables to the hospital when my wife went into labour. Due to some rising but non threatening jaundice and just for safety's sake the hospital stay turned into a five day ordeal. Because as well she ended up having an emergency C- section, I was instantly doing a lot to care for my newborn son. Since kissing babies is requisite and since their skin is so tender, the last thing I wanted was him to experience whisker rubs from me so I used a cartridge on around day two. The shave went fine. Comfortable and close. I convinced myself that at least the skin conditioning from a proper wet shave was better for me and the shave with the straight was closer too. two days later, still in hospital and for the same reason I used the cartridge a second time. There was a noticeable deterioration in the comfort of the shave after just one use. I pity gentlemen who put up with such shaves regularly.[/QUOTE ]

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR NEW SON!!!!!!!!!!

yes i have used it 3 times now. my experience is the same as yours. i'll have to use it for the next 4 weeks, until i get my left arm out of the sling. i am still thinking about trying to use the str8 one handed.
john

yes you do have control of your blades. start from sharpness end angle changes.gl

To Hawkeye (OP):

First, I hope your arm gets better soon! You have my best wishes for a quick and painless recovery.

Second, I cannot even imagine the problems caused by trying to use a straight razor with the non-dominant hand. I know some experts here can do it, but every time I've tried, it's like a scene out of that old horror movie where the guy gets a hand transplant from a depraved murderer, and the new hand does all sorts of evil stuff and eventually tries to strangle its new "owner". Anyway, that's pretty much what happens when I put a sharp blade in my left hand and bring it near my face!! So all I can say is, please be careful, and I hope your dominant hand and arm are soon well enought to take over this task.

Third, if you're interested, there is a very basic, objective reason that you can see for yourself why a cartridge shave will never, ever equal the smoothness of a straight razor (or DE for that matter). Someone showed it to me once, and I can explain it to you. If you will look closely at the surface of plastic cartridge that touches your skin, you will see that the actual parts that touch your skin are all plastic "bumpers" or ridges that surround the metal blades on all four sides of a rectangle, and that the metal blades are actually set into this plastic rectangle with just the tiniest gap separating them from the surface of the bumpers. This is why you can shave with a cartridge with one eye closed and never cut your face -- because the only thing actually touching your skin are the four plastic bumpers while the metal blades ride just the tiniest bit above the surface of the skin and cut the hair there. Now I know that the TV commercials show the skin touching the metal blade directly and one blade pulling the hair out so that the second (or third or fourth or whatever) blade can cut it off at the root. But this is plain old marketing bullcrap, and you'll notice that they don't play that little animated video anymore to sell these razors. No, the reason these cartridge razors work is that they have moved the blades to a position just above the skin so that you can shave without any skill or technique or attention and get a shave that is about 75-80% of the shave that you would be getting with a proper straight or DE. If you don't believe me, look at the cartridge you are using or, better still, lightly wet the surface of the cartridge and then press it onto a piece of dry paper and let me know if you see any marks made by the blades themselves.

Anyway, I didn't mean to go on a rant, but this is one thing that really bothers me about cartridge razors -- how we've been sold on this idea that these are "the best a man can get" when the real truth is so completely the opposite story that it's jarring to the conscience. That being said, I'm glad that the cartridge razor is helping you during your recovery, and no doubt the skin and whisker prep that you practice with a straight will help get a better shave from a cartridge.

Anyway, best wishes and good luck with everything!! --Jeff