Thread: Straight Razor shaving - worth it?

Originally Posted by eddelgado

Yes I am planning to stick with it for several more months at least but just felt a need to vent today.

I estimate that using the straight probably takes about twice as long as a DE or Gem does and I always made two passes with those. Part of that has to do with the stropping and part of it has to do with the additional concentration and different passes - WTG, ATG, etc.. The Gem used to provide a closer more reliable shave than what I am getting from the straight. I'm not saying that the GEM shaves closer everywhere or maybe anywhere but overall it makes the whole face a lot smoother - in hard to shave areas significantly so.

I'll keep plugging at it. It's the harder to shave areas that are the real challenge.

Ed

Different people have different learning curves. Do not worry about getting bbs shaves on the first two or three months. You will know once you are there. Once you start to get close to good shaves you will find that shaving is more relaxing than worrying about the bbs results. At least that is how it happened to me.
I can honestly say that nowadays shaving with straight doesn't take much more time than shaving with DE.

Originally Posted by eddelgado

Yes I am planning to stick with it for several more months at least but just felt a need to vent today.

I estimate that using the straight probably takes about twice as long as a DE or Gem does and I always made two passes with those. Part of that has to do with the stropping and part of it has to do with the additional concentration and different passes - WTG, ATG, etc.. The Gem used to provide a closer more reliable shave than what I am getting from the straight. I'm not saying that the GEM shaves closer everywhere or maybe anywhere but overall it makes the whole face a lot smoother - in hard to shave areas significantly so.

I'll keep plugging at it. It's the harder to shave areas that are the real challenge.

Ed

I have gone from 1 hour to 30 minutes for 3 full passes plus clean up. That includes making my lather and cleaning my area.

Now for those hard to get at areas. I am betting that your trouble areas are just below your jawlines and about 1/3 of the length of your neck down. These are areas that you can't get your blade vertically into and the whiskers are growing crazy in.

This is where you really have to develop your guillotine (or scythe) cuts. I could not get a good shave in those areas until I got that technique down.

Can you let us know if that is the case here?

Wow you spend a long time shaving!

I'm probably taking about 15 minutes doing two full passes. I used to run a third partial pass on just the chin.

Hardest areas for me are the are right under the jaw on both sides, the chin, and a spot around my adams apple on my neck.

Currently I basically shave with a top to bottom motion across my whole face for pass1 - I have a mustache so I do not need to worry with that.

Second pass is typically from the center towards the outside on the cheeks and neck and towards the center on my chin. I use a scything motion on the area around my adams apple.

Ed

I tried straight razors shaving and I can do it without needing sutures. But it's slow and awkward for me and there's more maintenance involved than I'm willing to live with right now.

For me a DE is ideal. It's simply a better tool for me. I can get extremely good shaves, as good or better than with a cartridge, and do it faster.

I have the utmost respect for straight shavers, so please forgive me for mentioning this, but there are good and practical reasons why there are very few people that use these tools today.

I realize that quicker and easier is not always better. So many things these days are designed and engineered with one primary goal, that being higher profits. It was my desire to reject the modern greed-is-good mentality that made me want to use a straight to begin with. But I've found a very acceptable compromise in the DE.


There seem to be two extremes in shaving (I'm going to leave out electrics because imo that's not really shaving). At one end you have the expensive, horribly bad for the planet but fast and easy to use cartridge and canned foam/gel. On the other you have inexpensive, good for the planet but slower and harder to learn straight blades with a brush and soap. Doing the math on the per shave costs is an excellent illustration of those extremes. I couldn't begin to analyze the two carbon footprints but I expect there to be just as big a gap.

For me these extremes can be defined in terms of good and bad. I don't think I need to say which is which. I found that I can get really close to the good side with minimal fuss and not have to spend an excess of time to get the results I want.

Hey man not trying to talk you out of it as this is such a relaxing thing to do you should do whatever makes you feel the best. But also consider you could do a hybrid shave where the first pass or two is with the straight and clean up with the DE. I did this for a while and only moved away as my straight technique improved.

It gave an awesome shave (not sure why but the straight/DE hybrid gave a better shave than DE alone) and was much quicker as I didn't spend so much time on the ATG piece.

Anyway, just a thought.

Edit: sorry, I confused this thread with another that the OP was giving up. Still hold the hybrid might work for you.

Just one thing i have found, and this may be just because i am only using my right hand to shave, you cant get BBS everywhere. I can get BBS on my cheeks, chin, most of the left neck and the top of the right. Pretty close on the mo area but look at beard reduction everywhere else.

I think as eTom has said its culture. I love the stropping, lathering and everything else. One guy said to me one time that men love ritual and doing this is about as ritualistic as it gets.

I recommended sticking with it mate.

Worth it? Depends no what you define as worthy of your time.

I came crawling to the forum after trying to have a go at it for just over a month. Within a few days, my shaving improved- dramatically. I am able to keep my fur looking like a '3 to 5 o'clock shadow' versus the patchy, bloody and burned wreck my face had previously been.

I can't thank this forum enough for their patience. If you are willing to slow down, focus, ask questions and work at it, I'm willing to bet this forum, and your faith in yourself, will pull you through.

Good luck. I know others do this all the time successfully. Why can't you? Why can't I? :-)

I've only been at this a few months now, but shaving doesn't take nearly as long as the beginning. Of course, it took me an hour in the beginning. Shaving takes about 5-7 minutes, longer if I'm going on a date. Shaves are better than mach3 ever gave.

Guys my plans are to continue with the straight for at least 3 or 4 more months.

I tried cold water shaving this week and the results at least for me are about the same as with hot water. That saves me a couple of minutes in the morning so I'll continue that way.

I guess the biggest thing with the straight is that you have to pay attention to what you are doing to get a close shave. You have to watch your angle, your direction of strokes to get good results. I still hate shaving my damned chin! That is a huge effort and the results are not as good as I can get with other shaving methods.

Thank you all for all of the feedback.

Ed

Have you thought about growing a goatee for awhile? Makes shaving go much faster and easier.