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I know this may sound ignorant but my girlfriend is afraid that I will cut my throat and bleed to death. This is because I am currently using a five blade cartridge and walk away with razor burn and a little blood from every shave. I think this is because the blades do not stay sharp and I feel like I'm applying more pressure. What is the real threat here? I understand that when using a straight you apply almost zero pressure. Any thoughts are welcome. Thanks
Unless your name is Sweeny Todd you'll be safe... No member here has bleed out yet, or at least they haven't said anything about it if they did
Hello, and welcome to the forum. It's highly unlikey you will cut your throat and bleed to death. You may get the occasional nick, or irritation. Once you learn to use the razor properly, it'll give you the closest shave possible. Read through the WIKI here, check out the videos, and also check youtube. There's a guy called "Mantic59" he has lot's of str8 razor and shaving videos. I'm also in Jacksonville. I live on the Westside....
Rich
A straight will cut your throat,your finger,your ear, your chin, your cheek. It is very sharp, but i think you will be just fine !!!!!!
I cut my throat twice this morning, but it wasn't that bad. It looks kind of like I have two "hickeys" and girls look at me and think I'm hot. I'm not hot, but I'm not telling them.
Unless you have a seizure disorder or other condition that might cause involuntary muscle spasms, you'll probably be ok.
Illogical :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Bgood0485
Yep, what they said. If you have the physical aptitude to slice bread you'll do just fine. Also, don't shave while playing basketball or ice hockey :) You would have to really try to do damage like she is suggesting. Most straight cuts are much more towards the paper cut end of things. Straights just freak a lot of people out; unfamiliar + sharp + near large arteries = fear.
My theory:
. . . The straight razor is so obviously dangerous that people are really careful with it.
Don't shave in the shower, don't shave naked, don't shave rushed, etc.
If you want to keep everybody happy, get an inexpensive double-edge razor (an old Gillette from an antique shop, or a new Weishi from eBay) and some Feather blades. [The razor is a 'safety razor' because it won't let you cut very deep into your skin, even if you use it badly.]
That will give you experience in using a single, _really sharp_, blade to shave with.
However, if you use _any_ pressure, the Feather blade will scrape a bit of skin off, and you'll be encouraged to use a lighter touch.
After a bit of that practice, you'll find it easier to switch to a straight razor. [Or you'll decide that double-edge razors suit you!]
Charles
I'm also beginning with straights and have a wicked combination of sensitive skin with a tough patchy beard. Modern cartridges used to leave my skin like a mine field of ingrown hairs and irritation.
So far I have found that using a vintage "twist to open" style double edge safety razor has been a great way to get the feel of what a using a "light touch" while shaving really means. My first few shaves revealed that I had quite a heavy hand. It took several shaves before it became comfortable and my skin had healed from the cartridge razors. Now with my Gillette Slim adjustable razor shaving is a joy.
If you decide to start with safety razors I recommend the Merkur DE blades to start out with, they're very smooth. The Feather blades are the sharpest and will cause quite a burn if you unknowingly have a heavy hand like me.
Good luck! Wet shaving is the best!
It is funny I to had this thought. But once you try it you will be surprised how smooth the razor feels. Best advice, read as much as you can on here and do not rush into it. Arm yourself with information and you will be fine
Yes. (but probably not enough to kill you :ziplip: ) :angel:
Yes, while getting ready to go to your girl's, cousin's wedding you will badly cut yourself. Your girl will have to go without you. You will need to apply pressure until 10 minutes after she leaves. Fearing blacking out you will need to go to the pub, i mean, doctor and get medicated.
But that's the price we pay :angel:
picture this.. you buy a high end sports car.. you can either drive it directly into a wall and kill yourself.. or you can navigate it down the road and let it take you smoothly to your destination..
with that said.. shave your face.. don't slit your throat.
A straight razor is just a tool. It is very sharp. It cannot do anything on it's own. So the question really is, will you use your sharp tool to cut yourself? If you feel you can safely carve a steak, drive a car, shoot a gun or hammer a nail, all without doing serious damage, your tools skills seem adequate. Personally, I think everyone could use a straight razor safely except epileptics or people with strong seizures. Best of luck :)
Think about it this way, what did people do before they had cartridge razors or even safety razors? They didn't (all) go unshaven, did they? I was not around then, but I am pretty sure that just like we start out now, men in those days got cuts and razor burn, but eventually got it I believe you would be hard pressed to find one article on someone that accidentally cut themselves badly enough to cause serious damage or death. That being said I did not actually research this and it is just a theory.
You'll almost definitely cut your neck. You also almost definitely will not bleed out from it.
My girlfriend (now ex) and family at the time was very apprehensive about me shaving with a straight. I have since only had one real cut, and it wasn't really that bad. I have also noticed that ingrown hairs I used to get in certain areas are just not there anymore. The shaves have been increasingly closer and more comfortable with less and less irritation.
But really, there's only one way to find out. :)
I started str8 shaving for exactly the reason you are describing. anything with more than one blade dragging accross my skin made me bleed like a siv. I adjusted quickly and have never used a cartridge razor again. and i definately never slit my throught im still here lol.
It may possibly cut your throat, I have finally just healed from a lapse in concentration from a couple weeks ago, a nice 2" cut just beneath my ear. You wont bleed out though, and hey you know what they say chicks dig scars.
I agree with the other guys, you'd really have to be going some to cut your throat!
You hold the razor at an angle (usually 30 degrees) on your skin, not at 90 degrees and you never make a slicing motion, its just a scrape with the blade. If you hold the razor at 90 degrees and slice then sure, you'll end up with the mother and father of all cuts, will certainly need stitches and have a girlfriend who never lets you near a sharp edge again.
But if you use the correct angle, take things slow and use the scraping motion then you'll end up with one of the smoothest, closest, most comfortable shaves you ever had! :)
I've been using straights for about two years now and I've had no cuts that have been any worse than what I'd already gotten with a mach 3 or something. In fact the worst cuts I've had from straights have been when cleaning up supposedly dull eBay blades and even those didnt require anything more than a bandaid.
Honestly, you'll be fine, no worries. If you're careless with the blade or rush then you might get a small nick but that'll be the worst of it.
Good luck and keep us posted! :)
In addition to reading this forum, getting Lynn's DVD, and/or meeting up with someone who knows what they're doing,
you are much less likely to cut your throat if you do one of two things:
#1) Keep small children away from yourself while shaving. I love my kids but I don't love a few cuts I have gotten when they have run in to the bathroom and bumped me mid shave.
#2) This is the best bet. Buy a Dovo Prima Klang. Look at it. Envision it cutting your throat open and you bleeding to death. Now that you're scared of it, send it to me:)
Tell her the only thing we have to fear is fear itselfQuote:
Originally Posted by Bgood0485
I am still new to straight shaving - about 15 shaves in so far - and i have yet to cut or even nick myself on the throat. Actually, i nick myself far less on average than i did with my double edge razor. You'll be fine.
Sadly the risk from this had not occured to me till I read thisQuote:
Originally Posted by cpcohen1945
I have 2 rules when I shave with a straight razor. The #1 rule was already talked about that is the naked shaving I've never had anything happen but it's just not a good idea. #2 rule is coffee after shaving I feel if I have coffee before I tend to tense up and that lead to the nasty scar on my jaw line. after I figured out to skip the coffee all has been good.
i just started about 3 weeks ago and other than a couple of scratches from my dbl duck spike that i really shouldn't have tried using yet all i have suffered is some razor burn on my super sensitive neck(too much pressure). this past weekend my 10 year old son want to "help" me so i told him what to do and showed him on one side of my face i let him do a couple of square inches on the other side. im still here =) be careful, go slow from stropping to lather to shaving, everything will be fine. im not "there yet" when it comes to BBS or even really good shaves on a regular basis but i already enjoy shaving more and even look forward to it. the shaves are just as good as any cartridges the first two weeks and now they are a bit better so lots to look forward to. cheers and good luck in your endeavor
Wow! You let your son shave your face!?! That IS brave! And it's also incredibly cool! My sons are 2yrs and 5 days, so they won't even be touching a razor for many years, but it's very cool that you'd let him shave your cheek.Quote:
Originally Posted by cjoffroader
To the Original Poster: Plenty of advice has been given. My wife had similar apprehensions when I first told her I wanted to try straight shaving. But after a few weeks we were at an antique show together and she called me over, "Look! I found a straight razor!" She was excited. Still not interested in trying them herself, but supportive after seeing I wasn't going to kill myself!
Peace,
I want to thank everyone who posted a reply. I agree with each response and wanted to use this post to try and convince her of the same. She is still skeptical but hey who isn't when the see several inches of razor sharp steel near the throat? I have been on here for over a year now and I have read every article many times knowledge is key to learning this new skill. Thank you all for your posts
This is true, noone has died and posted about it....Quote:
Originally Posted by thehekler
My wife was skeptical when I first started shaving with a straight razor almost 2 years ago, but now she's happy that I have found a hobby that I enjoy and is fairly inexpensive.:rofl2: Hey, what she doesn't know doesn't hurt me. She will sometimes watch me shave out of curiousity but she won't watch when I shave my neck. As for cutting oneself, I find it amusing that I rarely cut myself shaving, but darn it, I seem to get all kinds of other cuts, from the vicious paper cuts to slicing my finger with a kitchen knife.