Thread: Feather - probably not a great starter...

Howdy to all… I’ve recently decided to take the plunge from a safety razor (a Merkur Futur) to a straight rig. I figured since, based on all the research I had done, honing and stropping were the most time-consuming and difficult to master aspects of the straight razor experience, I’d try a Feather (one of the “Artist Club” series). I guess the idea of the precision interchangeable blade appealed to me from both a convenience and shave quality standpoint. Well, going on week # 3 with it, I’m sort of finding it to be very much as someone else in here described – “unforgiving”!

I mean, I haven’t taken an ear off or anything, in fact I’ve actually had relatively few minor nicks and cuts. It’s just that when you’re coming from the incident-free, relatively “boring” world of a safety razor shave, any amount of nicking, cutting or razor burn are kind of a drag… (Yeah, I know – quit whining and get to the point!) So here’s my point – while I feel like I’m getting the hang of the Feather, and there’s no question that it provides an amazingly close shave, I don’t really find my shaving experience as relaxing as it had been. I actually find myself kind of involuntarily tensing up a bit as I’m shaving now. Sort of defeats the purpose…

So my basic question is – if I were to try a traditional straight razor, and take the time to learn proper stropping (and eventually honing) technique, will it reduce the chance of minor cuts/irritation by virtue of its perhaps less than scary sharp blade? I find myself totally hooked on the closeness of shave that I get from the Feather, but I feel like – even if it’s mostly a psychological effect – using a blade maybe just a tad bit less sharp might help me get over the hump. Am I totally over-analyzing this or what?? ☺ My last question is – what’s a good “starter razor” for someone with an average beard, and probably slightly above average skin sensitivity? I’m looking at a couple Dovo set-ups on ClassicShaving.com. Is 5/8 a good size to start with (I have a goatee to trim around)?

Thanks for already being a great resource for this newbie!