Thread: I got a question on youtube

Originally Posted by gssixgun

Might want to read through this thread, if you have time

It is actually called "Why Bother"

http://straightrazorpalace.com/conve...hy-bother.html

Well Said Glen, Great Post!

Originally Posted by Omega1975

Well Said Glen, Great Post!

Exactly as I understand it, and I agree.

I cook Italian food. I peel roma plum tomatoes in season, hand roll pasta with flour and eggs and understand the satisfaction of the extra efforts. Straight razors require "extra effort" and provide excellent results. I get it. But it requires time and practice that many might not be willing to sacrifice/accomplish. (lets face it, dried pasta is pretty dam good--not quite as good as hand made, but too close to be ignored) I have too many other hobbies that over ride this time needed.

The question sent to me was " Should I replace my Mach 3 with straights". My answer is no---unless you have the time and willingness to learn.

i'm glad you still keep using your straights from time to time. Eventually it will all come together. I first got a Dovo in 1997 in Germany, on a whim. I didn't know about shave ready sharpness or stropping. I remembered seeing guys stropping in old movies and tried to do it on a belt. The results were terrible.

I decided to try again last year. After a year or so of woodworking, mostly with hand tools, I had become very good at sharpening. I decided to use my Norton hones to sharpen my old Dovo that I had been using as a letter opener.

It worked. I then found SPR, learned a lot more, and have progressed to the point where I can get a one pass shave in about ten minutes that rivals what I could do with my Mach 3, and without the EXTREME irritation that I always got with a Mach 3. And yes, I knew about and used good shaving cream and good preparation back then. It helped, but not enough to overcome the shortcomings of the Mach 3. I learned to hate those clogged, crusty, dull face scrapers. I have tried them again recently, and the problems remained.

It's taken about 50 shaves to get where I am, but it's worth it. For the first time in my life I can now get a great shave, without looking like I wrapped poison ivy around my neck. No more ingrown hairs or burning sensation either.
I'll never go back to Mach 3. Stropping used to take a long time. Now it's only a couple of minutes. Practicing on a stropping paddle helped. If I'm really in a hurry I use a DE. My Merkur slant is great, but not quite as good as a straight. All in all, it only takes me five minutes longer than the Mach 3. The results are well worth the time.
Keep using your straight. You'll get better, then you'll see what I mean. But if you use it rarely, you'll never learn. Use your straight every shave, just for five minutes on the easiest parts, then finish with a disposable. Eventually your experience will progress, and you'll get good at using straights.
Some things are worth the effort. I thought the same thing you did after the first time I tried a straight, "No wonder we've developed these cartridges, straight razors don't work. They're even worse than these Mach 3's." I hated shaving so much, I even tried to grow a beard, but couldn't stand it. I wish I had had SRP in 1997, it would have taught me how to use a straight and saved me over a dozen years of embarrassing irritation on my face.

I understand what you are saying, and I don't disagree with all of it. I can certainly get a decent shave with a cartridge razor or a DE, but after you make some progress on the learning curve with a straight, the result is that shaving becomes really fun and doesn't take all that much time. It's hard to judge which is "better", but the straights, when you get the hang of them, are so much fun that it is nearly indescribable.

To each his own,

If you are the kind of person who is always on the go and prefers a much "Faster" pace of life, then straight shaving is not for you. After all a Mach is a MUCH faster shave that if you follow the 3 pass technique can actually give a VERY decent shave. So for someone like that then I have to agree a straight is no replacement for a Mach.

But if you prefer to slow down, and take the time to make sure it's done right, take time to enjoy the "art" of the shave then a straight is very much a good replacement, after all a Straight DOES give you a much smoother shave once you have learned the techniques, and once you take the time to do all the pre/post work involved... My 5 O'Clock shadow doesn't' come back until WAY WAY later now that I use a straight.

Right now my face is still pretty smooth and I shaved over 14 hours ago, my Mach could never do that for me (but it DID get me looking very good very fast)


Oddly enough, I find that now that I am waking up an extra 20 minutes early just to be able to do my shave routine, the act of forcing myself to slow down and enjoy puts me in a much better frame of mind for work and the rest of my day in general, I find I have something I enjoy waking up to (I'm single so don't have a SWMBO to wake up with ) and it really has improved my overall mood...

Just my opinion tho..YMMV

Originally Posted by yohimnbe2

I have too many other hobbies that over ride this time needed.

Here is the statement that provides the clarification.

For many of us, this IS our hobby. Or it is ONE of our hobbies and it coincides with our others. For me, I sharpen and restore straight razors, smoke cigars/pipes, and drink scotch/cognac/port.

Each one of these hobbies takes time. Time to maintain, and time to enjoy. They also go hand in hand, where I can have a nice shave on a Saturday, and grab a scotch and cigar.

To each his own. If you like what you're learning, you'll probably make it into some form of hobby. If you find what you're learning takes time and effort, which makes you frustrated because you think you should be doing something else that you enjoy, then you probably won't make it into a hobby.

Just my thoughts.

Originally Posted by yohimnbe2

I fell back to SE and DE blades as a compromise to the great MACH 3 razor.

Its the Reference blades that kill me !!! As much as I have tried, my other blades are no where close to the sharpness of my "reference" blades. If only I could keep them that sharp.

Lack of stropping or honing skill doesn't logically raise the Mach3 to the status of a "great razor"
If you don't have the time, coordination or desire to learn to use a straight that's the reality.

If poor stropping was the problem you could have sent the razors out for rehoning & researched/practised stropping. I usually recommend newbs to practice on a makeshift strop made from a single sheet of newspaper. It saves on leather & honing fees. You are correct in saying "shaving with a straight requires stropping and sharpening skills that most don't have" but the skills are not unattainable as many will attest to.

With 4-6 razors in your rotation you should not even need to use stones during your learning period. A rhetorical question but did you seriously expect to hone an edge as well as Lynn does so soon ?

Methinks you are on the wrong forum??? Perhaps the wrong subforum here. Lots of help avaliable on the honing and stropping subforums as well as prep, etc. It goes fast and easy when learned. Yes, you have to give up 20 or 30 minutes. Worth it, IMHO

20-30 minutes? Wow you are slow!!! LOL

One of these days I need to do a vid but Willi Hauser beats me, so I havent done it yet.

Originally Posted by sharptonn

Methinks you are on the wrong forum??? Perhaps the wrong subforum here. Lots of help avaliable on the honing and stropping subforums as well as prep, etc. It goes fast and easy when learned. Yes, you have to give up 20 or 30 minutes. Worth it, IMHO

A beginner asked me the question."Should I replace my Mach 3 with a Straight"----thus my post here. Add to that the fact that I am a beginner as well.

The Mach 3 is very easy to use. For this, I'd give it very high marks.( Although I use a Merkur slant, Vision and 1912 for most of my day to day shaves, I'd use the Mach 3 if I had a job interview without question.)

No argument from me all....this is a cool hobby. If you have time to learn the stones, strops, pastes, and shaving technique, you'll love it. I just have too many others.

But to answer the original question, I'd think twice about tossing a Mach 3 away for a Straight. UNLESS YOU HAVE TIME FOR ANOTHER HOBBY !!!! A mach 3 is no hobby at all.