Thread: Hello all, interested in a straight razor shave

I have thought about it and there might still be one at my parents' house left by the previous residents. I remember finding it a long time ago and plan to look again before buying one.

As you say, good at least when time is tight. While I learn to make lather, I have a couple cartridge razors I can use that will take no practice to wield. As I have read here many times, "change only one variable at a time". This appeals to the scientist in me.

Originally Posted by Adama

You might want to check out whippeddog.com. I'm a newbie who started with a straight last month. I decided to go with Larry's sight unseen deal along with his poor man's strop kit. For $55, he'll set you up with a good razor that is shave ready, a basic strop (nothing fancy), and a balsa strop. I believe it's a good deal and a great way to start.

+1.

Alternative -- get a "shave-ready" razor from the Classifieds on this site. The vendors are reliable.

Alternative -- get a Dovo "Best Quality" razor (new) from Straight Razor Designs (or one of the other vendors active on this website). Make sure the razor has been hand-sharpened (the SRD blades qualify).

Unless you want to get deeply into "razor sharpening" as a hobby, avoid eBay cheapies, and avoid antique shops.

charles

PS -- I agree with a previous post -- a double-edge razor might be all that you need for a comfortable shave. Most Merkur's would be OK, and just about any antique-store Gillette will work. Use a good blade -- Astra or Feather for me, easy to get by mail. There's a much shorter learning curve for a DE razor, than for a straight razor.

Hi Nate, and first of all, Welcome! It sounds like you've settled on the right track, focusing for now on a new kind of lather. All the advice to start with a blade that's a known quantity--i.e., shave-ready from a reliable source--is the only good advice. You'll want a strop at the same time you try your first straight--stropping is key to daily edge prep and care.

Like you, I ended up starting with the lather and my old cartridge system, then shifted to straights gradually, shaving sideburns and cheeks with the straight and handling the trickier areas with the cartridge, until I got comfortable using the straight everywhere.

The main benefit (besides the cool factor and the excellent meditation) of the straight was that I no longer suffered ingrown hairs, nor did I shave with something that could harbor bacteria, old sebum, soap scum, or other yuckness between shaves.

Plus, of course, there's all that cool gear! (says the man with three belly boats, a tent, a bivy sack, a tiny camper, a metal lathe...)

The main benefit (besides the cool factor and the excellent meditation) of the straight was that I no longer suffered ingrown hairs, nor did I shave with something that could harbor bacteria, old sebum, soap scum, or other yuckness between shaves.

I have to say that I've read this enough here that it's fast becoming a big reason I want to do this. I don't have as many problems on my face now as I used to, but I still have lingering issues with ingrown hairs from time to time. In particular, though, the skin on my chest is pretty bad and I'm thinking that some of the washing techniques and products I'm reading about might be helpful there.

A different type of razor isn't going to be magic, so better understand what you're getting into.

With a cartridge razor you usually have 3-5 blades going over your skin with every stroke. Then between the shaves those blades are left to rust (yes they have special coatings but those wear off) so each subsequent shave is worse than the previous.
With a DE razor you have a single blade scraping at your skin and they are about 20c-50c so replacing them often is much cheaper than cartridges.
With a shavette type of razor you have the freedom to vary the angle of the blade at your skin (that's fixed in a DE razor and people usually call the ones with steep angle agressive). That of course means that you need a lot more skill, but the benefits of the extra freedom is worth it for many. Also to avoid cuts you will be forced to be much gentler than with those cartridge razors, which means less irritation.
With a regular straight razor you have thicker edge and bare steel (no coatings) and you strop the blade between shaves to keep the oxidation at bay (that's why the edge can last weeks/months/years vs. several shaves with a replaceable blades that you do not strop). Of course it's of utmost importance that the edge you have is good, so it's best to stay away from ebay and antique shops. Buy a razor from a person you trust to know what they are doing and who has honed and verified that the edge is what it should be. Gillette/Schick/etc have machines that put a perfect edge on miles and miles of steel, but doing the same thing by hand across a 3" blade takes a good deal of experience.

And the way you treat your skin and whiskers before and after you put a blade to them makes a huge difference too. With a soft whisker you don't need to apply pressure and scrape off a lot of skin, and the lubrication from the lather does the same.

So, it's up to you where you want to go, but the low hanging fruit would be switching to using good shaving soap/cream instead of the canned stuff that's optimized for convenience and shelf life, and after that you using the 1-bladed bic disposable razors - they're very cheap and dragging 1 blade across your skin gets far less irritation than than 5.

Hey Nate welcome to the forums, I started straight shaving two years ago and can still be classed as a newbie regarding my knowledge and expertise but I'm getting there slowly

I used to cartridge shave for years and found it a chore and never really gave it much though but I always loved the whole straight razor idea, I was eventually given money one Xmas and decided that was the time to switch.

I got a beginners kit, a dovo razor, strop and shave cream from the invisible edge ( a very good uk supplier) and haven't looked back since, however I also liked the idea of honing (sharpening) my own razor so I decided to buy a cheap eBay $10 razor to practice with so as not to destroy my dovo's blade, I'm still learning a lot about the whole sharpening side of straight ownership but it's all slowly falling into place and is turning into a little bit of an obsession for me.

If its any use to you I started out practice shaving with a replaceable blade shavette razor, so as to get used to holding a straight and how the strokes worked on my face etc. so when the time came to use a real straight I didn't cut both my ears off. Fingers crossed to this day I've not had a serious cut.

It's now something I enjoy doing and love all the prep for my skin, getting a good lather etc then the real joy for me is the actual shave.

+1 for Larry at whippeddog, he will sell you a sight unseen razor for $25, I think that even includes shipping! They are not pretty, but they are shave ready, an excellent value in my eyes!

Picked up a couple items locally. Got an inexpensive brush "pure bristle" and a small handmade earthenware bowl for my lather. Now to decide what soap to start with.

Funny story, ran into a guy I've known for a couple years after buying the brush, and after a bit, he asks me if I've got a shave brush. Turns out he's a big fan of classic methods but he uses a DE razor.

Hmmmm... Mtbiker, Hammocker, and now Wetshaver? Could you be my twin? Do you have sleep apnea too? LOL!

Anyway, I haven't been on hammock forums lately so I guess I missed that thread. I'll have to go look it up. It's great to see you here though. Definitely change one variable at a time, starting with making real lather with a brush and soap/cream. I don't shave with a straight yet but I'm going to eventually. I currently DE shave and frequent another shaving forum. Boar hair is usually what is referred to by "Pure Bristle". It should work fine to get started. It'll take a little time to break in though because boar hair needs to get split ends and soften up a little before it has the best performance (especially with creams) and comfort.

No sleep apnea but my rhythms are totally screwed up.

Good tip about creams and the brush I got. I had read that creams can be easier to get a good lather if you're starting out. Would a cream still be a good choice even if my brush needs some breaking in? I read a good bit about proraso being well-favored so I am considering starting with it.

Since I want to start pretty simple, I am wondering what might be good to start with for post shave? I read about folks using a variety of products and I am unsure what many of them are even for in the first place. All I'd like at this point is something simple to start with that will make my face feel nice.