A newbie's learning experience
Although I have been watching all of the forums on this website and have been a member for some weeks, this is my first post. I wanted to see if I could actually shave with a straight razor before posting anything. I’ve been using a straight for about a month now.
I got a beginner’s package from Tony Miller, partly because I like the idea of purchasing from the American "micro-economy" rather than corporate giants, and partly because I wanted to have a properly honed razor to start with. That way, I could eliminate the razor as the source of any difficulties encountered during the learning process. I highly recommend this route for anyone switching to a straight razor.
I also bought Lynn’s DVD so that I could watch someone actually shaving with a straight, and see live demonstrations of proper honing, stropping, etc. I also highly recommend this DVD. It helped a lot, especially with getting over the fear of making blade-to-skin contact with a surgically sharp instrument.
My simple motivation for switching to a straight was twofold: (1) thrift (no more wasting money on triple-blade cartridges), and (2) waste reduction (no more spent cartridges into the wastestream).
Here’s some of what I’ve learned so far:
Regarding thrift, the savings on cartridges is approximately $2.50 each (what a ripoff). For me, that amounts to approximately $175 a year. High prices make it easy for me to resist buying fancy imported English shaving products and free-range organic badger brushes. Good show, chaps!
It has, however, taken all of my willpower, and a lot of help, to resist starting a collection of straight razors, which would defeat the thrift motivation. Fortunately, I’ve had some help from the eBay snipers out there who have outbid me during the final few seconds of several auctions. Thanks guys, whoever you are; you’ve saved me a bundle and kept me out of trouble with my wife.
Regarding waste reduction, after the first 10 straight razor shaves or so, I didn’t need to follow up with the sissy razor anymore; therefore, no more trashing spent cartridges (or the plastic holder they come in). Starting down this path a year ago, I put down the nationally advertised shave gel and picking up the brush, mug and cake soap to use with my multi-blade razor. For me, chucking out all of those non-recyclable metal containers seems unnecessarily wasteful. On a side note, I could get a couple of extra shaves from each cartridge when I switched from gel to shaving soap.
Not surprisingly, there are myths about straight razor shaving, the most common, especially among women, is that it is extremely dangerous and best reserved for only the bravest and manliest of manly men. Of course, it’s not true, but if it’s all the same to you guys, let’s keep it our little secret. It has done wonders for my mojo, and gives me street cred with my homies. In a little over a month, as a beginner, I’ve only nicked myself twice (very small ones).
Another myth is that it takes too much time to shave with a straight. My barber tried to discourage me by telling me that I would spend an hour a day shaving if I switched. For the first dozen shaves or so, he was correct; but now it takes me about 25 minutes to get a totally bloodless BBS shave, and I’ll probably get that down to about 20 minutes within the next couple of weeks. Interestingly, there isn’t a single barber in any of the three barber shops in my small town who will perform a straight razor shave on a customer. How sad. After all, the word “barber” comes from the Middle English word “barbe” which means “beard”.
My barber also said that I would cut myself to ribbons while learning, which of course didn't happen, although the first couple of weeks was punctuated by the two above-mentioned small nicks and a few cases of razor burn.
Becoming "experienced" has brought some surprising bonuses:
My last three or four shaves been the closest, most comfortable shaves I have ever gotten in my life, and the skin on my face feels 10 years younger. I started shaving as a teenager in 1970 with a brand new Gillette DE that my dad gave me as a gift. I used it for about a year, and after losing a couple of pints of blood, I started trying almost every new single- and multi-blade wet shaving system invented. Although all of these gadgets are capable of delivering a decent shave when used properly, I can honestly say now that compared to proper straight razor shaving, they all pretty much suck when it comes to closeness and comfort.
Plus, I get a great deal of pleasure at figuratively thumbing my nose at Corporate America’s insatiable thirst for squeezing every last dime they can get out of me. Sweet! Men were successfully shaving with bare metal blades for thousands of years before King Camp Gillette came along with the concept of making perpetual profits with machine-made disposable blades. Through first-hand experience, I find that a properly wielded straight razor is actually much safer and less likely to nick than the so-called “safety” razor.
Finally, for me there is a sense of accomplishment that comes with mastering and preserving an ancient (and misunderstood) art, and being part of a select group of avid traditionalists.
