Thread: Barber said I have the thickest beard he has ever shaved...

So i go get my first straight razor shave from a barber because I wanted to see what I was getting into here. He was using personna disposable blades. I told him I had a pretty thick beard to start with. He said I'm sure it'll be fine. The first pass down the cheek he said wow you weren't kidding. Long story short, the shave was patchy and not very close. It was pretty uncomfortable and the barber had to switch to a new blade just to finish. At the end he said the only other guy I have shaved with a thicker beard wouldn't let me finish because it hurt to bad.
So I have recently gotten my razor back from being honed by Sham over at razor and stone. He did a good job but I'm not sure it's worth continuing to try. The barber did pretty good prep from what I could tell. But I am just not sure if the straight razor thing is gonna work. Any thoughts?

A real straight razor may function better because the grind geometry, right before the bevel, is thicker. If you want to shave, the traditional straight razor is a very effective tool. The thicker your beard, the more effective the straight razor is, comparatively.

The real problem, is with guys with fine wispy hair, not really thick, heavy beards. The thinness of a tradional Personna blade is no match for a thick, heavy beard.

This does not make you immune though, from the long learning curve associated with straight shaving.

Your questions may not have an answere,If Sham honed the razor,it was shave ready.
How was your first shave with the blade? have you stropped it since.
Whats your prep routine? Lots of perameters here.

Originally Posted by pixelfixed

Your questions may not have an answere,If Sham honed the razor,it was shave ready.
How was your first shave with the blade? have you stropped it since.
Whats your prep routine? Lots of perameters here.

I have tried a few different pre shave techniques. Everything from pre shave oils to conditioner in the shower. Hot towels and mama bear soap. I have read a lot of different ways to do it and stroped multiple times before shaving on a Russian boar strop it seems to do OK for the first few passes and quickly seems less and less effective.

Hi Poptart,

'first few passes and quickly seems less and less effective'.

Part of this is quite normal for a new shaver. You're gonna be brutal hard on your edge, even if you didn't have the proverbial beard of steel. Developing stropping skills and the shave stroke itself will wreak havoc on your edges. I think you'll find Sham and others will confirm this. This is where its helpful to have a method of restoring edges until your technique makes that less frequent. This doesn't have to be all honing, though at some point, its unavoidable.

You guys w/ the 'beard of steel' do have extra challenges, but I think the honorable afdavis tells you right about the straight remaining the strongest tool. I'm hoping the guys w/ nasty tough beards come out of the woodwork and weigh in on how to get through the learning curve. If they don't, I'd start a new thread on specifically that topic.

Best of luck. If I can be of help w/ edges, pm me. 'Just actual shipping cost to get it back to you. Also a technique where you can extend the time between honing.

I am a barbering student, and at school we use disposable blade straight razors-- I can tell you from first hand experience that there is a big difference between them, and a conventional straight; especially for a guy like you. As AFDavis said, a straight razor is really your best option. We all go through a bit of an uncomfortable learning curve, with your beard, this learning curve will be even more pronounced.

Stick with it, and you'll be greatly rewarded.

Put it this way, if a straight razor can't shave the world's toughest beard, nothing will

Once you get the basics down - prep, stropping, shaving and post shave treatment - you'll wonder why you ever questioned the effectiveness of a straight. It does take time and practice though.

A few years back I was going to a barber who was 80 years old. Naturally I brought up straight razors hoping he had some old stuff to sell or whatever. Whatever he had he wasn't parting with and I wasn't interested anyway. But the point of all this is ..... he told me he used to hate to shave customers for fear of nicking them.

Once a guy came in with the toughest and densest whiskers he had ever seen. He did the hot towel on the guy and loaded up a Gillette fully adjustable with a new blade and shaved the guy. He wouldn't even try with the straight. He said the guy didn't realize it until the shave was done and he was disappointed. The shave was okay but he wanted a straight razor shave.

I've got a couple of old Sextoblade shavettes and personna blades. I've also had vintage replaceable blades and they don't come close to a good shave ready straight razor. Of course you have to have the technique but that will come with time and practice.

Your barber has obviously never met me. My beard is so tough that Stan Lee wanted to use it as a model for his latest superhero. It is so tough that Chuck Norris paid me for a few strands to practice roundhouses on in his gym (his ankle now has a metal plate and 15 screws in it). It is so tough that it didn't cry when it watched Old Yeller.

There is no better shaving implement than a properly honed straight razor in competent hands. You can purchase the former, but only time can bring you the latter.

James.

Speaking of tough beards, I don't think there is anything tougher or denser than the hair on the sides and back of the head. The brave souls that are head shavers can testify to the utility of the true straight razor.