Thread: Do you think this is Bad Ass?!

This as come up in a number of posts ever since I joined this group a year ago. I recall two threads that got heated up and that included something along these lines: "people shave with straights because it is bad ass"...
This disturbs my peace of mind a bit, to be honest. Therefore I decided to start this thread on the subject in order to try and get things straight and understand the general feeling towards straight razor shaving.

But first, let me explain - briefly - what I think of this: I don't think that this method of shaving is bad ass. In fact I'm not even sure what it means to be a bad ass... some say it is a "slang" for being manly or something. Shaving is, indeed, a manly thing, of course. But there are ladies here that use straight razors to shave their legs and even their faces as well. We know this, right? So... what gives? I have nothing against this sort of statment but I simply cannot think of it as nothing other than a missguided thought.
I think this is the utmost, the zenith of gentlemanly methods of shaving. It is a connection to a past when things were simpler, when sturrdiness and reliability and durability were very important things. How nany of us shave with razors made in the 19th century, right? And it is also a way to pamper ourselves, it's a way to keep us in touch with ourselves in a world of rushing speeds and dog-eat-dog lifestyles. And yet, this is manly, of course - but beacuse we ARE men (mostly, at least...). But, TO ME, being manly is not bad ass. This is the way the perfect gentleman shaves. And I use these razors because I aim to be the perfect gentleman... I don't do this because I think it makes me bad ass. I do it because It is the best way to get a perfect shave every time (mostly every time... ) And there is nothing manlier that a perfect gentleman. Eat that Hell's Anglels!!

But I have to admit that these are recent constructions... I decided to try this method because I was sick and tired of spending a lot of maney on disposables just to get a crappy shave. And since I'm a bit of a retro sort of person, I thought I might like this. Because of the old days feel of things, because it was a new skill I had to learn, because it does - I admit to it - make you stand out from the croud. And sure, it does make an impression: people say "You're crazy!" or "Wow! I could never do that myself!". I don't think that anyone (man or woman) would say "Man, you're bad ass" or "You're really manly to do that!"

The bad ass argument is, to me, a flaw, a falacy. It doesn't make sense to me. I find it to be infantile and misses the whole point of shaving with a straight. Of course, the whole point is a bit shady at times and each and every one of us will think differently and will have different views on the point of shaving with a straight razor... but being manly is not, to me, a good starting point nor a good way of thinking about this method of shaving. Is it because it's sharp? Is it because it's a knife?

And to top all of this off... if it's so manly and bad ass... why do we take (on average) more than our wives to get ready?!

Now it's your turn. Come out and tell us what is your point of view on this bad ass subject. Not only that but also tell us what drew you to this method and what has changed in your mind ever since you started doing this.

Thanks for the replies!