Thread: Why do you shave with a straight?

So I have heard some stories about guys finding family razors or reminiscing about how they would watch the barber shave their dad, and this has gotten me thinking.
Why did you guys start shaving with a straight razor?

Mine all started with a bad case of razor burn and stubble. It wasn't on my face.

Well, in search for some sort of relief I did a search which resulted with this article
http://www.menessentials.com/oxid.ph...ght_razors.tpl

This really spiked my curiosity and so I started doing more research, I found Tony Miller on e-bay. Saved up a little, and here I am.

Who's next?

I documented some of the catalystic events for me in my blog last December. I think the real reason was that I wanted to save my money from Gillette. Sure I've spent a lifetime's worth on straights, but they'll last a lifetime too, or more. I was also real keen on the idea of saving hundreds if not thousands of disposables from going to the landfill. Of course, the reason I stick with it is the great shave and the sense of accomplishment. A Trak II never gave me that. Not once.

X

Yeah the "savings" was a big reason for me too. Didn't like the idea of spending a ton on something I was going to throw away.

Ahh Wordpress, good man good man.

I always thought it looked cool and was interesting to use, but used a 3 bladed gilette because I couldn't find a straight (this was pre internet).

My mother gave me a shavette when I was 18.
I used it for several years.
Then I bought a real straight that was never comfortable because it wasn't truly shave ready. After a month or 2 I switched to gilette.

Then half a year ago I rediscovered it when I was moving all sharp objects in the bathroom from the cupboard to an out-of-toddler-reach shelf.
My interest rekindled. I wanted to do it right this time so I serached on the internet for more information. I found this site, and the rest is history.

Incidentally, my wife really likes the fact that I shave with a straight because
- my face feels smooth for a longer period of time.
- stubble is not as sharp as with gilette.
- I shave more often because I actually like shaving now.

For the Zen of it.

I grew tired of the canned foam and asked my wife to buy me a soap & mug and brush for Christmas. That was a revelation, not because the lather was so much better (it was, of course!) but because I found myself really enjoying and relaxing during the lather-making process. It was a moment of calm in my bathroom, on my own. I didn't expect that.

Then a friend bought me the Anders Larsen book as a light-hearted joke to compliment the mug and brush my wife bought. I read that over the Christmas holidays and found myself thinking "If making lather can be so relaxing, maybe I should go the whole hog?"

Next thing I know I'm on the internet, reading this forum, researching what to buy.

So now I'm completely hooked. And it's not so much the quality of the shave (I'm still not proficient enough to beat my Mach 3, e.g. top lip), and it's not really the whole pampering thing (though I do admit to enjoying that too), and it's not the honing, stropping, pasting, etc. It's the TIME. To myself, on my own, in peace.

With two kids (4 and 1) and a four-hour commute to work and back everyday it can be challenging finding a moment to unwind. Shaving with a straight (and all its connected activity) does it for me in the best way. And at the end there is the satifaction of a tangible result.

(Even if it's not a good result, it's not disparaging. Like when a round of golf doesn't go well, or your soccer team plays badly that week... you take the rough with the smooth but the path there is always rewarding.)

Excuse me whil I go and meditate... Ommmmmmmmm.

I was attracted to straight razor shaving, for a bunch of reasons. Concern about the rising cost of cartidges and the waste I was creating with the empty cans and used mach 3 miter saws.
Then it just so happened that one of my friends said that he always wanted a cut throat, so I set out to get him one for christmas. I thought about it, and gave him a brewing kit (he's likely to lop off a finger, big goob).
Kept the shavette for myself and started to research via internet. Found the same article you did and then this forum. Now I'm hooked, even though I have much to learn.


"there is nothing manlier than shaving with a tool that can take your head clean off"

It all started when my friend was talking about wanting to get his father an "old style" razor (straight) - but he was disappointed b/c he was under the assumption that one needed a barber's license to purchase and use one. I was interested and started doing some research. It led me to the same mensessentials article Kentriv cited, as well as Dr. Christopher Moss's "The Art of the Straight Razor Shave". He cited the Yahoo group, which sent me here. I quickly joined and have been learning for approx. the last 2 months. I have made my initial purchases and am now enjoying learning the art - I am not yet "there", but learning something new everytime I pick up my straight or lather up.

Oh, yeah - as the name states, razorburn was a huge factor in wanting a smoother, less irritating shave!

I shave with a straight to save money. I looked at the cost of the Mach3 in a year and the straight razor that I bought off the forum cost less. A lot of times I would forget to buy new cartridges and have to shave with a dull cartridge which would cause me a lot of pain. Also since I usually don't have time to shave I have nice long wiskers that get caught between the blades of the M3 which make shaving more of a pain.

With the straight I get a closer shave so I don't have to shave as often. I also like trying different types of soaps and aftershaves which is driving my wife crazy because of the money I spend on it. I try to get samples before buying the product but she is embarassed to be with me when I do that.

I found the foam in a can to be really messy and like the brush application. I find it relaxes me and makes it a lot more enjoyable. I still have the M3 for when I am in a rush because shaving with the straight takes me about 30 minutes from stropping to washup but I keep my face properly shaved so I don't need it much since I started to use the straight.

I started as a way to save money, but that was a red herring. I've continued because it is fun.... Well that and the enormous, testosterone laden cloud of machismo that surrounds me when I use one..... AND the looks that progress from horror to curiosity to jealousy when tell other guys I shave with a straight.


Oh yeah... the shaves they give are pretty damn nice, too.

Originally Posted by Scrapyard Ape

I started as a way to save money, but that was a red herring. I've continued because it is fun.... Well that and the enormous, testosterone laden cloud of machismo that surrounds me when I use one..... AND the looks that progress from horror to curiosity to jealousy when tell other guys I shave with a straight.

I agree with the first part but I have yet to note any of my friends being jealous about this mode of shaving. They are still at the horror stage..