Thread: Straight Shaves Closer Than DE ?

Originally Posted by ForestryProf

I can honestly say that my straight razor shaves are MUCH closer than any shave I've ever had with a DE.

FWIW, I've never used a DE.


Cheers,
Ed

'nother data point? ()

(...gee, Prof....I'm having a little trouble plotting this one!...)

-whatever

-Lou

I also do not have a DE if I broght another shaving thing into the house my wife would take it to my throat- and not to shave it.....

Originally Posted by scarface

'nother data point? ()

(...gee, Prof....I'm having a little trouble plotting this one!...)

-whatever

-Lou

Lou,
These are the type of regression lines that the folks from Madison ave (marketing professionals) use. One point, correlated with nothing, used to say anything! My scientific integrety thus would not allow me to sign that post in my normal way .

Cheers,
Ed

Originally Posted by rtaylor61

For those who are getting a better shave with a straight vs. the DE, I have a question. Do you employ the same skin stretching technique with a DE as you do the straight?

This is a good question, I've wondered the same thing but don't use a DE often enough to have as well defined a technique as I do with a straight. It's easy for me to fall into the old 2 pass routine when I use a DE that I used for years, one down and one up. Other times I'm using the DE when I'm in a hurry and don't prep as well as I would for a regular straight shave.

I was in the mood for something different yesterday so did a good prep and lathered up with Proraso and shaved with a Gillette slim adjustable and new Derby blade. I followed the same WTG/XTG/ATG method I use with a straight and tried to stretch the same as well.

I still had more stubble after the 2nd pass then I thought I should have, and ended up setting the razor all the way up on 9 to see what it'd be like. I finished with it there but got a couple little bleeders on one side of the upper lip and chin from the aggressive setting.

When all was said and done I think the DE shave was as close as a straight shave but I still didn't have quite that smooth-as-glass feeling on the cheeks and chin. I got an excellent shave and it lasted well into the evening w/o stubble, it just felt a little different. Results on the toughest areas of the neck, as expected, were better with the DE.

Besides the issue of a closer shave I wonder if the DE completely misses some hairs. An area swept by a straight razor leaves not a single one standing whereas with a DE it seems some is always left behind. Is there something about the flexibility of a DE blade, or lack of sharpness, or the fact that you don't rest it on your skin as you do a straight which leaves some hair uncut?

Also, when I joined SRP from B&B I remember a post by Lynn where he said something to the effect of "all that DE users care about is being BBS". At the time I took it to mean that straights are about so much more than just a BBS, but also it seemed he was saying "don't expect a BBS from a straight".

My first straight shave was BBS and a subsequent hasty DE day led me to the same realization as TM -- but I wonder what Lynn had meant?

Anyway, for a long time I've found a straight less messy and faster to use than a DE -- since January I've shaved perhaps twice with a DE (and I shave every day for work, or once in two, with a DE it had to be everyday).

I think my beard is better suited to a DE blade. With my progress I can get such a smooth shave, and also with a shavette. I don't however, choose to shave with a DE or shavette because of a few reasons.
1. I know my straight technique will not get better if I use a DE
2. I like feel of a more robust blade
3. I can minimize dryness and burn if I use a straight(DE's dry my skin out)
4. I enjoy shaving with a straight much much more.

So I will stick with a straight even though the shave is not quite as close. It is only a minimal amount of difference between the shave quality but the other benefits for me are important, and I am sure that with time my straight shaves will be just as close.

Nick