Thread: Help required with lecture on straight razors!

I have always loved the look of a straight razor from the first time I ever saw one. I collected them in the '80s and tried shaving with them and couldn't get the hang of honing them so I gave it up. When I got back into DE shaving a few years ago I loved the vintage Gillettes and slants and I learned the fundamentals of preparation, lahtering and multiple passes. Then I returned to the straights and with the resources of this forum I learned to hone.

The difference in wet shaving for me now with a straight versus a DE is the total involvement. Lynn calls it a sport and the first time I saw him refer to it that way I realized that is exactly what it is to me. The honing, stropping and finally shaving with a straight razor is so much more focused and intense then any other form of shaving. That is why I love straights.

Originally Posted by AlanII

When's the date? I'd like to get something together but need a little time to think.

I need to have it complete by 22nd January though I don't deliver it till 30th (going to be away the preceeeding week).

Response so far is superb - lots of thoughts. And of course I have been reminded of the presentation Sidneykidney prepared for the UK meet!! Any funny razor anecdotes that I could pepper in would be great too...keep it coming

i use a straight razor for convenience. my mach3 is only slightly faster if i shave everyday, but starts choking whenever i have some beard growth unshaven for more than 3 days. plus the straight razor can control how cleanly i want to shave, and some areas i prefer to leave some stubble, as i prefer that look. with a straight, simply by altering the angle, direction, and pressure, you can control the cleaniness of the shave.

as my straight shaves are only 2 minutes long in its entirety, i can't say that i am using it for nostalgic reasons, but rather for practical reasons. besides, shaving with straight razors is fun!

I think all of my reasons have already been mentioned. Since I'm married this one isn't as important to me, but you can add to the list...

'cuz chicks dig it!

My grandfather was a barber and I wanted to learn to use his old razors. I am now addicted to the straight razor shaving. That and I perfer to create more useless trash.

Don

For me,it's the nostalgia thing.For some reason,when I got older(maybe mid-30s)I became interested in the way people did things before the age of machines and convenience.I started collecting sad irons,oil lamps,antique tools,etc.Became fascinated with straight razors and naturally collected some.One of these came "shave ready"so I gave it a whirl,and got hooked.Been straight shaving about nine months now and still get a small thrill out of it every time.

My reason is that I like it. I think that I elaborated on this in my post in the thread the economy of straight shaving but I guess the thrill is part of it.

Al raz.

Revolver, fountain pen, straight razor and pipe - the real subjects in the essence and very self-sufficient.
All these subjects are simple, reliable and beautiful.

Personally I never had the whole nostalgic feel or the make something old to something new feeling either. I hated shaving disposible electric whatever. If I went without shaving I looked like Cliff from Cheers. I don't know if you ever saw the beard challenge episode. I decided that if I have to shave I'll go old school and make a big deal out of it. On a side note. Is their anything cooler than looking in the mirror and seeing 3 inches of steel gliding across your face? I'm HOOKED.

I collect fountain pens, dip pens, pipes, and str8s. I am a practicing Spencerian penman, pipe smoker, and str8 shaver. I like pocket watches that must be wound, vests, gallusses (i.e., braces or suspenders), starched collars, and tie my own tie. I am not trying to return to a simpler time, because none of these things are simple. There was a precision in the old customs that touched people because one took the time to perform them. An email is quick, but a handwritten note is a part of you. I roast my own coffee, not for the money it saves me, but for the control it gives me. Many of the subtle coffee flavors are lost within days, sooner if the beans are over-roasted to preserve that "coffee" taste for weeks. The performance of these tasks all share one thing in common. Time slows down, I enter a realm of calm and peace. I am ready for the world.

Dave