Thread: Why a straight razor?

Straight razor shaving is indeed more trouble than using a disposable blade, but it is a matter of perspective. As you can see in the above posts, many people here believe that the "trouble" is a means of focusing on the task at hand and in a way is an effective daily meditation. The results are often better for most but they come with a price, namely, slowing down and concentrating. If you view the process as "trouble," I guess you have to judge it against the results to see if it is worth the effort to you. Good luck and happy shaving no matter what path to "shavana" you take!


-Rob

I switched to a straight because of the high cost of Mach 3 refills. I have avoided getting any Acquisition Disorders, so it has stayed cheaper for me, but here's why I stayed with straights. I get closer shaves. The spot on my neck where I just thought I had bad skin turned out to be a long standing case of razor burn. I love the smell and feel of shave soaps. I get higher quality shaves more consistently (don't have to worry about whether it's time to change the cartridge or not). I haven't used a DE, so I couldn't tell you if it would be an equal improvement over modern razors.

I tried shaving with a straight in the early 1980s and soon gave it up. I stuck to my Gillette "good news" for the next couple of decades. I had collected a large number of straights and sold all but a couple of dozen Sheffields from the early days.

In 2006 I decided to ebay them. A friend of mine saw these and became interested in them. He began to look at shaving forums and joined a couple. He told me that he was going to get a straight razor and begin shaving with them.

I told him not to waste his time or money. I have tried it and you get a better shave with a disposable. I also told him that if he did get one I would show him how it was done LOL,"a little knowledge is a dangerous thing".

JBHoren ignored my advice and jumped in with both feet. Fortunately for both of us he didn't take me up on my offer to "teach" him how to use a straight. Through his enthusiastic persistence I returned to straight razor shaving after a couple of years of learning the basics of the DE.

I have been shaving daily and exclusively with a straight for over a year now and I can truly say that I get a superior shave with a straight. That is superior to any other method I have ever tried. YMMV.

I started with a straight back in the 70's long before there was any place like SRP, or even online forums. Heck, I think the internet was still ARPANET back then.

For quite some time I thought I was the only nut still using a straight. But I got into it because of my affinity for old timey stuff. And it became a personal challenge for me to perfect the art. I never dreamed that there would be so many others doing this same thing.



Scott

There's only one REAL answer. REAL MEN USE STR8S.

I use them because of the tradition of str8 shaving and because it is a move in the direction of a simpler time. Truthfully I get a closer shave with a DE. But I am at the begining of the learning curve with a str8. I am a little over 2 months into daily str8 shaving and am willing to go the distance. If after 10-12 yrs I haven't figured it out I may change, who knows?

Besides after collecting antique radios, (I have no more room for them) I am pleased to have found both a useful shaving implement and a collectibal hobby that doesn't take up tooooo much space.

I started using a straight because it was cheaper than buying all those cartridges. And for 6 years, it was. Now...now I have RAD. : \ I hate you all, btw. JK.

I think it works better and is definitely cooler than shaving with a disposable. I like shiny sharp things.

In regard to straight razor shaving, there are two kinds of people in the world (can't say only men anymore).

Those that think the extra time involved in shaving this way is a "pain in the backside"

Those that as others have said, enjoy the journey as well as the result.

I'd argue that probably almost to a person, those that think shaving this way would be a "pain in the backside" will never shave this way. I think that's honestly perfectly fine. I'm not any better for shaving this way than they are for not shaving this way. I could probably come up with hundreds of hobbies and pastimes that would bore me to tears but obviously others love doing them.

My father in law who is in his eighties simply scratches his head and can't understand why I'd want to shave this way when the electric razor he's used for decades is quick, does the job and gets him on his way. I have no desire to convert him, nor do I have any unsettled feelings about the fact that he wouldn't be converted. No biggie.

Chris L

This is one of those things that I take up to save some money, then stick with because I enjoy learning almost any simple craft:

* maintaining a bicycle
* using fountain pens
* seasoning cast iron and wooden kitchenware
* sewing
* straight razors!

I picked up straight razor shaving when Mach-3 cartridges became so expensive that the store began to keep them locked up behind the camera counter. Since I've stayed with two razors, one strop, and one hone (and now one ball peen hammer!), I think I can guesstimate that the financial end is in the black or at least a wash. But the joy of steady improvement in a simple but demanding task is mine (almost) every day.

It is a luxury, though. When I was in "deep weeds" on my dissertation, I bailed on straight razor shaving for almost two years until I had that essential project squared away. But I didn't go back to the Mach-3, I invested in a Merkur Heft Classic Slant Bar! Okay, maybe I'm just a little in the red...

Like most i get a peaceful and very satisfying feeling when i shave. Using the same tools previous generations used and knowing not everyone will understand why you do it. Like the gratification of working on your own car... never taking it to a mechanic. It might take you a few days longer to fix it, but ol well. It's also a way to escape and take me back to the golden ages. Life might not have been easy back then, but it was a simpler era. It's all about me and i don't have to be rushed. Just because it's faster doesn't make it better.... it's like food - a 1min fast food burger can never be compared to a homemade burger that took 30 min to grille up - it's just tastes sooo much better.

Wow, this is great, such a huge variety of answers to the question. I started using one because i bought a box of 20 old straight razors from an auction for £2.00. Bargain.