What got you interested in str8 shaving?

If this has been done before I didn't see it. I thought it might be fun to hear what got everyone interested in shaving with str8 razors. So, what got you interested?

For me it was after hearing a commercial on the radio and having a conversation with my Dad. I happened to hear a radio commercial a couple of months ago for a barber shop here in Houston that was advertising that they still do str8 shaves. I was thinking "HOW COOL!" and that I would like to get one. You know kind of pamper myself like our wives seem to be so fond of. Well, I forgot to do one thing. I didn't write down the number and of course I can't remember the name of the place. :thinking: A couple weeks later I was talking to my Dad (he's 66? :shrug: ) and asked him if he had ever had a str8 shave. He said he had not but had always wanted to get one. His barber (who is in his 80s) stopped doing them years ago. I decided to look into it. After much searching on the web I found this site and several others and read and studied until I just couldn't take it anymore. I had to make the leap. I just bought a starter set from Tony and should have it by the end of the week. By the time I move to SC this summer (that's where Dad lives) I might be ready to give him a shave. If not, I'll just get him a set of his own. Hell, maybe I'll just do that for his B-day in Feb.

We've done this topic a few times, but since I don't think I posted last time I'll chime in. I am sort or addicted to shaving. I went through a rough time in my life where I wasn't really enjoying myself. It was Desert Storm and although it was considered a major victory I was losing friends and I grew tired of "winning" (read this as killing lots of people day after day). I sort of chose to get through it by enjoying one good shave a day (when I could). This was my time, my "thing" to look forward too. Without much water in the desert it was a chore to get a good shave. But I prevailed. Killing people every day is supposed to be fun but after a while I tired of it and lost my interest. There was even a time when it was all I would look forward to in a day. About 2 years ago, after being sick of the Mach III, which I was never willing to try, I was getting worried about the supply of Sensor blades. I kept hearing they would be discontinued. I moved to a DE for a while and got great shaves with it. I had used one before a long time ago and I had used a brush and soap. I had never used both a DE and brush and soap together though. Then it occured to me that I was still a dependent little sliver of a man until I didn't need to depend on someone else to keep making a good blade. I decided I might be able to shave with a straight instead. Thus I started a long journey into straights. The first year sucked and I only got a few good shaves, but those few shaves that were good allowed my face to heal from long standing facial problems I thought were a permanent part of a well shaved gentleman. That locked the straight razor for me and now almost every shave is the most comfortable shave ever and it really is still something I look forward to every morning.

Hey Blood, this is relatively new to me too. I started mainly because of irritating razor bumps caused by the Mach III blade. I had a straight razor shave once from a barber about 15 years ago and I never forgot just how comfortable and close the shave was as well as a great overall experience. I'm still finding my way as far as learning this art of shaving but the men here on this site are proud of their skills and they seem to enjoy sharing their expertise with others. I like to be active on this site to promote what I think all men should experience - the best damn shave they'll ever get as well preserving an almost lost skill. I agree with AFDavis in that str8 razor shaving is something I look forward to every morning.

-Rob

For me it was the irritation that I was getting from the M3. I started doing some reading on the net and found DE razors were superior. I then got introduced to straights by the same crowd and have never looked back.

I love shaving with the old-time instrument of the straight razor. I shave with straights and DE's and I love the "me time" that is involved in the whole process. The shave soap/creams, the brush, the razor, it's a great time that I give to myself where I can just focus on the shave.

It is a great way to turn a chore into a pleasure.

I was interested for years before finding this site. I'd seriously weighed some of the benefits with the challenges and couldn't stop considering it. I was in the Yukon two years ago with a full beard and wanted to get a barber to shave it just before I left. Didn't happen and I was harbouring the idea more and more. Last spring I was watching my pile of disposables dwindle thinking 'no more', when I stumbled in here. Since then I've found even more better reasons to stick at it. It's a better shave in every respect.

X

I hated shaving with a Mach3 and having to do it every day. With my first str8 shave I was able to go 2 days without a shave. I was hooked, but now I love shaving every day

I got sick and tired of damaging my face every morning with my electric. When it was once again time to replace the cutters (about the cost of a really nice straight), I tossed it against a brick wall and have never looked back. The straight was not my first stop, I spent about two weeks with a M3 and soon realized that at $2 a pop for a cartridge that might last a week I needed to find something else. The way I figure it, from a cost standpoint, if I stop buying shaving stuff now (highly unlikely), I might break even in 3-5 years ;) .
Ed

No reason that I can think of other than it seemed like something that was right for me. I saw straight razors on classicshaving when I was shopping for a DE and became obsessed with becoming a straight shaver.

The Ultimate Shave.

Hi my name's Gawker...(hi gawker)
and I have a problem...(it's ok)
Almost twenty years ago my dad bought me a swiss army knife...my first knife. Since then I carried mostly gas station specials but was never without a blade on my person. After high school I started carrying multiple blades, one small for utilitarian purposes, one fully serrated for heavy chores, and one straight edged for finer tasks. I've since graduated into expensive knives, $100+. That's right...I'm addicted to sharp objects.

And what could be the sharpest knife in existance? Yup...a straight razor. Turns out it has helped to clear up my acne, given me a better shave that I actually enjoy doing, costs less, and gives me a good half hour of all to myself "me time" if I take my time with it. What could possibly be better?

Whenever I'd see a straight razor used in a movie, I'd think, "Cool!" There's just something so badass about them, you know?

A couple of years ago I thought about getting into it, but for some reason or another I never got around to it. But this past August I saw a straight razors on a couple of television shows: an old 1994 re-run of The X-Files (the hateful spirit of an old man who used to carve up women with his ivory-handled straight razor manifests itself in his grandaughter, who begins doing the same), and on CSI (a girl had killed herself by cutting her wrists with one).

It was a sign! I was destined to purchase a straight razor, cut some people up with it and then kill myself!

...but then I decided to just shave with it, instead! ;)

Also, I collect antiques quite a bit, and the fact that a lot of these razors are old is really interesting to me. I mean, shaving with the same blade a soldier carried with him in the trenches of the Great War is as easy as going to the right antique store. I really like the history of this past time... this art.

And then there's the collecting aspect of it... and the relaxation... and the fact hardly anyone else does it... and how it makes your bathroom really cool-looking.

I could go on.

I was always a DE shaver since I started, and I inherited a Rolls Razor from my grandfather, which I used occasionally. I have always been interested by how things were done before modern "Conveniences" came along, I have also been rather disgusted with the growth of the disposable culture and the stupid new products that it creates. So I started looking into shaving with a real razor. It seemed like it might get a bit expensive to start, so I held off buying one. After a few months, I was taking a writing class and the assignment was to write an article (on any subject we chose) and then try to sell it to a magazine. Here was the excuse I needed to to plunk down my money! That was (I think) about 6 years ago. I've never looked back. I never did get any magazine to buy the article, though.