Thread: Seriously thinking about giving up straight razor shaving.

Hello, BYUtexan:

Thus far you have heard many nuggets of wisdom, and I concur with everyone's thoughts.

I want to suggest, if I may, to put the straight razor away for a while and continue shaving with your Merkur 34C DE, which, by the way, is a great little razor.

Put it away until you're ready for it next month, next year, or 10 years from now. When you feel you're ready to re-introduce yourself to the straight razor, try it again.

By then your perspective might have changed in either direction: for the straight razor or against it. You can't force the straight razor on yourself. Shaving with or without it is your choice — and both are right decisions.

Regards,

Obie
obieyadgar.com

You just need to do what makes you happiest.

But consider this. Back in the day straights were the only ticket. Everyone used them or they grew a full beard. So if hundreds of millions of men and women could use one with good effect are you saying you can't do what they did? That would be a challenge I could never walk away from.

As others have said, ultimately you gotta do what makes you happy. If the interest has faded, stop. But I don't really think you'd be posting if that were the case.

Straights take longer to learn because they are a totally different configuration than a DE, which is a bit more familiar to us from the somewhat similarly designed cartridge razor. They also take longer to learn because there are more variables with a simple open razor you maintain yourself than with a razor secured in a frame that can be thrown away when dull.

You don't really know if you get better shaves with a straight or not, since it takes more than a couple months to learn how to use them.

Lord knows I'm nowhere near proficient at it. And all my stumbles and mis-steps are catalogued on this site. Stropping my razor to death on bad material, rusting one of my razors by using the wrong oils... you get the point.

At first, I wasn't getting better shaves than I did with my cartridge razor. Now I'm about a month on, and sometimes I still don't, but once in a while, when my stropping is spot-on, and my prep is right, and my focus is there, I get an AWESOME shave. And of course, the more I practice, the more this happens.

Maintaining a straight razor is dirt cheap, once you get what you need, and you only need one of each pretty much forever - a razor, a strop, and a fine hone to maintain the edge. Put together, it need not cost more than maybe $150. And you're set for life if you play your cards right.

Sure, you can spend thousands - lots of guys here do. But you don't *need* to.

But of course, maybe it's not for you. Maybe the process doesn't do it for you. Maybe you just don't like how long it can takes. Maybe the benefit isn't worth the learning curve

Those are all very valid things. And honestly, I am beginning to think I should get a DE for those days when I just can't be bothered to focus so much or spend so much time. Nothing wrong with that.

But don't throw up obstacles for yourself. The problem, really, is that it takes time. Everything about it.