Thread: My Journey with Straight Shaving (so far)

So, I thought I'd share this story with you guys. About six months ago, I decided to take the leap to shaving with a straight razor from shaving exclusively with one of those norelco triple-headed electric weed-wackers. I, of course, did little to no research beforehand and bought myself a non shave-ready Dovo best quality (a great razor BTW, but hard to shave with when it's dull). When I noticed I actually couldn't shave with the thing, I, being very stubborn, decided to teach myself how to hone. So I bought a set of Norton hones and started scraping away at them with my new razor. This went about as well as you'd think it would until I finally discovered this site and learned some important things like hones actually need to be flat (that's what that funny-looking lapping stone is for?), and you don't need to lean on the blade while honing just to make sure the stone is doing it's job.


So finally, a couple of months (and some significant hone wear) later, I started getting what I thought were good shaves and have been improving ever since then. I still can't get BBS on my chin and parts of my neck, but the shaves are comfortable and enjoyable. Lately, however, I've been thinking, "what if I just think I'm getting a good shave, what if those Mach-3's and Gillette fusion's the TV is always trying to sell me really are as comfortable and shave as close as the nice people in the commercial say they do"? Having never shaved with a blade other than a straight razor, I had no benchmark to compare this recent success to. So, to my shame, I purchased a pack of 3 disposable Gillette Mach-3 razors and decided to do a controlled test. I would prep my beard, the same way as I do with my Dovo, and use the same lather, stretch the skin, use the same aftershave, keeping everything the same except the blade itself.


Tonight was probably the happiest I've ever been to get a horribly uncomfortable, far from close, shave. Every stroke was like sanding the hair off of my face with 600 grit sandpaper. This thing essentially tugged at every hair before grinding it away between it's triple blades of doom. I couldn't even bring myself to do multiple passes, even though the shave was barely as close as a WTG pass with my Dovo. Maybe I just have sensitive skin, or I don't have the cartridge razor "technique" down. All I know is I'm going to be a lifetime straight shaver. Thanks to everyone on here for all of your incredible tutorials and reviews. You've been a great resource for me to learn the art of shaving. I'm just glad I never have to use a mach 3 again.


Josh

PS What's with the prices on replacement razor heads? Outrageous.

You chose the wrong cartridge razor, the mach 20 would have given you a much closer shave.