It's not worth it anymore......

It's not worth it anymore. This is my final shave with a straight razor, at least a modern one. I've enjoyed over 3 years of shaving with a straight razor but have now come to believe that it just isn't practical to my circumstances. A Fromm carbon blade was my first and certainly was a great quality blade. I only had it sharpened two times and rarely ever had to go over any skin twice. Finally, it rusted up on me and rather than trying to get it restored, I decided to get a different blade. After much research I decided to go with a stainless steel blade through on online seller who had it on sale, a terrible choice that led me to this decision. Not only has it failed to make clean cuts but it's also nicked my skin endless times and just developed a light chip after placing it on a plastic bathroom bag along the plastic zipper. As light as it appears it now scratching in to my strop at every stroke. It would only be foolish to keep trying to shave with a blade that can't hold on a edge and even more foolish to buy another $80-100 blade.

I once thought of straight razors an an investment. In 2006, I purchased a shave kit on Ebay by a reputable seller who not longer sells kits but continues to sell strops. I realized later that the razor I recieved with the kit was a highly praised blade in a shave kit that at $100, as we know, is a great value. I went on to buy another strop later and several cakes of soap , a combined cost that was far less than buying disposable razors or an electric shaver. So time came when I had to buy another blade and at $120 it still seemed worth every penny. Wrong. Now I have a blade that's too delicate to use while too difficult to maintain a sharp edge. I spent years persuading others of the great investments in learning to shave with straight razors but not anymore. My experience certainly doesn't account for every successful shave from those on this forum, but if I can't get the shave I once did without breaking the bank, than it's time to break out the Gillete and say goodbye to a good past.

Good luck with your Gillette. :tu

Safety razors are just as enjoyable as straights to me, so enjoy using your Gillette again...I hope you mean Gillette as in, safety razor, not proglide or any of that nonsense. In time you may want to get in a straight razor shave again. Happy shaves!

See ya! :shrug:

There are different types of SR users I have noted...

There are the
Best Shave people that chase the closest
The Sensitives that chase the most comfortable
The Retro's that chase an older time
The Steel and Stone guys that chase the edges
The Economists that chase the less money
The Ecologists that eliminate the trash

There are some that start for one of these reasons, and migrate to another, but eventually you either attain the goal you set out to achieve in this hobby, or you don't and you move on... After almost 30 years of straight razor shaving I think I am pretty close :)


I wish you luck in attaining yours... :gl:

Imo, you made 2 mistakes.
First, you allowed your razor to rust. Keeping a carbon steel razor shiny new requires care, but if you don't care about a patina, the only thing you need to do is dry it after use. If you do that, they can last centuries.
Second, you bought more than one razor. If cost is important and you treat it with a basic degree of care, you really don't need more than 1 razor, ever.

My regular shaver is still my first razor. It has some patina but it is good as new. I only have a couple of shavers, and all of them I restored myself. I like restoring, and I sell them whenever I want to buy something new as a project.

Shaving with a straight can be very cheap. Very cheap indeed. But it you buy new blades / strops, etc on a regular basis, then yes, it starts to add up. The whole point about straights is that they last.

1 blade, 1 strop, 1 brush, and some soap is all you need. Perhaps a pasted strop or finishing hone for touching up. With those things, you can be set for life.

@ homeslice,

Somehow I feel you feel unhappy with your decision. Why else take the trouble to start this thread?

Maybe if you post your Fromm razor a member who has a similar one is happy to sell it to you shave-ready. Fromm razors aren't the most popular around here so replacing yours needn't be expensive.

Shaving with a straight razor isn't for everyone . Very few people try shaving with one , and of those who do try , many decide it's not for them . I'm sorry it didn't work out for you , but if you're not enjoying it there's no point in continuing .

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gssixgun

There are different types of SR users I have noted...

There are the
Best Shave people that chase the closest
The Sensitives that chase the most comfortable
The Retro's that chase an older time
The Steel and Stone guys that chase the edges
The Economists that chase the less money
The Ecologists that eliminate the trash

There are some that start for one of these reasons, and migrate to another, but eventually you either attain the goal you set out to achieve in this hobby, or you don't and you move on... After almost 30 years of straight razor shaving I think I am pretty close :)


I wish you luck in attaining yours... :gl:

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You missed one reason . Guys like me that shave with a straight razor because we just plain love doing it . When I decided to try the straight razor , I thought I would only shave with it once in a while , and use my mach 3 most of the time . After the first shave I was hooked .At first , the challenge of learning to use the straight razor kept me shaving with it . And once I started getting good shaves , I didn't want to shave with anything else .

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by gssixgun

There are different types of SR users I have noted...

There are the
Best Shave people that chase the closest
The Sensitives that chase the most comfortable
The Retro's that chase an older time
The Steel and Stone guys that chase the edges
The Economists that chase the less money
The Ecologists that eliminate the trash

---

I started out being the bottom two, now I'm a little of all of those.

I guess you have to do what's right for you, I personally have never had a blade rust on me, but I rinse with as hot water as I can, wipe it off on a dry towel, strop about 20 laps and air dry.

Hobbies and certain ways of life are not for everyone. I'm fortunate enough to have a hobby that I enjoy, which has become a connection to the past and to people of the present.

homeslice, I hope that there is something else in your life that you can devote the same time and care that I devote to SR's. Good luck with your endeavours.

One other reason here. Shaving was just a chore that had to be done but not enjoyed. I used an electric razor for years because I just wanted to get it over with as fast as possible. I've now turned a chore into something I look forward to. That's a rare experience. One thing for sure, though, is that I certainly didn't save any money. About a dozen razors so far, brush, stand, mugs, scuttle, several strops, hones, soaps, creams, pre-shaves, after shaves, and most of all, a bathroom remodel. Fun!

The OP's experience leads me to the old saying of look before you leap. If you understand what is entailed in using a straight along with use and care I think you're experience might have been different. But in the end you need to find what works best for you and your lifestyle.

Homeslice,

No need to feel bad. Straight Shaving is a choice. Do know that we hope you will continue to hang out on SRP. There are a lot of DE shavers here. The welcome mat is always out.

Sorry to hear you have had poor luck with shaving, but I have to ask: did it never occur to you to follow the advice that everyone on here touts? Why didn't you buy a cheap shave-ready razor from the classifieds instead of a non-shave ready razor from ebay? Why didn't you get one of the forum members to hone your razor for you? You only honed your razor twice in 3 years, of course it wasn't shaving good!

It takes time to learn the techniques of straight shaving and actually get good at using one. It took me 3 months to even start getting good at it, but I've seen people who it took a year or more! This is a hobby of patience. In three years, I imagine you learned how to use one properly, but if you only got your razors honed twice over three years I don't find it surprising that you were getting poor shaves, and if your razor was too dull you were probably adapting to the poor edge and learning improper techniques (such as using too much pressure). If you kept shaving with a chip in your razor instead of getting it honed, I have no sympathy for your strop or your face. Why did you never join the forum and ask for help if you were having issues? 3 Months ago you join the forum and don't post anything regarding your poor luck with straights? Sounds pretty foolish. Like many others have said, straight razors are not for everyone. Sorry to hear the forum is losing you, but you have no one to blame but yourself. There is centuries worth of knowledge and trial and error, reviews, tips, tricks, etc. packed into this forum and the wiki, and if you are not willing to put the effort in to take advantage of them then why even bother signing up?

/rant

this seems like too easy to quit?
you have gotten 2 razors and one was FROMM ( i am sure this was old one) and next SS blade. now you are quitting?
In such a long time period you should be able to test at least 10 razors and choose one.
good luck with your Gillette.
Report back when you join to straight razor users again.