The Mach Delivers ?!

Taking a week off from the straight to give a 'cut' which I don't even remember happening until a day later when a 1 inch line in my right side burn appeared and manifested itself into what looks like must have been a cut or at the very least a close call a chance to heal.

Pulled out the old mach which I haven't used since 6 months and almost forgot how. A good Proraso preshave and lathering with Martin De Candre as is the usual routine, skipping the hot towel since the prep was already starting to feel over the top for a cartridge. Two easy passes to BBS with absolutely no irritation in under a minute. Splash on the aftershave which normally gives a light sting with no such burn not even a tingle and smooth over some calypso.

It all has me worried... a great shave that was almost too easy ?! I know I am still but a trike amongst the motorbikes of straight razor skills but it has put me on notice and I am wondering if there really is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy the routine of the straight and other then this incident I have been getting consistent good shaves with one but this mach shave is really very very smooth, more so then anything I was labeling as BBS before and with not a lick of trouble.

It just has me wondering, that's all...

If you prefer the Mach, stick with it

The straight razor is just a piece of steel, as is the mach. If it is honed and stropped to your liking, the sharpness and comfort will be superior, and the straight offers you more freedom of movement during your shave than the mach will due to its lack of safety guards. But getting the better shave from it requires more practice and effort than maxing out your shaves with the mach will so it's up to you to decide whether it's worth it

Communist.... Heretic..... Naw, just joshiing.. Sure, you can get bbs with a mach.. We shave with st8ts for other reasons to complex to list, although i am sure others will chime in... For me it brings me back to a time when pocket watches,pipes, and a good straight were man's best friends... It allows me to step back from my thechnical present with ipods, ipads, and cable tv and sit down and watch (from memory) my grandfather shave with a straight, don his fedora and cane while heading off for the day. It brings back times when a handshake was firm ,calloused, andwas a man's bond... So enjoy your mach my friend..for me; i will stick with my pinoud and straights.

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Originally Posted by hoglahoo

...If it is honed and stropped to your liking, the sharpness and comfort will be superior...

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i can only believe so and will keep at it... otherwise what would be the point right?

i have by no means given up on straights; i love them and the whole routine of it, but it would be interesting to hear the reaction of others on this forum if they put down their straight for a week and picked the mach back up to see how it compares for them. granted the process of the straight has lots of facets to it that as well add to the enjoyment of the shave but based on just the end result of the quality of the shave it would be interesting to hear.

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Originally Posted by Wintchase

Communist.... Heretic..... Naw, just joshiing.. Sure, you can get bbs with a mach.. We shave with st8ts for other reasons to complex to list, although i am sure others will chime in... For me it brings me back to a time when pocket watches,pipes, and a good straight were man's best friends... It allows me to step back from my thechnical present with ipods, ipads, and cable tv and sit down and watch (from memory) my grandfather shave with a straight, don his fedora and cane while heading off for the day. It brings back times when a handshake was firm ,calloused, andwas a man's bond... So enjoy your mach my friend..for me; i will stick with my pinoud and straights.

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To be clear all of these are also reasons for me enjoying the str8. The quality of shave is my question here having clearly not yet reached the level of str8 god to be able to say which is better. Am hoping people here will chime in on the end result quality of shave differences. People who have recently reverted and made an honest comparison.

By the way, Pinoud works either way and one should use the same products they are comfortable with outside the razor itself to make an honest comparison. I will never be without Proraso or Martin De Candre ;)

I had to use my Mach when I vacationed in Costa Rica this summer. I didn't want one of my other razors to be confiscated by the TSA.

I worked, and gave a good shave, but it was not as comfortable. It wasn't much faster either. I have to go slow and be very careful with a cartridge or it will irritate the hell out of my face. Also, I end up with my neck only halfway shaved - can't go against the grain with a cartridge or I get tragic irritation.

I am off cartridges for ever. If I need to shave faster, I use one of my DE's. Those are definitely superior to cartridges. More comfortable and can shave almost as close as a straight, if you get a Merkur slant or the new Muhle R41. I have and recommend both. Try one, you won't be disappointed.

Whether I use my straights or DE's, one of the things that I really appreciate is that I'm shaving with a work of art. It's not a crusty, cheap piece of plastic.

Also, what I really hated about the Mach cartridges was that although they start off very sharp, they clog immediately and dull after just a few shaves. The first shave is okay, but if you want to get any value out of them you need to be able to get at least 5 shaves out of a cartridge. By then, the experience is pretty unpleasant. When Friday rolls around, the five days of irritation have really added up.

To sum up why I only use straights and DE's from here on out:
I get the best shaves I've ever had, without irritation, and for the first time since I started shaving, no more ingrown hairs. Cartridge razors turn my face into a minefield of ingrowing hairs.

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Originally Posted by MinATX

..and for the first time since I started shaving, no more ingrown hairs.

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Now this is the sort of analytic response I am looking for, something to give me a basis for comparison along my journey...

I do remember have more ingrown hairs come to think of it. In terms of number of shaves I seem to remember the mach 3 giving more comfortable shaves and for much longer then the newer mach 5 blades, perhaps the newer blades are thinner to fit more in the head.

I have an EJ89 DE I use to cleanup after the straight which I really enjoy too, gives a great smooth last pass with a feather blade.

I get razor burn easily from disposables. I think it is the multi blade thing. It lightens somewhat if i use a de. I find that i get a better, closer shave from de's than when I use a str8t. But, i do notice tha i get 5 oclock shadow when i use a de? I don't know why.

I actually wrote a long post on this very topic last winter, when I forgot my DE (my preferred travel razor) while on a trip to Mexico. If you care to read my account here's the link: http://straightrazorpalace.com/gener...evalution.html

Long story short, I found the Mach to be on the bad side of mediocre. No irritation, just uncomfortable and the shave wasn't particularly close. I found a two bladed Bic to be far superior.

I threw my cartridges out probably a month after using a straight and I've never had the need or desire to reconsider. Everybody is different but for me, cartridges yielded poor shaves (in retrospect) even going WTG-only.

I've since picked up a DE to shave my head with and for traveling. FYI: you can carry-on a DE but not the blades. Blades can be bought in pharmacies (e.g. CVS in the US).