Thread: Is a straight razor for me?

I'm Zach ˚¬˚

First thing's first: I know hardly anything about straight razor shaving. Instead of scrounging around, I decided to get real time information from experienced people.

the thing that made me look into straight razors is just the frustration of using a schick razor. It is such a pain, because after every stroke I have to bang it on the sink to try and get the hairs out. It never works, because my hair is really coarse and thick...It's just a mess and the results aren't good both for my skin and for my shave.

As to why I am questioning whether a straight is for me- I was born without my left hand, so I can't use it to pull my skin down to shave my neck. Any comments on this?

Thanks

Welcome Zach,

Sure it can be done! You can stretch the skin on your face by puffing out your cheeks. The act of lifting your chin up will stretch the skin on your neck. As for stropping, I would suggest a hard strop such as a stropping board.

When in doubt about the leap to a straight, start with the easy step to a DE razor.

Clogging crappy plastic razors. Ah the good old days

You can stretch your skin like mentioned above and by playing with your jaw. Open move to right, left

DE is another good option and usually cheaper to get a good one to start.

Originally Posted by StoneDrum

I'm Zach ˚¬˚

First thing's first: I know hardly anything about straight razor shaving. Instead of scrounging around, I decided to get real time information from experienced people.

the thing that made me look into straight razors is just the frustration of using a schick razor. It is such a pain, because after every stroke I have to bang it on the sink to try and get the hairs out. It never works, because my hair is really coarse and thick...It's just a mess and the results aren't good both for my skin and for my shave.

As to why I am questioning whether a straight is for me- I was born without my left hand, so I can't use it to pull my skin down to shave my neck. Any comments on this?

Thanks

Welcome,,, I suggest you start with Utopian's advice & try a DE first.
As for the left hand, I have never used mine while straight razor shaving. I'm strictly a righty.

Welcome to SRP Zach...

+1 to the idea of starting with a DE...

And if you are using a Cart (and we all know of the un-happiness that comes with that) you are probably also using the dreaded "canned go" for a shaving "cream".
You can start with the change to a brush and soap/cream (the choices are endless)
As you have probably read by now, changing to wet/straight/DE shaving is all about some new skills that take a little time and practice - but all of us think are worth it.

I have to go back to the cart when I travel on short trips, but my travel brush and a shave stick or a small container of soap/cream are always with me..

And if you decide to try the DE, PM me with your address and I will send you a blade sample kit to get you started.

Smooth Shaving

I'd also be happy to lend one of my straights for you to try if you want to PM me.

Building a lather can be difficult with only one hand. I would suggest that you develop face lathering using either a shave stick (rub on wet face first then lather with wet brush) or a shaving cream you can first load on your brush and then face lather. And a DE to start, even with a coarse beard and frequent rinsings is a good way to start. For some that was where they started and decided to stick with. There is a section on the forum for DE and SE shavers you can look at for more information.

Thank you so much everyone for the warm welcome and advice.

About the lather troubles-I have been using olive oil for shaving for a while now and I'd like to keep with that if possible for either a de or straight, since I have skin problems. Would that require any other tools if useable?

No, you don't need anything else. DE razors truly are a tremendous bargain. They work better than modern cartridge razors and they are significantly cheaper in the long run.

I suggest that you buy a variety pack of blades to see which works best for you. Then you can buy them in bulk. For some brands, you can buy 100 on eBay for $10-$15.