Anyone who has ever shaved with a straight razor, had to endure "the first time" and we all stood there, looking at our faces and faced our fears about hurting ourselves. Then we took the first stroke with the razor. In a short while it became second nature to shave this way, to the point that we prefer it over all the newfangled stuff.

Yes, it is possible to cut yourself, but only if you do something you shouldn't, and most times you will feel the pinch/pain before anything serious happens.

Remember, it was only when King Camp Gillette brought out the "safety razor" in 1903, that people started shaving with a factory made blade that didn't require honing, and it had some safety built in. Yes, I said "some" safety, it's easy to cut yourself with a DE safety razor too... It's just harder to accidentally lop your head off. You do not want to see what happens when the rotary blades of a Phillips type electric razor wear through the foil, due to poor maintenance, while shaving....

I suggest you consider giving it a go, your dad shaved that way for decades... there is no practical reason you cannot do that as well. If you try and decide it's not for you, then fine, at least you know. If you don't try, you will always wonder.....

My dad was a barber back in the mid 1900s, he never shaved with a straight razor himself, but shaving customers with a straight was a large part of his business. I figured if he could shave his customers and they kept coming back, I could shave myself with a straight, and now I do.

Regards

Christian