Thread: Comparing Feather to Std Str8; Is it Fair?

I have gotten good shaves from my str8's, but I have never gotten a shave as close or smooth as I can with my Feather AC DX. Is is fair to campare the two? I always thought it was my sharpening ability that was the problem, but I am starting to think that a standard str8 just can't compare. What do you think?

I've had an exceptionally smooth shave with a straight, but haven't tried a feather. I don't know (or think) you could get much closer..

Originally Posted by KenS

I have gotten good shaves from my str8's, but I have never gotten a shave as close or smooth as I can with my Feather AC DX. Is is fair to campare the two? I always thought it was my sharpening ability that was the problem, but I am starting to think that a standard str8 just can't compare. What do you think?

They will feel different to shave with (almost everyone here who has tried both preffers the regular straight), but if you have never shaved with a professionally sharpened straight razor before then you probably don't know what you are missing yet. A feather will shave better than a straight razor that is not sharp enough, but not a finely tuned real straight.

As stated, if you have never had a professionally honed straight, you can't really compare. Also if you started with a feather first, that (for me at least) made it harder when transitioning to a real straight because nothing seemed to compare, also I had no experience with a real straight.

I am still getting the hang of my straights so reach for my feather frequently, but when I become good at using a real straight, my feather will become another dust collector. Except for when I'm in a hurry and need a fast shave.

I used a Feather for a while when I was learning to shave with a straight, because no matter what I tried I was getting too much irritation.

What I found was the Feather was incredibly sharp for the first shave or two, and it just glided through the hairs. I got more razor burn, though, and after the second shave, the blade dulled pretty quickly. I increased the angle to compensate for this, and the razor burn would get worse.

With a traditional straight, I don't ever get that scary sharp gliding sensation. There's always some sensation of cutting--not uncomfortable, but not imperceptable, either.

The traditional straight is much, much more comfortable when properly honed. Even guys who get great, comfortable shaves out of their Feathers tend to find that the insanely sharp blade causes their skin to thin out over a period of weeks, and they start to get random weepers and bleeders. It's easier to get razor burn with a blade that sharp, too, so your technique has to be spot-on.

There are a few guys who have gotten their traditional straights sharp enough that they feel that the performance is equal to that of a Feather. You might want to consider doing some reading on the Shapton 30K hone and newspaper stropping.

Josh

I agree to a point- I can't hone well enough yet to approach the level of sharp to remove the irritation on a traditional straight- that said the professionally honed straight I have isn't irritation free either. The Feather DOES induce random weepers from time to time, but for me it is the blade's time if life that seems to do it- the first 2 shaves are dicey, but it evens out very nicely for me through about 7 more shaves before I get to the same level as a traditional straight.... and if I'm experiencing the same irritation as a traditional straight I can get several more shaves out of it before absolutely needing to swap blades.

Technique is very important- and that is the reason I wanted a feather- to work on technique for shaving without worrying about honing or stropping. So far so good- I'm very pleased with mine.