Thread: Comparing DE blades to str8's

I made a brief foray into DE shaving and had a fairly similar experience. It just didn't want to cut, I had to drag the razor hard and ended up with razor burn every time. Heavier DE's were somewhat better, but still not very good. I was eventually able to get shaves comparable to what I got with cartridge razors(which were never particularly good), it just took a lot longer. I have a very coarse beard though.

I switched to straights and got better shaves almost immediately. It felt far more intuitive to me...the proper angle came naturally, whereas with the DE I had to concentrate on maintaining that perfect angle. I also felt like I was able to follow the contours of my face much more easily with the open blade...it really just came together for me in a way DE shaving never did.

I can't put my finger on exactly why it went this way for me, and I'm certainly not suggesting the transition will be so seamless for everyone. But I think for some people, for whatever reason, straights just work better. I haven't been at it for very long (maybe 2 months?), and I'm already consistently getting the best shaves I've ever gotten. I couldn't be happier...I really think that anyone who is having a lot of trouble with other shaving methods should give straights a shot, it just might "click."