Thread: When i use a double edge.

I just picked my 4th or 5th gillette superspeed and I'm determined to shave with it at least once as all the previous ones got given away before that happened.
I've used DE (my father's or my grandfather's) on occasion many years ago and never realized there's that much to it.

I have used Gillette Suxor Excel and MAch 3 and Fusion. A couple of months ago I started checking out shaving on the Internet and bought a Merkur DE. Took some time to get used to it but the difference is remarkable. I only use the DE now and am waiting for my straight to arrive in the mail. Just looking forward to the shave against the grain without any burn afterwards.

The double edge is really good and it has really set me on a new path of shaving. It is just great!

I have a Merkur HD and a few Feather blades. It's a fantastic combination. Feathers are the only blades that compare to the sharpness of a properly honed razor.

I currently work a 12.5 hour shift (nights) with an hour and a half commute (one way).

If I don't have the time, and by which I mean I would really rather sleep, I might pick up my Merkur Vision or Mergress and do a quick WTG, XTG which, for me gets the job done.

On my day off (yes I said day, not days) I will always shave with a straight. This also goes for those days when I forego the sleep and enjoy the shave.

Actually ever since joining SRP (and our sister site B&B) I have enjoyed every subsequent shave since (regardless of method DE or STR8)!

Four weeks on and I'm still waiting for my Ti to arrive from Classic Shaving (I do live in the UK ). I'm guessing that the delay is because it has been sent to Lynn for honing before despatch.

In the interim I'm still using my Merkur Vision DE in combination with Israeli Personna blades. This set up gives me a truely BBS shave, but OMG it is so boring to use!

I do wish my str8 would arrive. I'm thinking of ordering a vintage one in the UK to satisfy my interim needs.

Has anyone tried a Rolls Razor? I love them. It's basically a chunk of straight that's used on a handle like a DE. I'm probably about 50/50 between straights and my Rolls. It gives a shave as comfortable and long lasting as the straight but is easy to hone (My honing is still next to useless!)

You can pick up a decent set on the Bay for a few pounds. The Imperial No2 is probably the best buy as it has the smart stainless steel case for the hone and strop. I also have one of the later aluminium sets which seems a bit flimsy next to the Imperial and isn't as shiny!

It took a few goes on the hone side to get the edge perfect but once you're there it's an excellent shave.

And yes, I do use it for touch ups as I have an awkward patch next to the Adam's Apple that I never seem to get clean with the straight.

Gareth

DE when I travel. I take the barber pole and a pack of red IP's.

Just much simpler, and takes much, much less space. Less risk of security hassles too when I fly with just carryon. And besides, I'd rather be outside doing what I traveled for than shaving.

Originally Posted by Galopede

Has anyone tried a Rolls Razor?

I've never tried one, no. I see them in antique stores all the time, usually for around twenty bucks, but I've never bothered to get one. They look pretty gimmicky and impractical to me, but as you say, I'm sure they could deliver a very nice shave if you wanted to put the work into restoring one. The blade itself looks like a door stop or something. A big ol' chunk o' wedge that I imagine is difficult to hone. I'm surprised the patent for that thing was put through, actually. I mean, it's like a hybrid between a straight (what with the built in stropping mechanism and exposed edge) and a "safety" razor, since it attaches to its own handle.

Anyway, I thought I'd chime in with how I approach my shaves.

First, someone asked whether anyone does an against the grain pass with their straight. I do. There's nothing to it, really. I'll typically do a with-the-grain pass to reduce the majority of the stubble, followed by a cross grain pass (with the the odd stroke that skips ahead and starts going against the grain). At this point I'm basically done, but because I've never been comfortable with a "passable" shave, I go for a BBS finish every time. I just can't leave the sink until I can't detect any hairs on the face.

It seems a lot of people are reliant on their DE's for a smooth shave, using it as a finishing razor after working with their straight. I've never done that.

I started shaving with a straight around the time I joined the board, and had never shaved with a DE until about a year after I started using a straight razor. I now use either one of my straights or the DE (I like both a lot), but they never co-mingle.

If I'm using one of my straight razors, I typically do a three pass shave to attain a BBS result, and I make sure to go against the grain to get it. I don't know why there's a lot of hesitation from the group, but I've been doing this since the get-go around three years ago, and I think I can count the number of nicks I've given myself on one hand. Never any gushers... just nicks that have closed up and healed with a bit of cold water.

I've got about 25 - 30 straights and two DE's. One is the classic Merkur. I forget exactly which one, but it's not one of the beefy handled ones like on the HD - it's the one that has three stainless steel parts (handle, head, and the little plate that the blade fits on). The other is an old Gillette in pretty much exactly the same style. I got it at an antique store for twenty bucks, and it disassembles and fits in this steel little snap shut case, with purple felt lining the inside. A few extra blades can be carried in there too. Really cool.

I won't be shaving with the DE's for a little while, because I'm out of blades. Rather than going to the drug store and picking some up, I think I'm going to get a "sample pack" from one of the blade vendors online so I can see what's available. To date I've only tried Gillette, Merkur...and maybe Wilkinson Sword. I forget.

Those Feather blades intrigue me a little bit. But I find that I enjoy my DE shaves the most after they've been broken in with a few shaves. A laser-sharpened blade that'll cut you open if you even look at it the wrong way may not be for me.

Anyway, I personally feel that if I shaved 95% of my face with a straight razor, but relied on a DE to finish the job, I'd be cheating. The idea behing using a straight is to get that "unmatched closeness" they're renowned for. But if you're only using it to trim the hairs down really short and then reaching for the DE to smooth things out, what's the point in using a straight to begin with? Might as well just use the DE from the start.

But anyway... Derby blades, huh? What's good about those ones? Can anyone suggest any other good blades?

I have been shaving with a Merkur HD for about 2 months now and I have been kicking around the idea of shaving with a straight. I bought a straight 25 years ago, but never learned how to shave with it. I know I dropped it once and chipped the blade near the bottom. I will hunt down the razor the next time I am at my folks.

If I had the resources of this site back then, I am sure that I would have been able to keep going with the straight. I am looking forward to trying one sometime soon. Maybe my old straight can be honed or reground.

Originally Posted by Philadelph

I use a DE... never.

But hey, that's cool if you like 'em... I guess. lol

Me too. I use a double edge, never. For me personally, I can not get as nice a shave with my Merkur as with my Dovo or Wapi or Geneva. The DE leaves my skin very, how shall I say, exfoilated. The DE leaves raw spots. The open razor makes you be more gentle to your skin.