Should I supplement my dtraight shave with a DE?

I've been using a straight shaver for over a year now and I've been very happy with the move from my Fusion over to an old straight. But my face still can't take a daily shave, so I've been using a single pass on the Fusion most days, leaving me a permanent 5 o'clock shadow, and using my straight for 3 passes on days I can't have that kind of scruff. I was considering the idea of replacing the Fusion with an old-style DE razor. Would this help or make no difference? I've been struggling with shaving my whole life. The move to a straight has helped me tremendously by getting rid of permanent neck burn, and the compromise of going back to the Fusion and doing one pass with the grain most nights has been acceptable, but I'd like to try and do better than this.

I started using straights and keeping my fusion for touch ups. Eventually I started using a de for touch ups and eventually fit them in my regular rotation. If you're a vintage guy then you can usually pick up a Gillette tech in good condition for pretty cheap. I'd say give it a try and if you don't like it then maybe it was only a $20 investment that didn't go well.

The DE is vastly superior to the Fusion. When you get one, remember to let the razors weight do the cutting. Don't use pressure or it will likely cause razor burn. But an alum block or a good aftershave lotion will fix that anyway. I won't be going back to the Fusion. The DE is so much better. I use one pretty much daily, and I very rarely get razor burn now that I am used to shaving with it.

Just to add to the responses, I believe you will find a marked improvement with the DE over the Fusion.

Also, try just a two pass with a straight if it's bothering your skin.

Sounds worth a shot, and since you have sensitive skin, you might want to try one of the milder razors. In vintage that is a tech or superspeed (blue tip), or any of the Gillette adjustable razors set to about a 3. In modern razors, a merkur progress set to a 1 or 2, or perhaps an Edwin Jagger (EJ razors all have the same excellent and slightly mild head) ( Weishi are also very mild, but they are of Chinese make, and it shows to an extent.)

Be sure to get decent blades, too (Sadly, most stores sell Dorco blades, which are probably the least well regarded blade there is.): A couple of relatively popular mild blades would be Personna ( Israeli made crystals or red pack, or the American made lab prep, or med prep). For sharper blades: Astra(blue or green pack), Gillette (yellow, blue, or, perhaps black), would be my suggestion, but I don't know if you'd prefer sharp or mild blades.

Also nothing stopping you from a single passes with a straight instead of the fusion. You might be able to cut the fine shave down to a 2 pass. WTG/XTG or if your wiskers are cooperative WTG/ATG, I only suggest that because it sounds like you have been shaving with a straight for a while. Might also make your face skin jump off, wrap around your ankles and trip you with straight in hand.

Thanks guys. I've decided I'm going to seek out a DE razor to replace my fusion. My face can't take the straight every day and it can only take the fusion if I do one pass daily. So I'll be much happier if I can get a similar effect with a DE and possibly a better shave.

A nice thing about the DE's is the cost of the blades. I bought 100 Shark blades for under $16. Some of the better blades are more expensive, but still WAY cheaper than Fusion cartridges.

DE's give a great shave. I have sensitive skin too, the DE is more comfortable to shave with for me than the Mach3 I used to use. And, as already mentioned, blades are dirt cheap in comparison.

Great! After doing a little research, I'm looking at a vintage Gillette. Looking at either a late 40's Aristocrat or one of the later "fat boys." looking on eBay, the prices sold auctions went for are completely off the map. Any ideas what a fair price is? Not looking for cheapest to hold out for, just fair for either.

This is kind of exciting!! I really enjoyed moving to my straight. I'm looking forward to adding a new antique type razor to my day.

Check your local antique shops before you buy one on the 'bay. There are some really good buys at some stores.

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Originally Posted by robellison01

Check your local antique shops before you buy one on the 'bay. There are some really good buys at some stores.

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Don't forget to give me a heads up on them shops! I drive though Mansfield every sunday on my way to sword practice.

And here I was thinking, "where ARE our local antique shops?"

I found about 5 straights in an antique mall here in Irving. I only bought one of them and I paid a little too much.

I thought I had found one with Ivory scales. Fooled myself. It cleaned up very well and I shaved with it Monday. I'll doubt that I'll keep it.

Some suggestions:

1. If your face "can't stand a straight-razor shave every day", maybe you're using too much pressure on the blade. If you press down on a cartridge razor, nothing much happens. But if you press down on a straight razor, you'll get razor burn (or worse).

so, it might pay to use lighter pressure than you're used to. If the blade doesn't cut, it might be dull.

2. Vintage DE prices, at auction, are approaching the prices of high-grade new DE razors. The EJ 89 "Barley" is really good. Since I bought mine, my Gillette Tech and Aristocrat (a very nice razor) have been gathering dust. The Tech was $3, and the Aristocrat was $10 at antique shops.

3. The sharpest DE blade you can buy is the Feather. You must use _no pressure_ -- else, you'll get razor burn and cuts. You could start with a Feather blade, and work down (in sharpness) to an Astra, and everything else.

Charles

Thanks Charles. I've had razor burn problems my whole life. The burn doesn't start until two days after the shave, usually. It has gone down significantly since switching from the Fusion to a straight. And I use three passes with the straight, otherwise I have permanent shadow.

Well in the way I see things the DE Safety razor is top in regards a simple Fusion. You will see the difference in terms of low amount of pases you have to do with the Fusion..K

Well, this is funny. I walked into an antique store today in Mansfield. They didn't have one, but a couple kids who were also there (what kind of pre-18 year old kid visits an antique store?) stopped me outside in the parking lot and told me they had five of the razors they're looking to sell. We met up again a few minutes later and they sold me all 5 for $30!! Waaay better deal than ebay would have been. None are exactly what I wanted, but I'll start here. Only one has a date code on them and none have serial numbers, so I have no way of knowing what these are. A shame, as I'd love to find out. The only one with a date code is X-3, so the mid-1970's. But one of the unmarked ones are silver and a TTO, one is silver and a 3 piece, and then there are two gold three pieces. One of the golds has thick combed sides. Can't wait to try one out. Even my wife wants to give it a shot.

I got a gillette tech for 10 bucks at an antique shop. I really like it. I started using straights first and ended up with the DE by accident. I went into the shop to look for straight razors. He mainly had overpriced rusted razors. Well, they were overpriced for me. But the tech was 10 bucks so I went for that. I do not regret it at all. So I use a straight razor on most days and the DE on some. It is also nice for travel. My fusion with it's one cartridge left now sits in the cabinet under the sink. Hopefully I will never have to use it again.

Had my first DE shave last night. Like my first straight shave, I got a bad first shave out of the DE as well, but with no blood :) . The interesting thing is, after using a straight for a year and a half, I'd apparently already learned to take the pressure away, and so I needed to actually put a little pressure back on! I went through a complete circuit on my face and it hardly cut anywhere. Some had to do with the angle, which I'm still learning, but it looks like a lot of the bad habits I learned from modern razors I've already lost.

It will get better. I used to hate shaving, now with the DE, I look foward to it. When I don't have time to shave I get bummed out. It's a time to relax and enjoy a great shave. My fiancée even has me shave her legs with it. I'll probably have to buy her one soon. She loves it.

I'm the same way. I used to shave only a couple days a week because my face would be so painful afterwords. Since moving to a straight, I am almost always clean shaven. Hoping I can keep that trend going with the DE. I like being clean-shaven.

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Originally Posted by misterelie

Had my first DE shave last night. Like my first straight shave, I got a bad first shave out of the DE as well, but with no blood :) . The interesting thing is, after using a straight for a year and a half, I'd apparently already learned to take the pressure away, and so I needed to actually put a little pressure back on! I went through a complete circuit on my face and it hardly cut anywhere. Some had to do with the angle, which I'm still learning, but it looks like a lot of the bad habits I learned from modern razors I've already lost.

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What DE razor, and what blade? In my experience, a sharp DE blade is pretty close to (or equal to) a straight razor.

Yes, it could have been the angle . . .

Charles

I can't date 4 out of 5 of the razors I got. The first one I've been trying out is a gold three piece with the word Gillette stamped on the top. This is the one without the combed sides. Don't quite know how else to identify it. As far as the blade, I was really unprepared to get a razor this quickly, let alone 5 of them, so I went to Kroger (local supermarket) and picked up a generic 10 pack of blades. I've got a sampler pack ordered from one of the supply shops that has something like 100 branded blades for me to try out, but I won't get that until about Friday.