Does a straight razor make a man appear more debonair or classy?

Hey ladies :)
I was sitting here wondering, does a straight razor make a man appear classy, or debonair.
Its something i was considering for a while, as i do enjoy a good cigar.. and they tend to look more classy rather than trashy. For example, here's george clooney with a cigar, he appears quite classy.. or so i think.
http://i1119.photobucket.com/albums/...psaccaed61.jpg

I dont know.. i guess to me, doing things that are more traditional or old school is the definition of class or debonair.
Hence cigars, usually for celebration and in a classy establishment. Not on some street corner to get your fix.
So, if a man cares more about his personal grooming and uses a straight razor.. does he come off as having class.
If you where to see him shaving that is
I always thought a man had to have class to use a blade. especially in todays world where everything is about getting done as quickly as possible.

I prefer the old way of doing things...
Just some food for thought i suppose, something thats been on my mind for a while
(before joining this forum even)


I guess i compare straight razors to cigars in my mind, and disposable/electric shavers to cigarettes
One takes time and is something you do because you enjoy it. Its more traditional and respectable
The other is something you do each and every day out of sheer habit, because you have to. You dont necessarily enjoy it


Thank you for your thoughts ladies :)

You can't buy class you either have it or you don't and no amount of accoutrements will change that.

Bob

Not a lady but I wouldn't recomend getting in to this because it's "classy" as you call it, do it because of the quality of the shaves, or the enjoyment you get from learning and using the skills associated with this type of shaving.

Most people, including some women, who know I shave with a straight think I am NUTS not classy or are just plain ambivalent to that fact.

Bob

I asked my wife that while I was shaving with an 11/8 Otto & Reynders to get her opinion. I think she's still laughing.

I got asked if i fell out of a tree by a lady today because of some cuts and irritation marks from my first attempt at a full XTG shave this morning if that counts? Surely Tarzan had some class?!

But to answer your question, no there wasn't protestations of undying affections for my method of removing facial hair being classier than a fusion.

My wife is at best uninterested, and friends at work show mild interest sometimes.but they are boys. I think this question is a bit like "does driving a big car and doing martial arts make you cool?" It would depend who answered the question, but generally if you have to ask if you are something, you probably aren't.

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Originally Posted by edhewitt

My wife is at best uninterested, and friends at work show mild interest sometimes.but they are boys. I think this question is a bit like "does driving a big car and doing martial arts make you cool?" It would depend who answered the question, but generally if you have to ask if you are something, you probably aren't.

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It does if its the biggest and your the best! :rock: Otherwise your just paying stupid prices for fuel and there will still be someone out there that can kick your ass regardless of how many UFC fights you've watched.

I was just curious because i had a lady friend mention it once.
Im not switching over to be cool, nobodys going to ever see me doing it.
Im switching over because i dont like the quality i get with my mach3. Not to mention buying blades all the time gets very expensive over the course of a year. i have had the same for a few months now... which is sad
So, this will be a much more cost effective method in the long run :)

O and Edhewitt,
I do drive a big flashy car, and go to martial arts. . . XD
funny thats what you chose to say.

I do it because its what i enjoy, i could care less what everyone thinks.. Infact alot of people dont like my el camino

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Originally Posted by BobH

Most people, including some women, who know I shave with a straight think I am NUTS not classy or are just plain ambivalent to that fact.

Bob

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Yup... +1 to Bob...pretty much my entire family thinks I'm completely nuts! Both my brother-in-laws actually shuddered when they started asking questions. Others just think you're eccentric, or at the worst, "putting on airs".

The only nod of acceptance I get is that it's better for MY skin...less razor bumps and irritation.

Main reaction is why? The cartridge razors work absolutely fine, give a great shave, and you won't slice yourself open, so what's the point? Remember I came in with a small nick on my face once and a couple of buddies immediately started laughing and saying, "so how's that straight shaving working out for you!?!" When I told them it was my cat, no-one believed me!!

I've found, as mentioned here quite a bit, it's not exactly a conversation starter or topic to bring up...most people just think you're nuts and why would you bring up how you shave??

Sigh, as I sit here writing this, wearing my Classic Edge t-shirt with a straight razor on the front and a large W&B logo on the back....

:gaah:

Or the short answer to your question: No.

That's like asking if smoking cigarettes will make you look cool.

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Originally Posted by kwlfca

That's like asking if smoking cigarettes will make you look cool.

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What!?! Smoking doesn't make you look cool? Darn...time to quit smoking then...sheesh....this is a tough place!

The ladies will not know you shave with a straight unless you go around gushing like a geek and tell them. They will not then be impressed. Sorry.

My sister actually thinks it's a more masculine way to shave but my mother thinks it's ok and that's all, my dad on the other hand looks at it like something snob, but as Wayne say my sister knows that I shave with a straight because she has seen me not because I was asking her, if I did that with every lady friend I think they will look at it as weird

Considering EVERY man trashy to classy used a straight razor 120 years ago, I don't think it does.

Now if the razor had gold scales and it was stored in a teak wood box or something and your butler got it for you maybe!! lol!

I was meaning more on an intimate level.. not like running around telling every lady friend how you shave. That would be just plain weird.
Shoulda specified

I get a decent shave with cartridge razors. The mach3 isnt bad, but im still sandpaper rough afterwords. + i cannot afford to keep buying new cartridges, i have been unemployed for quite some time.

I am kinda dreading carving my face like the thanksgiving turkey, right before church. That would be kinda fun to explain, i think id go with some crazy story just for a good laugh. Knife fighting and what not.
Think i should go and get one of those styptic pen things before i try this out...

I dont know, i guess i have always looked on it as more manly. Seeing as you have to really care for the quality of your appearance, and take the time to do it properly. Where as with an electric shaver its done just like that, and not half as well either.
So i guess its the fact that you have to care more, be more dedicated, that i look at it as more of a manly option. Not that your using a blade and thats cooler, but that you have to really care about your appearance.

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Originally Posted by DualNature

I was meaning more on an intimate level.. not like running around telling every lady friend how you shave. That would be just plain weird.
Shoulda specified

I get a decent shave with cartridge razors. The mach3 isnt bad, but im still sandpaper rough afterwords. + i cannot afford to keep buying new cartridges, i have been unemployed for quite some time.

I am kinda dreading carving my face like the thanksgiving turkey, right before church. That would be kinda fun to explain, i think id go with some crazy story just for a good laugh. Knife fighting and what not.
Think i should go and get one of those styptic pen things before i try this out...

I dont know, i guess i have always looked on it as more manly. Seeing as you have to really care for the quality of your appearance, and take the time to do it properly. Where as with an electric shaver its done just like that, and not half as well either.
So i guess its the fact that you have to care more, be more dedicated, that i look at it as more of a manly option. Not that your using a blade and thats cooler, but that you have to really care about your appearance.

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See where you're going with that.

But as they teach you when studying different periods in history, it's important not to transport a modern day sentiment to another era.

When straight razors were the cartridge shavers of their day, shaving was looked upon much the same way as it is today - a daily chore that must be done.

It's only us that ascribe / impose our perceived values on this era of shaving. 100 years from now, when you may use some laser across your face in the morning, that instantly shaves your face, will people then be on a forum discussing the Mach 3's and Fusion 5's and applying the same values...more manly way of shaving, more traditional, learning how to use a tool our grandfathers used.

I like it, and frankly don't really discuss it unless somehow it comes up, and I don't really care what others think...

^ well said.. i guess i have never really thought of it that way
Its kinda like the cars i suppose. Back then the business split window coupes where an every day working mans car, that nobody really coveted.
Now there one of the most expensive collectors cars out there, for their sentimentality.

Well.. that kinda puts a whole new perspective on things.
I still aspire for my great grandfathers generation, but id bet that his generation aspired for their grandparents generation. So, i would be in the same boat i am now. Just without internet to connect with you gents.
I guess a Mach3 would be really old school compared to a laser, and a straight razor would probably be seen as just plain barbaric.
Well, i guess its just something im going to have to pass down to my children, and then to their children. Keep it going, start a tradition

Well, I thank you all for the input.
I never imagined id get such a wealth of information and insightful opinion on this
My question has been answered,
Its not how or with what you do something. its how you look at doing it, and why you do it how you do it.

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Originally Posted by DualNature

Its not how or with what you do something. its how you look at doing it, and why you do it how you do it.

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No I don't think it is even that. I believe it is how you treat other people that determines if you have class or not. Looks mean nothing but actions do.

Bob

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Originally Posted by BobH

No I don't think it is even that. I believe it is how you treat other people that determines if you have class or not. Looks mean nothing but actions do.

Bob

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Yeah, I agree.
To paraphrase an old soft-drink commercial:
Image is nothing, behavior is everything

This thread's getting kinda deep.
All my ways of looking at life are being questioned in a very effective and true manor

Mind=blown

although, what i sayd does kinda count
If you behave in sayd way only to look good, then are you truly classy? or is it an act
where as if you behave with a kind and chivalrous heart, not because you want to look good, but because thats how a man should be..
I guess the difference is, if its an act or not

Forget appearances altogether. I have know people who outwardly have no appearance to being classy but are. OTH I have met more people with all the outward appearance of class that were ripe expletive deleted. It is only about the actions nothing else.

Bob

Your question has been answered by the men, I think the lack of female imput may be telling also.

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Originally Posted by DualNature

...I am kinda dreading carving my face like the thanksgiving turkey, right before church. That would be kinda fun to explain, i think id go with some crazy story just for a good laugh. Knife fighting and what not.

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Forgive me for saying, but please take some time to review the reasoning behind your expectations before putting a blade to your face. I am old and wise and should know this is none of my business.

But! On topic, a young girl recently remarked on my favorite pipe, a delicate, polished Brakner Antique. "Mister," she said, "That is thee classiest pipe I have ever seen." She correctly identified the pipe was classy, not that I was classy because I was smoking it. Big difference.

NC state motto also addresses this: ESSE QUAM VIDERI

I have put a bit more thought into this,
If you are all about image then you are a dandy,
If you are gentlemanly with an intelligent wit, then that would make you classy,
I think debonair is "classy" with understated style.

Point well taken Mr. Moo :)
Im not doing this because of image, heck.. nobody even knows im going to be doing it
Its just something i always wondered about

Edhewitt,
I think the ladys silence speaks loudest of all :)


I just want to clarify, Im not going to be doing it for the public appeal. the only people that will ever know, will be my immediate family in the same home as me.
I was just curious, and you know what they say about curiosity....

I just want to clarify, Im not going to be doing it for the public appeal. the only people that will ever know, will be my immediate family in the same home as me.
Add the 36,295 members of the forum, and some of them are scratching their beards right now.

You need a cool walk. Have to have one that distinguishes you from the rest. Cool.

Monty Python's Ministry of Silly Walks (Full Sketch) - YouTube

Now the trick is to do that while shaving.............

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Originally Posted by Damo

Monty Python's Ministry of Silly Walks (Full Sketch) - YouTube

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How is this thread still active....

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Originally Posted by kwlfca

How is this thread still active....

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The farther you get from 20 the more you hope to say the right thing; gentle guidence sometimes has merit. This board is populated by a surprising number of kind souls.

For me it makes me appear more clean shaven.
The other stuff for me is irrelevant.

Mr Moo is right,
Kind souls are abundant here, and its very refreshing :)

On other forums i would have been ripped a new one for this..

and as to a previous comment,
When i say only my close family will know i do this, im talking in person. you 30,000 are a given, and i will never meet you in person. So yall dont really count

Im telling the truth when i say i want to do this not because of the looks, but the quality and what it should save me in the long run.

I however, would be telling a lie if id say the thought never crossed my mind.
I had hoped that it would be seen as debonair and class. Especially if i get this girl and she see's me doing it.
but its not my reason for doing it

:)

Depends on the man. I could emerge from a chauffeur driven Bentley in an Armani tuxedo with my hair styled in a nice pompadour, pull out a Cohiba, light it with my Alfred Dunhill lighter and still look like the redneck I am...Nothings going to give me an air of class - including a straight razor - but, YMMV.

:-)

Most people will just think you're nuts! There's actually another thread here on how people react to you using a straight over here--->http://straightrazorpalace.com/shavi...ight-rzrs.html

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Originally Posted by DualNature

Hey ladies :)
I was sitting here wondering, does a straight razor make a man appear classy, or debonair.
Thank you for your thoughts ladies :)

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Now with Halloween you can carry the razor along and see where it gets you! One on one experiences!
Cheers
~Richard