It is definitely growing and the fact that there is such a demand for them proves that. I have used a DE since the 50's but just started the SR last December. I don't plan on quitting, in fact I just keep buying them
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It is definitely growing and the fact that there is such a demand for them proves that. I have used a DE since the 50's but just started the SR last December. I don't plan on quitting, in fact I just keep buying them
There will be an upsurge for the next few years at least. University students and young hipsters are on the rise.
Those beards aren't going to fashionable much longer.... lol. But seriously you can convert your friends and family with a few well timed Christmas gifts.
1. By them a brush (even a cheap one) and a good quality soap. Explain the hot shave method to them all.
2. 6 months later ask if they bought a can of that garbage they call shaving cream today.
3. Ask them how many $25 to $45 razor packs they bought this year.
4. Send them a post from a newbie shave from this forum.
5. By them a shavette. It's not them same but the skill level is lower (stroping, honing etc.) for Christmas.
6. Watch the addiction grow.
7. Show them this post. Lol
I have converted 7 people in the last 5 years. More will grow, it's word of mouth and the online support that will see this community grow.
So I went to culinary school, and can cook and cure meat (and like most cooks, may be a bit obsessed with my knives). I am an artist and can process and develop my own film. I don't make soap or brew beer, but I make liqueurs from things grown in my garden.
And I absolutely love the art of shaving with a straight razor.
I'm female, and for me, shaving my legs has always been a bit of a production anyway. And since my skin is super sensitive, I've never been able to use the "goo in a can." And shaving your underarms is just annoying.
So the complaints that using a SR takes longer is negligible given that I get a much closer shave with products that are great for my skin. I also use it on more sensitive areas, and the soaps are much more gentle, also with a closer shave so I can go longer in between shaves "down there," which is always a plus. A DE on my underarms is much simpler too.
And I've also become addicted to vintage scuttles, hot shaves, and really pampering myself with my SR shaving.
I can't tell you how many guys are fascinated with the fact that I shave with a SR. And how often I hear (from older friends), "I used to shave with a straight razor...." And you can see the wheels turning in their head that maybe they should go find those old straights they had, ...as they let me shave them. I'm doing my part to convert.
I too attended a culinary school. If you plan on hanging around, look into http://straightrazorpalace.com/finer...-you-guys.html. Many of us like to share the work we've done in the kitchen.
I'm pretty new to straight shaving; went from being a lifelong electric user straight to a kamisori 2.5 years ago, and the last 2 years I have been exclusively shaving with two fixed blade straights I made myself.
I can't really imagine this activity getting that big. If all you want is to get your beard off, there are faster and easier ways, and there is a pretty long and steep learning curve. Almost no one these days would even think to sharpen a kitchen knife on hones, much less a razor. On the other hand if you want a new Hobby...
After two years I've got my shave down to 20 minutes, for an ok shave with usually some yucky irritation surfacing the day after. Luckily I have a job where I only shave twice a week and it is fine. Probably not making the experience sound that appealing to a newcomer, but on some level I gain a deep satisfaction in engaging in this activity that takes hard won skill, using a razor I made myself (also made my brush, soap, strop, aftershave, and moisturizer).
I don't visit the forum much and don't have a lot of posts under my belt; the shaving has become a part of my regular life and so the trips to SRP have gone down somewhat. Maybe some portion of those low number posters that don't come back are like me?
So I like straight shaving a lot, but I also like sewing my own clothes with a 120 year old treadle sewing machine I restored myself. Most people just want to go to Target to buy a shirt and get on with the other stuff they have to do. Our modern lives are awesome in that we get to choose what we spend our time on, and if it is a choice then even something that was drudgery for people 100 years ago can be fun.
For the money saving aspect, as we all know it doesn't hold up most of the time. Best case is moving cost to up front expenditure rather than a slow bleed. I was doing pretty well on the money saving making all my own stuff, only having bought one razor, and using the hones I already had for woodworking. But I just ordered a Naniwa 12K AND Zulu Grey, so I think I've given up any claim I can ever make on saving money with straight shaving!
It is nice to see that there are still Luddites, even semi-Luddites, operating in the middle of society. I like to feel that I am at least a half generation behind the mainstream. I have a cellphone - for emergencies. I don't remember it's number. I've sewed my own clothes also, for a limited time. I use a computer but delude myself in considering it just a fast snail mail version of communicating. But lets not delude ourselves, shaving with a straight razor was, in it's time, a necessity. Now it is more than a hobby or craft. It is an art form, whether we realize it or not, practiced by many who subconsciously would like to live in easier (by comparison) times.
The styling's of the straights have advanced, but I'm not sure that' an advancement in shaving tools, maybe as useful art?
I see that side of it continuing to grow. I think more artist will emerge as time goes on too, the collectors will drive that market though. Someone who is really creative will come up with something to advance it. But you have to wonder, how many different ways can you present an edge that shaves comfortably?
Personally, I prefer vintage razors to the "advancement" of straights. They have history, a story to tell. And I do see the ritual of shaving with a SR as a type of functional artistry. And it certainly can be debated that the care and rebuilding of a SR to get it shave ready, as may be the building brushes, making strops, or creating soap is also a part of that functional artistry or a craft in and of itself.
Either way, whether my straight razors become a mainstay of my collection or I decide to pass it on or sell it, I become part of that history. I feel that continuity and ritual is as much as shaving with a straight razor, rather than just going through the motions with an object that just has a good edge and gets the job done.
(Though, of course, we all have times we just have to get the job done, I refer when we have the time/leisure to really take each step and make it our own. Though, most often for me, even for my get the job times, I still go through my steps, just multitasking in between.)
And, really, look at all the SR out there, the many different sizes, the variety of hollows to wedges, and the carbon steel to stainless steel ratios. There are indeed many, many ways to present an edge that shaves comfortably. And remember, for each person, YMMV.
Just to throw out a newbie's view: I came into SR shaving for a few reasons, but the disposable nature of cartridges bothered me (cost and environmental). In the six weeks I've been doing it I've learned a few things. One is that I am a convert to at least this or DEs, not cartridges again. And I've set myself up to be able to hand off this tradition to my son. Truth be told, it's a skill, but it is not that hard ... If you enjoy thoughtful action, then this is easy. If you want the next thing five minutes ago, you'll have a scraggly beard and hipster striped socks anyway ....
Well, the image of the young man shaving with a W&B then headed to work in his Toyota hybrid with a mocha latte in his hand......wrong? Not wrong enough kimosabe....a young man with a pencil thin jaw line beard, wearing a tutu and Whites lumberjack boots with lipstick on the rim of his latte and a foil wrapped cucumber in his tights....dude....that is just wrong IMHO
I made the switch to straight shaving in 2009. The cost of the multi blades seemed market driven, non functional driven. Somehow, they gave me unsightly pimples under my skin. After switching to straight shaving that never happened. After getting the hang of it, I think I influinced a few others to switch to a DE and some straight shaving. However, the straight shave still scares a lot of people. I do have a DE and use that occassionally, but nothing beats a straight shave! I think I joined in at the beginning of the big movement and now I see the big push back happening against the multi blade $$ driven marketing.
For the new people: When I first invested all this money into straight shaving, I calculated my Multi Blade break even savings time to be 36 months. I did buy all the nice stuff and didn't compromise much. Since the break even time, I am plus 3.5 years and counting. Today, I just grin at the silly prices of the muliblades and think they are just out of line with their hyped up marking. Best decision I made in 2009!
Pabster
I've seen the Pawn Stars DEs at CVS and Walgreen's, so I guess there is a growing market. Most I had seen here in Puerto Rico was DE blades, usually Personna, selling in small markets, Walgreen's and CVS. I've also seen pretty cheap DE razors at local pharmacies.
I think we trusted the likes of Gillette and Schick to come up with the ultimate shaving machine for generations, but with the multiblade razor, canned foam, and canned gel they came up with something that was overly expensive and uncomfortable. This manifested itself in the trend of the last 20 years where it became fashionable for young people who don't grow beards to shave every few days.
As someone pushing 60 and coming of age during the advent of multiblade razors, I felt it was expected of me to shave every day. However, doing so was extremely uncomfortable and I avoided shaving any non-work day I possibly could.
Since I was a kid I was fascinated by the use of straight razors in the movies, and by 2010 I had gotten so fed up with the poor results of electric razors and the discomfort of multiblades that I got fed up and searched the internet for alternatives.
My first safety razor was defective, but I persevered and every safety razor used since immediately reversed 40 years of bad shaving experiences. Shaving became a hobby due to my fascination toward straight razors and my determination to learn to use them.
I feel the venerable old razor companies violated the public trust by thrusting something on them that was profitable to them and not in the best interest of their face.
To me, that's where shaving is today. We have people who still trust Gillette and Schick and pay the price in more ways in one, and others like us who lost their temper with high prices and unsatisfactory results and found an alternative.
Personally I think you have to know how to slow down to enjoy using a cut throat, one has to appreciate the finner things in life. Straights are a kin to good bourbon, where as cartridge razors are a kin to cobra 44 beer in 40oz bottle. Hate to say it but we live in a world filled with people who like cobra beer as opposed to good bourbon. Same with shaving. I started because I've had a fascination with straights since before I could remeber. It will never go away, but it will never give Gillett a run for their money.
Modern inventions often do one of two things if they are to replace something older. Either they do it better, or they do it easier. Really, if it doesn't do one of those two things, it won't take over. For cartridge and electric shaving, it was easier, and to the unskilled, it is better, thus the takeover of the industry. And really, I didn't have any real help in learning to shave with a cartridge, but I didn't need it. The only hint I remember being cautioned was "don't go sideways". :) With the DE safety razor, I went slow and had to work on figuring out the angle and while it wasn't that hard, I had to slow down. Guess what? The shave was better, but it wasn't faster/easier. Makes me think of packaged foods and frozen dinners - they get the job done, and it's fine, but it's not the same as actually making some real food for yourself.
Add in the skill of straight razor shaving, and it's akin to making food from scratch - you are pretty much responsible for everything. Is it for everyone? Absolutely not. I made pancakes this morning for the family - used to use Bisquick and throw it together; now, I actually use flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, etc., and mix it together. Is it faster? Nope, but it's better and I can control how the pancakes fluff up and add cinnamon, vanilla, blueberries, whole wheat flour, whatever else I'd like. With Bisquick, it made pancakes, and I could add a little bit, but that was it. If I was in a rush or only made pancakes every couple of months, I probably never would have bothered with learning to make it from scratch.
Will straights take over again? Nope, never. Too much involvement, too much work, too much skill. In fact, that was the catalyst for the safety razors - something that was easier and safer and required less skill to work. Then, someone came up with taking the angle control out of the equation and developed cartridge razors . . . Speed and ease will always triumph in this arena, but there will always be a group that realizes sometimes more work is better work and will embrace the DE and SR world. Same with cooking . . . people will never stop by processed foods - they are faster, but you also won't get rid of chefs and people who really make and cook real food.
I am newbie, and I am just hooked. I love the old school look and feel of holding this blade, then taking it to my face and getting the best shave possible. I definitely will not quit
I have been using a straight since I started shaving (37 years) and never had anybody want to try it after hearing or seeing that's what I use. Used the same two razors during that time. Didn't think anybody still shaved that way until I stumbled across this forum a few years ago.
It's a tough competition out there. While many are finding that the 5-6 blade refills are expensive, they go back to either a de or they pick up straight shaving. Electric shavers are the fastest but don't give a close shave. I know there are women out there that are buying sr's while others are using disposables or de's. Then you have the hard core people like us that love our sr's & won't give 'em up for anything. Ya got newbies out there trying the straight razors & many love them & really want to learn more about them whether young or old while the richer folks are sticking to their 5-6 bladed razors because they can afford the refills but someone like me, on disability can't afford those plus I'm an old fashioned type of guy & I love my straights no matter what. I think many people are slowly going to straights because in the long run they are inexpensive to maintain & some are old fashioned like me but there is always going to be a market for the newer type multi bladed razors & as long as they have those, people will buy them if they can afford them. I love my straights, old & new & you also have the new American made customs people have come out with & as long as others spread the word & get people to try sr's, there will be the certain percentage that will try it & stick with it while others want a faster shave & will stick with the de's or multi blade razors. I would like to see more people try straight razors & enjoy the art of shaving with them because myself, I enjoy it & there are many brushes, after shave lotions & all the other accessories that go with them. I also love collecting old ones & I would like to see the market pick up with all the new straights out there whether they are Theirs Issard, custom Waterhouse, Japanese, newly custom American straights & so on but there will always be a certain percentage of people using different types of razors. There are always going to be a certain amount of people using different methods just like smoking conventional cigarettes compared to electronic ones. There's always going to be a different market for different things but as I mentioned, I'd love to see more people try straight razor shaving because when one is sharpened right, you get one of the closest shaves I know of. The newer conventional razors do give a very close shave but they have to use multi blades to do so & haven't been around that long but straights have been here for centuries & will be here for even longer. A de is the next best thing to a straight. The disposable single & double bladed razors aren't worth the money as they don't give as close a shave as the 5-6 bladed razors. As long as they keep making straights, there will always be a market for them for those that chose to use them, hopefully more people will do so as time goes on. I hope to educate more people to use straights, will always use them no matter what & i will never change my ways!