Thread: The Straight Razor's Future

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.

Originally Posted by OCDshaver

I always feel that there are always a select few that hold the knowledge of any given topic. And those individuals are entrusted to keep and pass on that knowledge. Maybe you cook, cure meat, understand photography, make soap, brew beer, or shave with a SR. These are activities and skills that could easily been neglected into extinction but for the few that continue to hold the knowledge and keep it alive. When we lather up in the morning were. Ot just shaving but keeping this traditional method alive. If we can convince one more person to join in, we can be sure it will survive.

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.

Originally Posted by ImpalaDean

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 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?

Originally Posted by Trimmy72

The styling's of the straights have advanced, but I'm not sure that' an advancement in shaving tools, maybe as useful art? .... 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 ....

Originally Posted by Shaotzu

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 ....

Agree 100% with what you say here, my reason's as well.

I particularly like, "thoughtful action", sums it up pretty nicely as well, for me it was that and about turning what used to be a mundane "task" into more of an "experience".