Thread: Too soon to start with a straight razor?

Hi,
I've just started shaving with a safety razor (2-3 weeks) and really enjoy the difference from my old cartridge razor. Is it too soon to be thinking about moving to a straight razor? Should I continue to practice and hone my safety razor skills before moving on? Are the skills transferable?

Thanks
Dave

Once you get good at using a brush and face prep and get a repeatably great shave, that would be a good time to investigate using a straight razor. Then you "only" have to learn stropping and razor technique. I used a DE for 6-8 months before I switched

As rodb said, there are two issues here: Preparation, and shaving. Preparation, you can, and should by all means, learn first. Contrary to popular belief, it makes up for the majority of successful shaves. Whether you use a double edge, a single edge, or a cut-throat razor, is of entirely secondary concern.

Personally, I would switch to a single edge ("SE") razor at your earliest convenience. Once you have maxed out the SE, you might want to venture into cut-throat land. From my personal experience, I can only tell you that chances are you will stick with an SE. For me, it is the perfect compromise between ease of use (replaceable blades, no stropping let alone honing), and closeness of shaving (I have tried various fabled cut-throat razors, including the elusive EPBD, and various others - having paid a mind blowing amount of money for one equally elusive SE razor, I wish I had never ventured into high priced, hyped cut-throat razor land).

So, if you feel bored, get another razor that won't break the bank. A GEM Open Comb Micromatic (aka OCMM) won't cost you more than US$15 in excellent conditions. Blades can be found in your local supermarket. Once you feel bored by that razor, by all means get a cut-throat from the Classifieds here, and nowhere else. See if you like it, then maybe invest in a maintenance hone.

Good luck,
Robin

The thing i learned most from a DE was to watch hair growth direction. that transferred nicely to the straight. IMHO one can learn to make good lather at the same time one can learn to use a straight. Just be prepared for a learning curve. Can still use the DE for touch ups and when time is short. Also it is recommended to not shave the whole face the first time but go at it gradually. I say go for it!

When it comes to hair growth direction, nothing beats this: http://www.pbjsite.com/shave/whiskarmap/.

There was a time when there were no "training wheels" in learning to shave with a straight razor. You just started learning on a straight razor because that is all there was. I shaved for about 40 years before starting to learn how to shave with a straight razor and although that helped a bit there was much more to learn/refine. Learning to straight razor shave with minimum shaving experience is doable so long as you take your time and don't have too high expectations for the first few months.

You have had good advice so far in this thread and you will get many more too.

Bob

It sounds to me like you want to use a straight. I think that other than the prep area you would have nothing to gain by waiting.

I say go for it now. Don't over think it.

If you have decent hand eye coordination it is not that hard. [Don't tell the women or guys that are not on this site that!]

Originally Posted by 32t

It sounds to me like you want to use a straight.

What exactly is the advantage of a cut-throat razor over a single edge razor?

The actual skills in using a straight are different than a DE or safety razor so you can switch at any time. The advantage comes in learning the wet shave routine as the others have said.

To answer Robin the advantage is getting a closer shave and the acquisition of the skill set kind of like driving a car with a manual transmission. You know-bragging rights-har har.

Originally Posted by RobinK

What exactly is the advantage of a cut-throat razor over a single edge razor?

Or an aggressive DE or slant DE for that matter from my perspective. OTH if you want to learn to shave with a straight razor why not? I did out of shear curiosity and to see if an old dog could learn new tricks.

Bob