Thread: Straight s the DE

After a couple of months of straight razor shaving and, I have to say, pretty much mastering it, I shaved with a Gillette Slim. Not nearly as engaging as shaving with the straight razor, but very efficient. You can certainly see why safety razors caught on.

Safety Razors caught on because Mr Gillette gave them away, for free (initially) with a supply of blades and most men (and women) hated shaving with a straight with a passion. Here was a razor which tended not giving you cuts and you just popped in a new one every day or two or maybe give it a ride on the Lillicraps for a longer residence. Hones, strops, band aids were a thing of the past. New blades were cheap and it gave a pretty good shave that lasted until the next day. Maybe not as close as a straight but who cares (har har).

Gillettes genius was tying you to buying the blades for the rest of your life.

We here forget it's more a hobby with most of us.

Even as its turned into a hobby, and have amassed a collection of over 200 straights over many years, to the ability to restore and hone my own, I've still saved money in comparison to what I'd have spent on blades and carts.

But...I still keep a few DEs and cartridge razors around.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

Safety Razors caught on because Mr Gillette gave them away, for free (initially) with a supply of blades and most men (and women) hated shaving with a straight with a passion. Here was a razor which tended not giving you cuts and you just popped in a new one every day or two or maybe give it a ride on the Lillicraps for a longer residence. Hones, strops, band aids were a thing of the past. New blades were cheap and it gave a pretty good shave that lasted until the next day. Maybe not as close as a straight but who cares (har har).

Gillettes genius was tying you to buying the blades for the rest of your life.

We here forget it's more a hobby with most of us.

What caused the safety razor to be widely accepted (if the Internet is to be believed) was the 1917 US Army requirement that every soldier should have his own shaving kit and the 1918 decision of the military that every US soldier should be issued with a Gillette kit.

This was apparently driven by the fact that a clean-shaven face provided a better seal for gas masks during gas attacks.

After their return home, many servicemen were used to the convenience of a safetry razor and just kept using them.


B.

It's true the military experience helped however by 1917 or so most folks were already using a DE. The first Gillette DE came out in 1903.

Of course the younger folks were the first to use the DE (as always) and older folks hung on to the straight for many years, probably well into the 1930s and 40s.

It's no different when electrics came out in the 50s and the younger folks started buying them and slowly older folks did. Of course electrics were and are much more popular in Europe. The U.S still claims Carts as the main way to shave just as most poorer countries see DEs still being used as the main way to shave.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

It's true the military experience helped however by 1917 or so most folks were already using a DE. The first Gillette DE came out in 1903.

Of course the younger folks were the first to use the DE (as always) and older folks hung on to the straight for many years, probably well into the 1930s and 40s.

It's no different when electrics came out in the 50s and the younger folks started buying them and slowly older folks did. Of course electrics were and are much more popular in Europe. The U.S still claims Carts as the main way to shave just as most poorer countries see DEs still being used as the main way to shave.

When I went back to DE razors after shaving with cartridge razors for years, there was a learning curve , and I had to be very careful. Now, shaving with a DE is second nature, and the straight razor has the learning curve. Actually, I get a perfectly good shave no matter what I use. It’s a question of learning a new skill and enjoying the ritual and craftsmanshift involved in straight razor shaving. It’s cheaper than collecting guns.

Hello All,
After years of use, im rarely using straights now. I use aafety razors for two reasons,
1- Almost careless morning ahave is possible with DE safety razors
2-Safety of small kids, who tend to try things..

Life happens to us all. There are many reasons we find it necessary to hang up the strops and pack away the hones and put the straights into storage either temporary or permanent.

I've been through it myself.