Thread: db merkur vs straight razor

I've not shaved with my db for at least a year. I have purchased in the last couple of years vintage shave ready razors/ factory brand new razors and all the honing stones paddles and strops . I had my first shave this morning with my db and it was smooth effortless and extremly close bearing in mind i shave my clients on a daily bases with a imitatation straight for hygene reasons and get very good and close shaves. My technique with straight is very good my partner is now 77 years old and he shaved is clients in my barbers shop before me with his dad fot at least 50 years. We both agreed that the db is a far better shave than a traditional straight razor in how opinion and the straight razor is a thing of the past all though it's nice to be able to shave with one and i still will now and again seeing as i have 11 razors it would be a shame not to any one agree on this or had simalar experiance?

Not sure what a "DB" is. Double-edge? Anyway, I find that if I use a brush and soap & prep well, I can even get a decent shave out of a multibladed disposable cartridge, and a faster one: a single pass with the disposable is much closer than a single pass with the str8. But I only get two decent shaves. After that, my barbwire beard starts eating the edge. For me, the magic of a str8 is the ability to touch it up with a pasted strop, thus giving a perfect shave every time.

Not all men have this problem. My buddy Sam says that the same cartridge that lasts me 2 shaves, lasts him a whole month. His beard is softer. For him, maybe the hassle of a str8 isn't worth it. But for me, it is.

I suppose I could buy a crate of double-edge blades on ebay & chuck each blade after 2 shaves, but that seems wasteful & aesthetically displeasing. At least to me.

I agree about the prep. If i use soap and a brush with good prep i can shave with just about anything. I just prefer the straight. I cant get as close a shave with the straight as a cartridge, but i get way less irritation from it, which i like better then being ultra smooth. More practice for me!

Yes you've hit the nail on the head db i mean double edge i always use a good brush and taylors shave ing products and i get a much better shave with first pass. i like the using a straight razor my self but its a shame i carn't achieve a first pass like i can with the db all though you do get a lot less iritation and a lot more forgivness. When you touch up on your paddle strop what do use ie what micron paste do you find gives a good and quick toch up i have just purchased a pre pasted 1.0 0.5 and chronium oxide. thanxs gary.

Yes i totaly agree with your comment i prefer the whole thing about the use of a straight, i think i was just thinking my razors were just not keen enough even though they do shave realy well but oviously i don't think i will ever achiever an edge as sharp as cartridge blade. thanxs gary

Originally Posted by Johnny J

I suppose I could buy a crate of double-edge blades on ebay & chuck each blade after 2 shaves, but that seems wasteful & aesthetically displeasing. At least to me.

I have been doing that since I discovered eBay ten years ago.

I was so happy to find out that there are enough resources on the internet for me to be able to obtain the tools and tactics that I need in order to shave with a straight razor. Now even my worst straight razor shave still can't take away the glee with which I mock the leftover cartridges under my bathroom sink.

I mock the dependence that Gillette once had me bound with, and I mock the shadow of futility and desperation that the climbing expense of new cartridges and rarity of twin blade cartridges that once cast its ugly profile over the threshold of my inner sanctum in the mornings. Such mockery is good for the soul and healthy for the stubborn