Thread: 15 Years of Straight Shaving

I just realized, I have been straight shaving for 15 years this month. There was a knife store near my work, and I was always curious about the straights. I bought a 6/8 Dovo new in November 1994.

Everyone I told thought I was nuts, except my Mom, who bought me a strop and brush for Christmas that same year.

When I was married, I could only straight shave a few times a month, when I knew she wouldn't be around. It scared her and she would make a huge deal out of it. For the last (almost) 7 years, it has been back to the straight.

15 years. Who knew?

Time is flying by.

Matt

Congrats!

Thats quite a milestone!

Heres to the next fifteen!

This makes me look forward to just over fourteen years in the future. At that time I will be able to think back sixteen years to an unhappy time when I used to hate to shave.

Originally Posted by mbf4755

I just realized, I have been straight shaving for 15 years this month.

So, any words of advice?

Do you do your own honing?

Have you shopped around for razors? Strops? Picked a favorite?

Do we all make too big a deal out of it?

Originally Posted by TexasBob

So, any words of advice?

Do you do your own honing?

Have you shopped around for razors? Strops? Picked a favorite?

Do we all make too big a deal out of it?

Okay- here is a long post.

Well, I can understand making a big deal out of it. Straight shaving is enjoyable, and it makes your face feel great. But, I don't make a big deal out of it. I do one pass each day and get a very good shave. Seven minutes from set up to clean up.

For special occasions, or if I just have the time, I'll do a couple of passes and treat myself to a hot towel, etc.

The razors in my rotation are all eBay finds; the three Dovos I bought new when I started are hardly ever used. My 6/8 Joseph Rodgers & Sons is used for about half my shaves. I love that razor. I also use a 7/ 8 Wade & Butcher, a 5/8 Kayser & Ellison Special, and a 3/8 Puma. They aren't especially pretty razors (the Rodgers and W+B are kind of ugly) but they shave great. I have tried many razors, and these are the only ones I really use.

I hone myself, using a 4/8K Norton, with a Swaty for touchups when needed between honings. I have two Illinois strops, my original plus a wider one I bought 2 years ago.

Before I found the Yahoo straight razor group, I honed with an Arkansas stone, about 5k I guess, then I added a Col. Conk, which I think is about 1200 grit, to use before the Arkansas. It took a while to get used to the Norton, which I learned about from the Yahoo group before SRP, but now it works well for me.

When I read about the unbelievably sharp results of some of the pro honers on the group, I think about sending a razor out just to see, but I am happy honing my own and with my results.

Is anyone still awake after this?

Matt

Thanks for posting that. Not only awake, but I find your reflection of the past 15 years perhaps too short if anything.

I am curious about the razors you settled on as your favorites. It sounds like they were chosen for their end result... the shave. But what is it about them that made them stand out for you over the others? Heavier Grind / stiffer? Easier to hone? Lasting edge?

I am also interested in what the issues were in getting used to the Nortons for honing. Was it the "feedback / feel" of them?

Congratulations on your milestone!

Nice to hear of your success with straight razor shaving from the get go. I had a somewhat different experience. Somewhere around '72 or '73 I bought a C.V. Heljestrand, a strop and a shaving brush at Hoffritz for Cutlery. I went home and tried the razor and either it wasn't shave ready or my technique was sorely lacking .... or both. Fast forward to '84 and I got into collecting old razors. I became friends with some barbers and got tips from them on stropping and shaving.

I bought some razors from some of those old guys and shaved with some of them for a time with some success. One of the barbers demonstrated honing to me. He stressed that only the weight of the blade be used and only 4 or 5 round trips lest the razor be over honed.

As they got to needing touch ups I tried this on a Swaty or a coticule I had gotten and was not able to get good results. I know now that I should have persevered and done way more than what the old barber told me but I didn't and I gave it up and went back to the Gillette Good News disposable for another 20 years. I don't know why I didn't just bring the straights to one of those old guys and get them to hone it ? False pride maybe. All's well that ends well and finding SRP, learning to shave and hone with straights has sure made my life a lot richer and happier.

Maybe us members who have been using a straight for 15 years or longer should start a social club.

Congratulations on 15 years mbf4755!!

Originally Posted by mbf4755

...When I was married, I could only straight shave a few times a month, when I knew she wouldn't be around. It scared her and she would make a huge deal out of it...

There was a long message thread here a month ago about men shaving their women's legs. So, Matt, I take it that your wife wouldn't let you shave her legs. Just deducing that using my sharp shave ready mind...