Thread: What made you guys want to shave with a straight.

I was always a knife nut,But I also am a chef and I have always had very sharp knives. I alway had a respect for very sharp implements. Every knife was always sharp,anyone who has worked in a restaurant will tell you a sharp knife is most important. I have always wanted to have one of my knives razor sharp, the knife store that I took my knives to used to sell straight razors and I always wondered about them and how they work but they were always too expensive for my taste. That was in the seventies or eighties, eventually curiosity and nostalgiawon me over.

Cartridges are ludicrously overpriced, and i don't like the thought of contributing to landfills, s i bought a DE. After 18 months of DE shaving i started looking around for a more aggressive DE and somehow ended up looking at straights.

I really enjoy the whole ritual that shaving has become for me, whereas when using cartridges it was a chore. Someone earlier mentioned it was meditative, and it really is! The overall experience of straight shaving is strangely relaxing and deeply satisfying. I love the improved shave i get, and i really enjoy being free from the clutches of Gillette.

I talk to others at work about it and none seem even remotely interested in the concept of straight shaving, and some even think it is downright reckless. I think it is the sort of activity that appeals to a certain type of personality. Maybe we just have a better appreciation for some of the finer things in life?

In high school, I thought it would be cool, so I asked for one for Christmas. It lasted for a few weeks but I really didn't know how to take care of the razor (My Mom gave me a Dovo and strop, and said "you shave with this one, and sharpen it with this one") so I wound up putting it in the proverbial drawer, although I continued to use the soap and brush. Then in college I became interested in it again, and tried to sharpen it with a soft arkansas as if it were a knife (not with the spine on the stone, etc.), of course that failed, back in the drawer. Then a year or two ago I had become better at knife sharpening and had a finer stone, so took it out again and tried honing after looking up the proper method online, and was able to get it to shave, but just very poorly, so back in the drawer it went (I was closer than I thought that time). Then after that time at some point my roommate broke the razor, which was in the bathroom (bad chip), so I decided to get a replacement on ebay (Wade and Butcher), and do it for real this time. I got it, and the blade was warped, but I was not dissuaded, I spent a long time honing it, got a 1k/3k waterstone, a coticule, and a trans arkansas, and spent a long time trying different things to get it shave ready. I got there once, and then dinged the blade on the sink, and had to start all over again. I peened the pivot pin one too many times, and the 150 year old piece broke, and cracked the scales. So I ordered new scales. This is why I have not followed the advice to just send it out to be honed, as this has been a 10 year battle for me and one I was determined to win. This time I have succeeded in making the razor a working shaver, and it feels so good. And now I have learned a skill that I will take with me to the grave.

I've always used a straight; learned it form my dad just feels right.

I have always hated the idea of disposables - over priced gimmicks. For a long time I have been curios about straights, then this year my lovely wife got me a dovo silver steel for Christmas. I haven't looked back, more enjoyable experience and a better result than a disposable.

I saw Sweeney Todd and fell in love with the magical, mysterious nature of it. Did some research on it, found this site and saw how "easy" it was. My buddy's cigar shop sold new Dovo blades from Col. Conk, and he gave me a steal of a deal on one and a brush. Bought a Chinese natural and stripped on belt until Tony Miller caught up with demand enough to allow me to purhase his ethereal 3" Latigo/Linen and put a proper edge on it. Haven't looked back since.

I think the main reason I started shaving with a straight razor was because of how manly it is. It is a lost art that hopefully will be brought back some day. I am prefer to be a proficient person....I drive a Diesel Car that gets 40 mpg plus....so why not be efficient on razors also. My co-worker and I talked about straight razors one day, just to find out he had already gotten into it. So I decided to do the same......he is not just my co-worker but a very good friend of mine. I think the reason for the straight razor, is purely for the fact of its Manlyness.

I have always had trouble with ingrown hairs. So every time a razor company would come out with the next best thing I would go out and buy it with hopes that it would work. Three weeks ago I bought refills for my Fusion at 30 some bucks for three and hit the breaking point. A friend of mine who's also a co-worker Had talked to me about trying a straight razor about a year ago. So I talked to him, got online and did all the research I could and here I am. Two shaves in and loving it despite my lack of technique refinement.

It's something to do after all those things were something to buy...

I was tired of dreading shaving. Plus, it annoys the crap out of me how expensive the cartridge replacements are, how much they clog while shaving, and the severe discomfort caused especially on my neck area. And let's be honest, putting a single, incredibly sharp blade against your face just feels... well... better.

Peace,
Conor