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

The old saying "They don't build em like the used to" has been proven to me time and time again with so many different products over the years. No matter if its shaving, appliances, cars, etc.

I like the nostalgia. The adventure of the quest for the perfect shave, which was never achieved using the disposable junk.
The entire relaxing process of the shave from preparing, to the amazing smells of different soaps/creams as I create lather, to all the post shave feelings, smells etc.

The above is just from my experience DE shaving. The idea behind the straight (when it arrives) is the same as above with the addition of eventually being totally self sufficient when it comes to sharpening and maintenance. I realize I'm a long way off but that would be a very satisfying place to be for me.

For me it's nostalgia. And a bit of machismo...

I am a knife nut....well blade nut would be a better word, so i was always fascinated with it, though never really thought about it.
I was helping my ex-girlfriend clean out the junk room in their house, and found a torrery full double concave in a box of antiques, it just went downhill form their, first the found razor, then bought more, then bought DE etc... using aDE now, and my fascination with a straight is strong as ever, will be shaving with them within 3 months taking me a while to get strop (keep spending the money on more razors)

Oh, and i like the shock on peoples face when you tell them

Originally Posted by Arbroath

I'm 27. When I was 12, my father told me some wise words, "No son of mine will shave with one of those plastic cheese graters!" It just seemed normal to me. He shaves with straights, and so did my grandfather. To be honest, I have never actually held a disposable razor.

Now THAT is really cool . . . I'm envious, and I'm probably not alone. I remember my dad using a DE when I was a very young kid but he probably switched to cartridges about as soon as they became available. Both my grandfathers used DEs, too--never saw either of them shave with a straight. But I have one great-grandfather's strop, which I think may be restorable.

I agree with you about the "lubricating" strip. I think those things were designed to work with crap out of a can, which I stopped using 30 years ago.

Originally Posted by tekbow

"A more elegant weapon for a more civilised age.." It's getting very Jedi in here. and i agree totally

Hrrrmmmm. Strong in this one, the force is.

But yes, I agree with the points here. Speaking as someone who is COMPLETELY self-taught with straight-shaving...I had nobody tell me what to do apart from a couple of YouTube videos on honing and stropping...I can attest to the whole "pride in ability" thing. Its very satisfying shaving with a razor that you sharpened and stropped yourself, and with which YOU and ONLY YOU...managed to get a wonderful shave out of.

Originally Posted by Shangas

Hrrrmmmm. Strong in this one, the force is.

But yes, I agree with the points here. Speaking as someone who is COMPLETELY self-taught with straight-shaving...I had nobody tell me what to do apart from a couple of YouTube videos on honing and stropping...I can attest to the whole "pride in ability" thing. Its very satisfying shaving with a razor that you sharpened and stropped yourself, and with which YOU and ONLY YOU...managed to get a wonderful shave out of.

I was COMPLETELY self taught once too, but then I found this place, and learnt a whole heap more than myself was able to teach me. I do know what you're saying though mate. It is a good feeling.


Mick

It's a wonderful feeling.

I always wanted to learn how to shave with a straight-razor, but wondering where the hell I would get all the necessary stuff on the cheap and easy, made me hesitate. But when I read about how simple it is to do this stuff, I thought: "I can do that!".

It took about three months of trawling the flea-market and I got my first razor, strop, honing-stone and scuttle. And I was off. Determined to keep this "straight shaving" thing as simple as possible, I basically took the whole "straight-razors for dummies" course and watched all the most BASIC straight-shaving videos I could find (and there are amazingly few of them!). Convinced I could do this, I gave it a shot. It took about two weeks of trial and error before I got my first half-decent shave, and from there on, I was sure I could do it. I started with a 100% NON-SHAVE-READY razor...and honed it and stropped it up to a shaving edge. No honemeisters or restorers or anything. I did it all by myself (and if they hadn't already healed, I'd say I've got the scars to prove it!).

I just had to practice and learn how to hone and strop better. I ruined an old leather belt in the process (I used this before I got a proper strop) and I gave myself some horror-film quality razor-burn, but otherwise...I didn't find it that hard at all.

Of course, dad was freaking out...but by this stage in my life, he's sort of come to accept that his second son prefers to do things the 'weird way'.

My story if you want to take the time to read it...Of course there is no obligation to do so, I just think you'll find it similar to your own and may be interested in the read. Some finer details have changed, things like duration of a shave etc, but you should figure that out. I'm also 40 now...

http://straightrazorpalace.com/gener...here-i-am.html


Mick

I'll take a page from that book and refer y'all to my intro page:

http://straightrazorpalace.com/membe...ght-razor.html

Originally Posted by runlevelfour

For me a lot of reasons. Initially I was just curious about it, but then as I read more and eventually took the plunge the "real" reasons became apparent.

Pride in Ability. Shaving with a straight seemed so much more elegant. It was something you became good at and thus is a skill. Shaving with disposable razors was a chore nothing to develop and therefore nothing to take pride in... as I get better I feel more involved with the "art" of shaving with a straight.

Tools of the trade. Similar to the above when you shave with a straight you end up with tools you can be proud of, develop attachments/preferences for, and even pass on to others whom will also be served well. Disposable is only worth anything while it is doing its crappy simple job and then actually creates more mess/screws up the environment as you pitch it in the trash. I am unsure if the little bastards are even recyclable.

Camaraderie. Being part of a small group of people who are enthusiastic and knowledgeable creates a sense of belonging. Sure it is pretty minor and isn't my reason for existence, but it's kind of nice to know that there are others out there who share the same (hobby?) as myself and I can go learn from. It's also an experience that binds everyone of all walks of life: women, men, young and old.

The Shave. Last, and certainly not the least is the shave itself. Disposables would tear me up no matter how I shaved or what I used. As one friend once quipped I "looked like I was lynched" due to the severe razor burn. I hated shaving it hurt, was a chore, and made me look ridiculous. I am still no expert by any means with a straight but even my first shave with one went better than my best disposable shave ever did. I was sold immediately.

You've nailed the essence behind our beginnings! My beginning...Loathing shaving due to the INGROWN whiskars. After about 6 years of Bic sesitive disposable, in the shower, with dial for lather(best shave i could get), found SRP last august 2010 while doing resurch for ingrown whiskars(mine seem like 20 gage wire). Started reading, and reading. My dad gave me a Gellette DE shave kit that was my grandfathers that i used till December 2010. Was so impressed with the quality of shave and feel process(prep/lather/post shave) that had no choice but get a srt8 set for christmas. At 41 I wish I'd come to this long ago. Nothing but pure satisfaction.