Thread: As good as it gets?

First off, this is not a knock on my straight shaves. It's more a desire to check my experiences with yours.

I've been shaving with a straight for about 3 months now. Before that I used a DE for about 8 months and before that, an M3 for years. I'm 46 and have a reasonably tough beard, especially on my chin. I mention this because I think that if I was still cutting the beard I had in college, this would be a completely different story.

My straight shaves are smooth and comfortable. I would have a tough time saying the results were any better than my DE shaves, but they are comparable in both closeness and holding power (i.e. how long before I feel the stubble coming back). My straight shaves are more comfortable than my DE shaves, but they also take me 2-3 times as long. My DE shaves generally take 10 minutes while my straight shaves take me 20-30 minutes. From the sheer enjoyment standpoint, I prefer a straight shave. From a practicality standpoint, I wonder if a DE's just a more efficient way to go. Perhaps I'm just finding myself in the camp of using a straight when I can but keeping the DE in reserve when I have to.

I couple of experiences that I have that don't seem to line up with many of the comments I've read that I would like to check in on...

1. I typically go 4 passes with my straight. Above the jaw line it's a WTG, XTG and two ATG. Below the jaw line it's a WTG, XTG/ATG angling from Adam's Apple to ear, XTG/ATG straight up (my beard below my neck generally grows at a 45 degree angle chin to shoulder), ATG which is generally S-N with a scything action with the blade starting horizontal and ending nearly vertical. I've read that many folks get a very close shave with only a couple of passes. I wonder if this is on a lighter beard or perhaps I have some refinement to do. I don't think it's a sharpness issue as I get the same results on a freshly honed blade from SRD. I'm typically not happy unless I get an ATG pass in. Interestingly, I can usually get very smooth with a single ATG pass with a DE, but I need two with a straight. I've read that many folks can do an XTG/ATG pass that produces the same results as a strictly ATG pass, but I have not found that yet.
2. I've heard many report that their straight shave lasts longer than a DE shave (i.e. stubble doesn't return until much later). As mentioned above, my stubble starts returning about the same time after a straight or DE shave.

On a related topic, I'm curious how long it takes the veterans straight shavers to complete a shave (from first application of lather/stropping up a blade to application of ASB). Is 20-30 minutes about as quick as it gets or as you get more comfortable and your skills more refined, is your shave getting done faster? I know, one of the criteria of deciding between a straight and a DE is if you're in a hurry, use a DE. The reason I ask is all things being equal, I'd pick a straight over a DE any day, it's just sometimes I feel a little crunched for time and feel a little impatient. This rarely results in making mistakes (i.e. nicks or cuts). I'm just wondering if I should go ahead and default to a DE on these days or stick with the straight even on these days knowing that I'll still be able to refine my skills and speed up my shave a bit.

Thanks.

I'm definitely no pro, but I usually do 3 passes...two WTG and one ATG or a WTG, XTG, and ATG. If I don't have a lot of time I use my cartridge razor which takes about 5 minutes. I haven't noticed much difference in how long it takes the stubble to grow back.

I have shaved in about 10 minutes (after stropping), but can usually do everything (warm water rinse, later, strop, and shave) between 15-25 or 30 minutes depending on how the passes go and how much touch-up I do. Some days just don't go as well as others.

With a couple of years of shaving exclusively with straight razors behind me I can say that there is no going back that I can foresee. Not that I wouldn't pull out the trusty old Merkur slant or a vintage Gillette if I felt like it. I don't consider it a loyalty issue.

IME I have reached plateaus where having improved in speed and closeness I stay at that level for a time and then improvement gradually occurs. I can shave my face in 10 to 15 minutes now with my default two passes. OTOH, as a friend of mine used to say in another context, we are not all playing with the same deck of cards.

My beard may not be as coarse, different technique learned and razors used. A lot of things going into the mix. BTW, if I liked the shaves with a DE better I would certainly be shaving with one of those contraptions. The important thing IMO is to enjoy your shave.

I'm in the 20-25 min range for the whole shabang. My routine is strop, run hot water in sink to pre-warm & heat up my bowl, shower, drain sink & re-run with hot water, build lather in bowl, lather, shave wtg, atg, and then hit my tougher areas like chin & either side of my throat by the adams apple. My chin area may get up to four passes because the hair grows in quite a few directions on me. I don't hurry though, I enjoy the experience every time.

I guess about 15 minutes start to finish with two passes. I can usually begin to feel the faintest signs of stubble coming back in areas around 18 hours or so after shaving.

Hello, everyone:

My shave at the health club sometimes takes up to an hour. Yes, that long. Well, what do you expect when half the time is spent on conversation with acquaintances and strangers coming and going in the locker room.

Ordinarily, though, I allow myself about 30 minutes for a two-pass shave, three passes on the neck. My usual routine is with the grain and across the grain on the cheeks and the mouth area. On the neck the passes are the standard with the grain, across the grain and against the grain.

For special occasions, I add an against the grain shave above the neck as well.

Regards,

Obie

I can do a good job in 15 minutes.

My shaves take me about 20 minutes, all in, I would guess. It does take me longer than a DE shave, but then I enjoy it so much more..!

I guess it really depends on how much time you have available each day for your shave, or if you want to get up a little earlier in order to have the time for the full thing. I do get up a little earlier each day to make the time for it.

I do find the shaves last longer, though I'm not totally sure why! I suspect its probably because I do more prep with a straight, whereas the DE I'm usually in a rush so I dont bother with so much, I just lather and go. Whereas I do a hot towel with the straight.

The longest lasting shave I had was from a Trumpers barber, and I was still BBS two days later. Simply unreal, and I think that was largely down to the huge amount of face prep he did. He did two hot towels with skin food on the first and lather on the last before hand, and then lathered again before picking up the razor. Plus the hot towels were REALLY hot, and he left them on for about 5 minutes each.

I only use the DE on the days when I'm in a rush. I try to use a straight as much as possible, just because I enjoy it..! I reckon if you think you may do yourself an injury due to time pressure, its probably better to default to the DE. Its just not worth the pain and the blood loss..!

Good luck!

Some great opinions have been given thus far, so I'll offer mine to the OP:

Originally Posted by mbrossar

First off, this is not a knock on my straight shaves. It's more a desire to check my experiences with yours.

I've been shaving with a straight for about 3 months now. Before that I used a DE for about 8 months and before that, an M3 for years. I'm 46 and have a reasonably tough beard, especially on my chin. I mention this because I think that if I was still cutting the beard I had in college, this would be a completely different story. Ha ha, so very true....

My straight shaves are smooth and comfortable. I would have a tough time saying the results were any better than my DE shaves, but they are comparable in both closeness and holding power (i.e. how long before I feel the stubble coming back). My straight shaves are more comfortable than my DE shaves, but they also take me 2-3 times as long. My DE shaves generally take 10 minutes while my straight shaves take me 20-30 minutes. From the sheer enjoyment standpoint, I prefer a straight shave. From a practicality standpoint, I wonder if a DE's just a more efficient way to go. Perhaps I'm just finding myself in the camp of using a straight when I can but keeping the DE in reserve when I have to. These seem to be very natural reactions, at least to me. I too find the closeness and "holding power" to be quite comparable between the two, but then there's the time factor. With practice it does get a bit quicker. There will always be those who will not accept that a DE can be comparable to a SR shave. As enjoyable? No, but comparable, yes.


I couple of experiences that I have that don't seem to line up with many of the comments I've read that I would like to check in on...

1. I typically go 4 passes with my straight. Above the jaw line it's a WTG, XTG and two ATG. Below the jaw line it's a WTG, XTG/ATG angling from Adam's Apple to ear, XTG/ATG straight up (my beard below my neck generally grows at a 45 degree angle chin to shoulder), ATG which is generally S-N with a scything action with the blade starting horizontal and ending nearly vertical. I've read that many folks get a very close shave with only a couple of passes. I wonder if this is on a lighter beard or perhaps I have some refinement to do. I don't think it's a sharpness issue as I get the same results on a freshly honed blade from SRD. I'm typically not happy unless I get an ATG pass in. Interestingly, I can usually get very smooth with a single ATG pass with a DE, but I need two with a straight. I've read that many folks can do an XTG/ATG pass that produces the same results as a strictly ATG pass, but I have not found that yet. Whatever works for you, great!
2. I've heard many report that their straight shave lasts longer than a DE shave (i.e. stubble doesn't return until much later). As mentioned above, my stubble starts returning about the same time after a straight or DE shave. There's so many factors in this area that I don't doubt it to be true, for you at least. My stubble starts coming in at the same time with a straight or a DE (probably around 12 hours after a DFS), and around 10 hours or much less with a cartridge, although it has been a while. I'm definitely not in the 18-24 hour BBS range, no matter how close my shaves are.

On a related topic, I'm curious how long it takes the veterans straight shavers to complete a shave (from first application of lather/stropping up a blade to application of ASB). Is 20-30 minutes about as quick as it gets or as you get more comfortable and your skills more refined, is your shave getting done faster? I know, one of the criteria of deciding between a straight and a DE is if you're in a hurry, use a DE. The reason I ask is all things being equal, I'd pick a straight over a DE any day, it's just sometimes I feel a little crunched for time and feel a little impatient. This rarely results in making mistakes (i.e. nicks or cuts). I'm just wondering if I should go ahead and default to a DE on these days or stick with the straight even on these days knowing that I'll still be able to refine my skills and speed up my shave a bit. It can be quicker, it totally depends on how much effort, and time, that you choose to devote to a shave. There is no shame it switching it up with a DE, especially when pressed for time.

I hope this helps.

15 minutes. My beard starts to be felt around 20 hours after a shave.

My goal of going with a straight razor was to get away from being dependent on disposables, improving my skin condition, and saving money in the long run.

Pabster