Thread: does a straight razor give the closest shave??

i wont embarass myself by posting a picture of it it was a brand new razor but it was very cheap im going to gbuy a sr razor and give that a try thanks for all your help

If its any consolation, it took me about 100 shaves to get a DFS (damn fine shave). I can now get a BBS in most areas of my face if I take my time. The main points for me are:
1. Be sure to soften your beard with lots of hot water. (I treat my beard with hair conditioner while in the shower, before I shave.)
2. Take your time in preparing good rich lather.
3. Stretch the skin wherever you can and use light, slow strokes.
4. Check that your blade angle is about 30 degrees.
5. Rinse with hot water between passes.
The advice to check all the advice in Wiki is important.
Hang in there - it will be worth the effort!

Welcome to SRP. Since you're in the UK your best bet for buying a shave ready razor would probably be The Invisible Edge here. Like the other gentlemen have said, I've been shaving for over 40 of my 61 years and I've gotten my finest shaves from a straight razor and shave with one exclusively for over 2 years now. There is a learning curve, as previously mentioned, but once you've gone through that, if you're like me, you'll never want to shave with anything else.

Straight Shaving, absolutely gives the best best shave once you are expereinced enough. The Mach 3 could give me a decent shave on its first shave, but it caused too many ingrown hairs that created unsightly pimples that lasted for days to run its course, by its pulling and cutting action.

Still, after using a straight shave, it takes 20 - 24 hours before the hairs start coming in and usually, it takes about 48 hours before its worth shaving again. Also, I can go several days without shaving and looking good because I don't have any unsightly pimples.

There is a reason that straight shaving has held on all these years and is making a resurgence again.

It just takes time and some resources to get there, but I will say that it is the most satisfying shaving experience one can get day in and day out.

Pabster

Hi gaz1830,
Don't be bashful about your ebay razor! Nearly all my razors were bought on ebay (I have 6).
Listen to the previous good advice -I started with a shave ready razor from Strop-shop .co.uk(Tony Miller) and you really do need a good shave ready razor to use at first so you will know what "sharp" is.
I also started wet shaving with a parker "butterfly" safety razor which wetted my appetite for all the luxurious items like soap,brush,alum block,pre/after shave preps,shaving jugs etc but which also came in very handy when learning . Do partial shaves with the straight -finish the shave with the safety.
Also if you can afford it -add a barber hone 4k/8k hone to your setup.This will keep your razor in tiptop condition,plus you can polish the edge with the 12k hone .
So get your razor professionally honed and get cracking with this fascinating addictive art of straight razor shaving.
Hope this helps
Regards
Noggs

I am going to be somewhat contrarian here. In my opinion, if you were to apply the same level of effort (beard prep, lathering, stretching etc) to shaving with either a DE or a disposable, you will get the same quality of shave, at least when the blade is new, and probably for 1 or 2 shaves after that.

I posted this in another thread, but it bears repeating here for you:

Also, someone gave me this tip. You are not trying to Remove beard with the pass. You are trying to Reduce beard. That means use multiple passes, no pressure and just have the goal of reducing the length of the wisker a little more on each pass. This takes time - a lot of time. But the results will eventually be a great close shave, no blood, no razor burn and no stinging with the alum block. For me, that is 4 passes because of the crazy directions my beard grows.

If you try and make a pass with the goal of the skin looking like a pass was made with an M3, you are going to hurt and frustrate yourself.

I'm just starting out too, coming from DE. What I've noticed about DE/cartridge is having the need to buy an assortment of blades and razors. DE/cartridges blades vary with edge. DE/cartridges razors vary with angle, aggressiveness, skin contact, etc. DE/cartridge razor sharpness diminish after the first shave, and eventually you throw away the blade. You can end up spending a lot of money on a variety of DE equipment. So I've decided to make the investment in a single straight (st8) razor for infinite angles, aggressiveness, and edge. I feel like I'm getting a lot of variability and ability in a single package (razor + strop).

From looking at all the differing razors, what seems to me is the cartridges and DE razors all have the insistence of skimming over a flat growing hair, the kind of hair that grows flat on the face and not stick out. It seems my DE razor will skim or walk right over a flat growing hair, and I have to use a lot of tactics (lather, stretch, angles) in order to defeat the hair. I'm looking forward to adding one more tactic to my routine, I'm going to hit those hairs with a very sharp blade. With other razors, the safety bar hits the hair first.

Jake

Originally Posted by Stubear

I actually now get better shaves with my straight razors than I get in a barbers, just because I know how to attack my beard to get the best results, and I know which way my beard grows and how to stretch the skin. I didnt figure this out overnight, no one does, but it was definately worth the effort IME!

A big +1 with the above statement! Any barber shave I've had has been close, but I've been sliced up like a thanksgiving turkey, with terrible irritation to boot. Granted around here, by law, they have to use shavettes, but it's no excuse. No one knows how to shave you better than you, and I can get superb and irritation free shaves with my SR shaves.

But.....

Originally Posted by fccexpert

I am going to be somewhat contrarian here. In my opinion, if you were to apply the same level of effort (beard prep, lathering, stretching etc) to shaving with either a DE or a disposable, you will get the same quality of shave, at least when the blade is new, and probably for 1 or 2 shaves after that.

I also agree with fccexpert as well. There must be a first for everything I can also get fantastic shaves from my DE's, as long as my prep stays consistant with my SR habits. It's unfortunate that many members just view a DE as a 'quick shave' tool when the shave can be very comparable.

Originally Posted by fccexpert

I am going to be somewhat contrarian here. In my opinion, if you were to apply the same level of effort (beard prep, lathering, stretching etc) to shaving with either a DE or a disposable, you will get the same quality of shave, at least when the blade is new, and probably for 1 or 2 shaves after that.

Funnily enough, I used one yesterday. I am by no means an expert in the field, but did some experimenting with a Merkur DE and Personna, Feather, and Dovo Platin blades. Ultimately settled for red Israeli Personna blades. The shave I got out of it yesterday was close and comfortable, but lasted significantly less long than a shave with a straight razor. And it has always been that way for me. So, different strokes. Any any event, a DE beats any cartridge razor for me.

Regards,
Robin