Thread: Best part of shaving with a straight razor

This is going to sound a bit abstract, but here goes.

Some of my very earliest memories of my grandfathers, on both sides of my family, memories that are almost at the fade point, so early that they are hardly there, are of them shaving with straight razors. Growing up in the small town south, where every little town had a barber shop, and every barber routinely gave straight shaves, and men were split about 50/50 between the straight and the DE razor, I recall being awestruck that my grand-pas both could wield the straight razor. My dad started me on it, just mowing down peach fuzz, rather than risk buying me a "real" razor. But that was only a short time, then I got a DE and then cartridge and then disposable…

So shaving with the straight somehow connects my life today with some of my oldest, and most moving memories of men that I admired and enjoyed.

We have, in my small town right here, an old fashioned Barbershop. I don't know if he gives straight shaves or not, but I plan to ask about it.

Shaving with a straight just oozes with testicular fortitude, testosterone, and being manly. and they just look at you like you got 4 heads,i love it!!!!!

for me it is also embracing my manhood.. i love being a man.. getting dirty, fixing things, drinking beer, and shaving.

my most enjoyable part of the routine.. the result. i just love the feeling right after a shave.

Knowing I am not wasting cash on those disposables and the fact that one straight shave is close enough for 2 of the cart shaves. Oh ya the awesome smell of all the products.

Right now, my favorite part is surviving another shave without injury. Well, that and knowing I'm one step closer to mastering this.

I love the feedback I get from the razor plus its the manly way

My favorite part is two-fold first watching my friends jaws drop when they see me with a blade to my throat shaving... And then after 30 seconds them askng if I'd be willing to do a straight shave on them... Unfortunately with only 4 weeks experiance and no barber training I'm not yet comfortable enough to subject anyone else to the nicks and cuts i regularly inflict on myself but as soon as I feel confident enough I'll have to give it a shot. Plus with a razor to their throat it would probably be a good time to get the money I lent them back.... Hmmm

I love the reactions I get from people but for different reasons.
I work at and assisted living facility and I come into contact with people my age, people my parents age, and then the residents.

People my age (20) look at me like I'm some sort of crazy awesome shaving god because I can shave "the hard, dangerous way."
When I tell the 40-50 years old workers, most of them are a bit surprised, but then they start remembering stories about how when they were younger they'd watch their fathers shave. Also, I found out that more than a few of them had the strop used on their behinds as much as it was used on a razor,lol.

The best reactions, however, come from the residents themselves. Most of them were born somewhere between 1910-1940. When they hear about my straight shaving, they remember back all those years to their first straight shave and learning from their fathers. Even though we're separated by almost 70 or 80 years, it's something that I have in common with them, a kind of bond shared by real men through time. The residents can stop for second and think back to a time when they were young and things were a lot more simple than they are today.

Originally Posted by Henrib10

I love the reactions I get from people but for different reasons.
I work at and assisted living facility and I come into contact with people my age, people my parents age, and then the residents.

People my age (20) look at me like I'm some sort of crazy awesome shaving god because I can shave "the hard, dangerous way."
When I tell the 40-50 years old workers, most of them are a bit surprised, but then they start remembering stories about how when they were younger they'd watch their fathers shave. Also, I found out that more than a few of them had the strop used on their behinds as much as it was used on a razor,lol.

The best reactions, however, come from the residents themselves. Most of them were born somewhere between 1910-1940. When they hear about my straight shaving, they remember back all those years to their first straight shave and learning from their fathers. Even though we're separated by almost 70 or 80 years, it's something that I have in common with them, a kind of bond shared by real men through time. The residents can stop for second and think back to a time when they were young and things were a lot more simple than they are today.

Nice read!! Its great you have connection with the older gents!!

I've always been a bit of a non-conformist. And the thing that bothers me the most about modern society, is our constant quest to accomplish so much in a single day, that we've multitasked virtually every aspect of our consumer driven lives-- then we ask ourselves why all of our children have ADD. To me, straight shaving is epitomized by the fact that you have to stop whatever it is your doing, and take the time to shave. We, my friends, are living testaments to the age-old idea that there is value in taking the time to do something perfectly. I have not yet attained the perfect shave, but at least I know that I will never accomplish it while driving to work, or with some mass-produced monstrosity that continues to dissappoint-- no matter if it has more blades than a swiss army knife.

So, do I love the the BBS shaves? Yes. Do I love the tradition behind the practice? Do I love the fact that I get to use superior products, made by superior people? Definately. But, the thing that I love the most, is that I am one of the few that dares to straight shave; not because I am more manly than most, but because I have courage enough to take the time out of my busy day, and do nothing besides seek that perfect shave.