Thread: Maybe a Good Use for Gold Dollars?

I kinda' agree with both sides of this argument. For someone learning to shave, there is no better way to do it than by actually shaving. With an 8 year old wanting to hang out with dad, a blunted razor is ideal. Part of learning to shave is watching and immitating dad. And for an adult thinking about taking the plunge, I can imagine it might be reassuring to use a blunted razor just to see how it feels in their hand.

I have a razor that takes half of a DE blade. I take the blade out and it looks enough like a real straight that my son can pretend to shave with it. But when he's old enough to actually shave, he'll be using a real razor.

Originally Posted by joesixpack

I kinda' agree with both sides of this argument. For someone learning to shave, there is no better way to do it than by actually shaving. With an 8 year old wanting to hang out with dad, a blunted razor is ideal. Part of learning to shave is watching and immitating dad. And for an adult thinking about taking the plunge, I can imagine it might be reassuring to use a blunted razor just to see how it feels in their hand.

Originally Posted by yohannrjm

I can remember standing the bathroom trying to figure out how to do a certain stroke without hitting my ear with the scales and causing the blade to slice.

I agree that there are pro's and con's on this issue.

I agree whole-heartedly with Joe's comments above about an 8 yr old. Call me over-protective, but despite the fact that my son is mature beyond his years and is a scout with his whittling chip, handing him a real blade and saying "go at it son" is well outside my comfort zone.

When I said that I would have liked to had the muted edge when I started str8 shaving, I should have qualified my statement. I didn't mean that I'd practice with a muted razor for a month or so until I built up enough courage to use the real thing. I'd have used the muted razor ONE or TWO times, just as yohannrjm said just to figure out how to do a certain stroke.

Here was one of my dilemmas when I started str8 shaving:

I'm as blind as a bat w/o my glasses. If I had my glasses on, they got in the way of the blade on the higher parts of my face. Trying to figure out how to get the spine of the blade "under" my glasses with a real razor was admittedly intimidating to me.

If I had my glasses off, I had to stand so close to the mirror that I would accidentally knock the scales into the mirror, causing the blade to jolt - not a good thing.

It just would have been nice to figure out how to approach certain areas of my face without fear of cutting myself. I agree that a muted edge is not going to give you the "feedback" of the real thing. That is why you'd need to move to the real thing ASAP. As several have said it would be easy to develop bad habits due to lack of razor feedback.

I guess it all depends on personal comfort levels. Despite the fact that as a veterinarian I've wielded a scalpel blade for years, it's another thing to put a sharp blade to your own face. No, I've never maimed an animal, and no I've never cut myself any worse with a str8 than I have with a safety. But that doesn't mean I wasn't cautious and calculated in both situations. Maybe I'm just more coordinated than some - after all, I am a brain surgeon (see http://straightrazorpalace.com/shavi...cutting-3.html)

Happy shaving,
Greg