Thread: shave quality

I picked up a Gillette Fatboy more out of curosity than anything else and shaved with it today. nice! Should I be getting the same smoothness of shave with my str8's as I do with this?

Yes. Once you get more proficient with your straight razor, your shaves will be better IMHO.

I used a DE over the weekend while out of town and it reminded me why I prefer straights.

You definitely should.
I have the Fatboy myself, and it is a great DE IMO.
Still, I find that I get even better shaves now from my straights.
Both are more than capable of giving me BBS shaves, but it seems to last quite a bit longer when using a straight.
Of course, YMMV

I am fairly new to straight shaving and have often wondered the same thing. I'm to the point now where I can get my cheeks and under the jaw closer than I can with my Flare Tip SS and a Feather blade! The chin is a different story.

If you match the right DE with the right blade to your face and you have right tecnique you can get a great shave from a DE however it will never be the same as a straight. After shaving the DE shave might seem truly BBS while a straight may not be but so many hours later the stubble is there after the DE shave while with a straight shave it takes several more hours to feel the same stubble.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

If you match the right DE with the right blade to your face and you have right tecnique you can get a great shave from a DE however it will never be the same as a straight. After shaving the DE shave might seem truly BBS while a straight may not be but so many hours later the stubble is there after the DE shave while with a straight shave it takes several more hours to feel the same stubble.

+1, I couldn't agree more. I can match shaves using either a DE or a straight, yet my beard grows back quicker after a DE shave. I can't explain it so I won't even try....

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

If you match the right DE with the right blade to your face and you have right tecnique you can get a great shave from a DE however it will never be the same as a straight. After shaving the DE shave might seem truly BBS while a straight may not be but so many hours later the stubble is there after the DE shave while with a straight shave it takes several more hours to feel the same stubble.

Originally Posted by Ryan82

+1, I couldn't agree more. I can match shaves using either a DE or a straight, yet my beard grows back quicker after a DE shave. I can't explain it so I won't even try....

+2 on the smoother for longer. I have yet to try my new DE, and it will be a while before I gain proficiency to be able to make a fair comparison. However, I am not so proficient with the Cut throat yet as to have exceeded the shave quality of a Mach 3 (Actually, I may be by now, but I couldn't be bothered to go back to the M3), but a half and half face test some time back proved I was equal with the Cut throat. By the end of the day the CT side was still fairly smooth, but the M3 side was like sandpaper.


Mick

Just my two cents. I usually take a de with me when I travel. I can never wait to get back home to my straight. A de razor always gives me razor burn and the shave doesn't seem to last as long, either. Yes, this is more than likely due to the fact that since I don't use a de very often, my technique with one sucks. Either way, I just have better results with a straight. Again, just my two pennies.

Originally Posted by MickR

+2 on the smoother for longer. I have yet to try my new DE, and it will be a while before I gain proficiency to be able to make a fair comparison. However, I am not so proficient with the Cut throat yet as to have exceeded the shave quality of a Mach 3 (Actually, I may be by now, but I couldn't be bothered to go back to the M3), but a half and half face test some time back proved I was equal with the Cut throat. By the end of the day the CT side was still fairly smooth, but the M3 side was like sandpaper.


Mick

Must agree. In 40+ years of shaving, no method (tried them all!) has kept my face smoother than my straights! Problem is, RAD is a bitch!

Yes you should, and probably better. It took me a while to get to the stage where my straight razor shaves were as good as my DE and longer again to get to the point where the straight was better than the DE.

And I'm still finding little ways all the time to make the shave that little bit better again! Thats what keeps it fun..!