Thread: Anyone using a straight & safety razor?

eflatminor,
Yep, i am still using my Edwin Jagger DE89 as i just started wet shaving and am practicing with a straight and a Kamisori, so i need to finish with the DE. i will probably need at least a year to get comfortable with the straights before leaving the DE.
Good luck and happy shaving.

I've been using a DE with warm lather for years. My favorite is a Gillete Fatboy with a feather blade. I'm about 1 month in SR shaving and I really enjoy it. I too have not mastered the ATG shave with a straight so I use my DE for that. The DE is aso good for me if I'm on the road or just in a hurry in the morning.
Each time I use the SR I learn alittle something and get better. We just need to hang with it and we'll figure it out.
Good Luck.

Originally Posted by eflatminor

I'm still new to using a straight razor (about 40 shaves). My technique is getting better (no more nicks!) but I find that I get the best shave by going with and then against the grain with my straight razor...and then going across the grain with a safety. I just can manage to get a good across the grain cut on my neck with a straight razor. Am I alone in this regard?

You are not alone.

This is just shaving we are talking about.

Switching from an electric to a straight... it makes sense to
pick up a bag of good tossable razors. Concentrate the open
razor (str8) learning to the easy bits and tidy up with a tossable
or DE razor.

You will have graduated when you reach for the str8 to tidy up
after a DE or tossable shave.

By tossable I mean a throw away razor with a single blade.
BiC makes one with a yellow handle that is mild enough
to shave many a tender face and inexpensive enough
to toss after two or three shaves.

Way back when folk learned to shave with an open
blade as their whiskers came in. First on the sides
then a bit here then a bit there... over a year or
more. Adults trying to learn all in a week end
are taking on a big task, but not an impossible one.

By keeping an inexpensive backup solution handy you will
not suffer when you strop badly or hone badly
as we all do from time to time.

Originally Posted by karlej

I've been using a DE with warm lather for years. My favorite is a Gillete Fatboy with a feather blade. I'm about 1 month in SR shaving and I really enjoy it. I too have not mastered the ATG shave with a straight so I use my DE for that. The DE is aso good for me if I'm on the road or just in a hurry in the morning.
Each time I use the SR I learn alittle something and get better. We just need to hang with it and we'll figure it out.
Good Luck.

Karlej,
You are correct! We will eventually get the hang of using a straight razor with time. i too use a feather blade as they are the smoothest for shaving, but still very sharp when you are not concentrating or in a hurry! Since i started wet shaving, it seems as though i am never in a hurry anymore as this is the most important thing to concentrate on!! i have compounded my learning by trying a Kamisori at the same time and it is double the challenge.
Happy shaving!

For a BBS I need the DE razor. Only SR shave is pretty good for a daily shave, but not for special events.

Salu2.
Indesio.

I use both... actually all 3 including the Mach III. I always start with my straight, usually do touch up with my DE, or the Mach if I want to complete my shave in the shower. I'm almost to the point of getting a BBS with my straight, so the other two might be put aside soon, I hope.

Been straight shaving for about 4 months. I still haven't mastered the area around my Adam's Apple. I have hair growing every which way there, and I haven't yet figured out how to hold my straights to get that area BBS. If I want to get that area perfect, I finish with my Fatboy with a Feather. Don't bother all the time. Many of the above entries suggest a one year learning curve, so I'll by patient. Thanks to everyone who posted their experiences.

I "touch up" on the left n right side of my neck where the hair grow right to left inward..til I can figure out which way to get em with my straight razors..I will be DE'ing lightly...also a tiny spot in the middle of my neck..eitherside of my adams apple as well.

I consider "progress" to mean that I need my safety razor less and less. Yesterday I had a shave that I didn't feel needed a safety touchup (GEM SE or Gillette Superspeed...depends on my mood I guess). It wasn't BBS but it was almost. I know that when I can consistently do it without needing a safety razor, then I'm doing well.

I keep the safeties around for either when I need to travel or I'm in a hurry. It's really a backup option.

I own more DEs than straights, and I still throw in a nice DE shave every once in a while. They're both great