Thread: DE vs Straight question....

Originally Posted by beerosaur

My cheeks feel awesome.

Too much information

But seriously,you are going thru the experimentation stage as well as most. Grabbing & pulling is never good but at least a fresh honing can easily eliminate the razor fault. The rest you have to work on & you'll no doubt get there like we all did.

Originally Posted by pcb01

I am with the second chorus. A proper straight shave is closer and will last longer than a DE shave. Plus, there is more satisfaction and pleasure.

I have to say, even though my straights aren't quite as sharp as my DEs, you're right: the straight still shaves closer and lasts longer.

1. With my DEs, I can get BBS going ATG. It will last until night, and that's when the hair starts resurfacing.

2. With my straight, I can get BBS going ATG as well. It will last until the next morning, and I will barely have any stubble resurfacing. But due to my (in)ability to sharpen well, the straight shave isn't quite as comfortable.

Originally Posted by beerosaur

LOL Oni, I'm a mess in all those areas I think... I bought a razor, couldn't hone it for crap, sent a pic to Lynn, he said it probably wouldn't hone well. Bought a shave ready DOVO, dropped it shortly thereafter and put two tiny, tiny chips in it, had to use my hours of honing experience to try to fix it. The chips are gone and it pops hair off my arm, so I guess it's ok. Lathermaking, no idea, seems whipped creamish like you guys mention. As far as the angle thing, I'm trying everything... maybe I should send the DOVO back for a hone, I get one freebee with the purchase? As far as stropping, I think I'm just coming around to getting that right. I've got that first razor shaving, not great, but it's shaving. Some 8k and a pile of stropping seems to have helped it alot.

I tried again today. Cheeks went well, lip and chin pulling, neck...grabbing, pulling...deadly. LOL I'll try again when I grow something. My cheeks feel awesome.

It does take a lot of practice. It's not something you're going to get overnight. I've been using a straight on and off for about 8 months now, and I'm just now starting to understand how to hone properly. I'm probably a special case, though, since I've been doing it on and off, and I have very unsteady hands.

Waiting for beard to grow to give it another go. I won't fill you in as to the condition of my cheeks this time..LOLOLOL... Looked at my first practice razor today under magnification, has a few nicks in it and a spot of wire edge. I think I'm going to get rid of the edge all together and try again now that I know a tiny bit more...should be fun!

DE and straight razors are totally different beasts. I've been using DE razors for about three years and straights for about 7 months now. I can get the same results from both with more work from the straight, but it's getting easier with each straight razor shave. I'm finally to a point where, generally, my straight razor shaves are better than DE, but I still use DE razors if I'm pressed for time or just because I feel like it.

Straight razors give me smooth and pleasant shaves, without blood spreading for over a year now.
On the contrary, the DEs are more aggressive to my skin, the shave is never as close as with a straight, and there is always a drop of blood. I have used plenty of different DE blades, but nothing comes even close to a straight shaving.
The only reason to use a DE instead of a straight is that I am tired or in a hurry.

Originally Posted by Slur

Straight razors give me smooth and pleasant shaves, without blood spreading for over a year now.
On the contrary, the DEs are more aggressive to my skin, the shave is never as close as with a straight, and there is always a drop of blood. I have used plenty of different DE blades, but nothing comes even close to a straight shaving.
The only reason to use a DE instead of a straight is that I am tired or in a hurry.

Kind of the same for me. I don't get any nicks or cuts with straight razors. However, the shave is more comfortable with DEs for me. However #2, I still happen to get a closer shave with my straight compared to my DE.

I had a small collection of DE razors, and I thought they were the bee's knees. (The Gillette English Rocket FT and Gem G-Bar were my favorites.) Fantastic BBS ATG shaves! Then I started using straight razors. That was three years ago. Now I cut myself all to hell trying to use a safety razor, so I sold them all. There is nothing safe about a safety razor!

Me

I am still learning SR's and I have yet to get BBS with it, whereas with my DE (Merkur Progress) I can get BBS shaves consistently, keeping at it with the SR though in hopes of getting that great shave

Well, I finally got around to shaving. It was definately an improvement. Cheeks went well as usual, this time chin didn't go so bad. Mustache area was a little grabby, and left lots of retouch spots. Neck still was kinda irritating, grabby and generally no fun. So I guess that's improvement. The razor seemed to be doing its thing better. I think what I'm starting to learn is I need a super laser beam sharp edge... not sure though, just a hunch. I hardly used the DE at all for touch ups. Mostly really close to the lips...

Back at it in a couple of days!

-= Beer

Oooh, I tried again today with just one days growth... much better. No pulling at all. Maybe that's part of the trick for me? My beard on my neck ATG goes from ear to chin... how the heck to you get the razor in there and have more touch than just the tip??