Thread: Straight Razor not cutting as close as 3 blade catridge

Its the technique and more practice with a properly honed blade will bring this to light. It does take some time to get to this level and it will happen. A long time ago while learning, I thought I would give the 3 blade shave a go and it was no match for the performance of the straight razor. It was clear to me at that time just how far I came in learning to straight shave. Along the way, there were question marks, but practice and trying new techniques always prevailed.

No harm is using the 3 blade to finish up the shave until you get there. It has its place.

Pabster

Originally Posted by Pabster

A long time ago while learning, I thought I would give the 3 blade shave a go and it was no match for the performance of the straight razor.

Agreed, 100%.

I was on vacation in Mexico last year, and forgot my DE blades (I use a DE while on holiday). Although I hadn't used one in years, I brought my old Mach 3 as a backup for god knows what reason, and thought that I might be surprised by a great shave. I was wrong. About half way through the shave I was so disappointed that I gave up. Lucky for me my wife brought a bag of 2 blade Bic disposables - in many colours, so I was able to shave with a blue razor instead of a pink one - and the shave I got from the disposable was far superior to a M3. Of course, a DE or straight shave would have been that much better, but the point is that a cartridge razor is definitely NOT able to outshave a well honed straight in experienced hands.

With all due respect, but the information in this post is not accurate and there are certain scenarios that a straight razor can not out perform a three blade; the main one being the neck area when the hair grows sideways, virtually parallel or close to parallel to the jaw line at a very low angle against the skin. In this situation a three blade will always out perform a straight razor, hands down, especially when you are shaving yourself (as opposed to being shaved by someone else who also knows what they are doing). The reason for this has nothing to do with the blade's sharpness or technique as is being intimated, but with the length of the blade and the angle one is able to hold the blade against the skin.
Before anyone tries to use the excuse of "my blade is not sharp enough" or "my technique is poor", let me tell you this: my razor is so sharp it slices a hair in half just from dropping the hair against the blade using gravity alone. As far as technique goes, I have used a straight razor for the past 15 years and also shave family and friends beautifully. A beautiful shave in my book means that if you run your finger against the grain after shaving you cannot not feel any sign of stubble however slight.
Does a straight razor give you a closer shave that a three blade? Even with an amazing straight razor and having fully prepared the skin and with perfect technique, the correct answer is still 'it depends' and 'not always' .
The reason why a three blade will outperform a straight razor on a neck area where the hair grows sideways is that a three blade is shorter and therefore can sit much more snug against the skin due to the curve of the neck (unless you have a fat neck.... No offence to anyone with a fat neck but you would not face this problem as your extra meatiness removes the issue of a tight neck curve).
The fact of the matter is, to get the smoothest closest shave imaginable with hair that grows at a tight low angle out of the skin, you need to be able to go exactly against the grain, which is not possible or extremely difficult on the neck's curve using a straight razor, unless your hair grows towards or away from your jaw line rather than parallel to it, in which case you just shave upward or downward.
Can you still achieve the desired closeness of shave in this area with a straight razor? Sure, but most likely after multiple strokes at very awkward and riskier angles, which defeats the whole point of a straight razor that is meant to be more efficient and effective than a three blade, which in this scenario it simply is not.
Why do I continue to use straight razors then? Because I love them. The fact is though that my three blade Wilkinson sword runs circles around my straight razor when it comes to my neck line, which you may have gathered has sideways growing hair.
I wager £20 to anyone who can prove me wrong... Be warned however that I am already £60 up from having this debate with others already.

Originally Posted by Andonis

With all due respect, but the information in this post is not accurate and there are certain scenarios that a straight razor can not out perform a three blade; the main one being the neck area when the hair grows sideways, virtually parallel or close to parallel to the jaw line at a very low angle against the skin. In this situation a three blade will always out perform a straight razor, hands down, especially when you are shaving yourself (as opposed to being shaved by someone else who also knows what they are doing). The reason for this has nothing to do with the blade's sharpness or technique as is being intimated, but with the length of the blade and the angle one is able to hold the blade against the skin.
Before anyone tries to use the excuse of "my blade is not sharp enough" or "my technique is poor", let me tell you this: my razor is so sharp it slices a hair in half just from dropping the hair against the blade using gravity alone. As far as technique goes, I have used a straight razor for the past 15 years and also shave family and friends beautifully. A beautiful shave in my book means that if you run your finger against the grain after shaving you cannot not feel any sign of stubble however slight.
Does a straight razor give you a closer shave that a three blade? Even with an amazing straight razor and having fully prepared the skin and with perfect technique, the correct answer is still 'it depends' and 'not always' .
The reason why a three blade will outperform a straight razor on a neck area where the hair grows sideways is that a three blade is shorter and therefore can sit much more snug against the skin due to the curve of the neck (unless you have a fat neck.... No offence to anyone with a fat neck but you would not face this problem as your extra meatiness removes the issue of a tight neck curve).
The fact of the matter is, to get the smoothest closest shave imaginable with hair that grows at a tight low angle out of the skin, you need to be able to go exactly against the grain, which is not possible or extremely difficult on the neck's curve using a straight razor, unless your hair grows towards or away from your jaw line rather than parallel to it, in which case you just shave upward or downward.
Can you still achieve the desired closeness of shave in this area with a straight razor? Sure, but most likely after multiple strokes at very awkward and riskier angles, which defeats the whole point of a straight razor that is meant to be more efficient and effective than a three blade, which in this scenario it simply is not.
Why do I continue to use straight razors then? Because I love them. The fact is though that my three blade Wilkinson sword runs circles around my straight razor when it comes to my neck line, which you may have gathered has sideways growing hair.
I wager £20 to anyone who can prove me wrong... Be warned however that I am already £60 up from having this debate with others already.

At the risk of being arrogant which really doesn't bother me, your info is wrong , completely and without fail a properly sharp straight will out perform , it's you or your blade if it ain't. Simply put I'll take your money . I've been shaving for over 50 years and I always can get better in the neck area. Get your technique right then and your blade right and then you will owe me 20 bucks, I've proved it every day I shave. Tc

Well congratulations on your first post. It's rather odd that you would choose to take issue with a three year old thread for your first post, but oh well.

If you think you are right on this issue, well then, good for you. Personally, I disagree. The fact of the matter is that the direction of hair growth on the neck varies for a lot of people. The right side of my neck grows up. The left side grows down. The reality is that each person has to map out their own shaving pattern and none of them require "very awkward and riskier angles." They just need to learn how to use the tools available to them.

I was kinda thinking perhaps you had never heard of SRs that have shorter edges and / or smiles

See Kamisori, De Pew "The Perfect Razor" etc: etc: these are designed to perfectly do what you seem to think is impossible


Welcome to SRP where we have the answers to your shaving issues

Hello, I just started shaving with a SR a month ago and have a long way to go to get the perfect shave from it myself. I can tell you though that a 3 or 5 blade razor is not ever going to give the same quality shave for the time, effort and price. I shave with a Merkur Futura DE razor most of the time and will so for the most part. I can only use the SR on my off days and the days when I don't work and have the time to put in the time to use one.

Anyhow back to the subject. I can get a close to SR shave with razor any day of the week, yes I have to do a 3 pass cut. The shave last for the most part 10 hours before I notice some stubble, if I go out for a date after work I have to shave. Have to be smooth and bare you must understand.

If I try the shame shave with a multiblade razor I can not achive the same result. A 3 way pass is ok but it does not cut the multiple passes as well. The long of the story is the shave looks great and feels great in the end but it last only about half the time. Yes it a quicker and easier shave but the quality is not there.

The bottom line is just keep at it like I am doing as well myself and we will get there. There is a steep learning curve here. I have had SR cuts from a barber who did them with a real SR until he had to quit using them for state laws forbid him to use them. He used one of my own to shave me recently and believe me you will get that BBS shave. He was to busy to really show me any technique, he did say it takes a long time to perfect it. He cant do his own as well as he likes for the most part.

A little but often I always quote. Concentrate on shaving and perfect stropping and save the honing for the pros when needed is some advise a senior member gave me the other day. Every one wants to hop in and do all he said. Honing ,stropping, collecting etc. Small steps.

There I gave my take that's most likely worth not much. Good luck and shave well.

Originally Posted by Andonis

With all due respect, but the information in this post is not accurate and there are certain scenarios that a straight razor can not out perform a three blade; the main one being the neck area when the hair grows sideways, virtually parallel or close to parallel to the jaw line at a very low angle against the skin. In this situation a three blade will always out perform a straight razor, hands down, especially when you are shaving yourself (as opposed to being shaved by someone else who also knows what they are doing).
......

I agree completely with you, however your example is not the best choice. It is a well known fact that three and more blades are the optimal and thus preferred shaving implement for a very particular hair topology trollum capillum (colloquially referred as trollhair) similar to the illustration below:




The main characteristics of this condition are as follows

* uniquely shaped 'neck' which is usually hidden, but when exposed and shaven it looks like this:


* uniquely shaped appendages, impairing dexterity which makes it hard to maneuver a razor:


* uniquely shaped eyes:


* underdeveloped brain:


* dangerously (for the owner) arranged teeth:


This makes it almost impossible to remove the hair safely, so most afflicted choose to let it grow (cf. first illustration), and the few brave ones have to utilize the built in 'safety' mechanism in the modern shaving cartridges. The narrower blade width partially compensates for their inability to move around the skin on the neck, or to use just part of a longer edge.

It is truly unfortunate condition but fortunately it is very rare, especially in this community.
We ought to be compassionate and not feed these poor creatures because that makes their hair grow faster which only increases their misfortune.

Hahahaha, that's pretty good gugi.

Heckuva first post. I don't think the OP knows how close he came ....... not referring to shaving. ..........