It just hit me - one of the best things about Straight Shaving

There are too many benefits to list when it comes to using a straight. For me at least, one stands way above the others. I have fought ingrown hairs since I first started shaving on my 12th birthday. My beard is so coarse that no electric could ever do more that modestly cut cheeks and my neck was just more than they could handle. Most of my life was spent wet shaving with disposables or carts. Ingrown hairs were the bane of my existence!!

This morning it hit me that since I started straight shaving, I could count the number of ingrowns on one hand and have fingers left over! :rock:

Thanks to all you guys here that helped inspire me!

Not only that but a guy looks damn cool doing it as well...old school! Glad you're enjoying the shave journey.

Yep know how you feel,i just enjoy the ritual of st8 shaving being in your own space & slowing things down & enjoying the experience of it all,gone a bit all deli llama there a kind o shaving zen,right thats enough.

Most definitely!

After I switched to straights my ingrowns disappeared virtually overnight. Even when my neck feels a little raw after shaving I never have any visual irritation. So 3+ years into my straight razor journey I'm still reminded of why I do it, the wonderment never ceases :D

Have fun.

I feel so left out! I've never had an ingrown hair. But at least I'm saving all this money. OK, maybe that Wosty did cost me $300, and the restores have been pretty expensive. But I'm saving big bucks by not having to buy those expensive cartridges. Sure, the hones cost some money. And the strops too, but it all goes toward saving money, right? Oops, I just saw another 9/8 W&B on Ebay for only $675 Buy It Now. I'll be back in a minute after I check my PayPal account. Can one of you guys lend me some money so I can continue to save on SRs?

Believe me, if you've never had an ingrown you're not missing anything. Dumb luck, I guess. But the saving money bit.... you'll get a big "lol" from me on that one :rofl2:

Ummmmmmmmm, yeah, we're saving tons of money!

Really, honey, I bought that W&B for the fire sale price of $300 and that new Coti was only $250 with shipping! Just think, in 10 months I'll have saved enough in carts to pay for that stuff...wait, make that 15 months as I just saw an awesome Filly that I just GOTTA have!

Yep, saving tons! :P

You are saving money if you're buying razors and accessories all the time I think. If you weren't into this you'd be spending the same money on something else, and this way you get to use your toys and you're not buying cartridges. I think the net effect is a savings. And who cares anyway? It's fun. :)

A definate added benefit has been the reduction and almost elimination of ingrown hair. Now can someone explain why this is compared to cartridge razors??
As far as saving money I would have to agree with Ryan on that one!! I have spent a small fortune on razors strops creams etc. Post Jan Norton month I am also slowly getting into honing hmmm
lucky that SWMBO is not a member of this forum.

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Originally Posted by ace

I feel so left out! I've never had an ingrown hair. But at least I'm saving all this money. OK, maybe that Wosty did cost me $300, and the restores have been pretty expensive. But I'm saving big bucks by not having to buy those expensive cartridges. Sure, the hones cost some money. And the strops too, but it all goes toward saving money, right? Oops, I just saw another 9/8 W&B on Ebay for only $675 Buy It Now. I'll be back in a minute after I check my PayPal account. Can one of you guys lend me some money so I can continue to save on SRs?

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hahahah yah really, i think were all the same. i really cant see any of us that have saved money since switching to traditional wet shaving :rofl2:

I too have never had an ingrown hair, but they don't sound very pleasant. As for saving money not so much as my first silver wing set me back about four bills and the coti was another one and then the set of Norton's and then the Thuringian wasn't too cheap so saving money is not the main reason however, you have all missed a great advantage of straight razor shaving. No one's thought of the zombie apocalypse, if you're shaving and they break-in. What are you going to do with a mock three? Nothing, and with a straight you might stand a fighting chance. I'm just saying...

For me, it was never about saving money. It's about the passion for wet shaving and fueling the various ADs. :rofl2:

Who started this myth about this being about saving money? I'd like to hear from someone who is actually saving money after moving to straights. I think the "cost saving" line is for married guys to tell their wives. Very similar to "I will still respect you in the morning."

Then again, if someone were to stay away from SRP and all of the enablers here, it might be possible to save money. But what fun would that be?

I've saved money switching to straights, I'm almost sure of it, though I haven't kept track. Bought a Jones Manufacturing Co round-point and a Sheffield spike from an antiques store for about $15 each, a Norton 4000/8000 and a paddle strop and some chromium oxide for $85 from a Woodcrafter's and a nylon/leather strop from a beauty supply store for about $10 at least three years ago. I bought a $5 brush from Wal-mart and I most often use william's mug soap, and a spare coffee mug, which is like a dollar, and one puck will last me a good month. I will admit to using a tube of C.O. Bigelow recently, but the menthol was a bit strong for me, so I'll probably just stick with the puck since I like the scent and it gives good lather for the price if you put in a bit of effort. That's $151 spent on shaving since I've made the switch. Cartridges cost $10-$15 for a 4-pack, which is supposed to last 1-2 months. If you push it to three months, because you're a cheap bastard like me who will torture themselves a bit to save a nickle here and there, that's $40-$60 a year on just cartridges, or $120-$180 for those three years since I've switched. So I've either got about 30 more dollars to save before I break even, which will happen in about 9 months, or I'm about $30 up.

First I was interested in doing this to save money. It turns out I've spent about the same as using cartridges, but I still think it's money well spent. I have lots of cool razors. Shaving is pleasant now. I'm happy to spend the money that I spend on shaving now, instead of being pissed off. I think it's because I'm buying something that is personal, unique, works perfectly, was made by someone who cares about what they're doing. I'm not spending lots of money on something that was specifically designed to be thrown in the garbage. I feel like when you shave with cartridges, which are meant to become garbage, you are actually shaving with garbage.

And the bonus that I wasn't counting on when I started this: I used to get several ingrown hairs every week; but since I started using straights a year ago I haven't had one ingrown hair. Some might complain that using a straight takes longer, but that time is made up for by the time you save NOT having to dig infected hairs out of your face. And you're spared the red, infected marks on your face.

Using a straight doesn't have to be expensive, but it's so great that even when you let it become expensive, it's still worth every penny.

I agree with all of the above.

K. Prag. Congrats on being able to save money with the straights. I wasn't knocking anyone for keeping it that simple. I just wasn't sure that anyone was able to resist all the urges.

MinATX. I know what you mean. I never got into cartridges because I thought it was too expensive for something I hated using. I stuck with disposables. But now, the enjoyment of shaving more than justifies all the money I've spent on razors and other related items.

Six nipples, and Pragmatist, I kind of agree with both you I got back into straight shaving exclusively because I was outraged at a pack of cartridges costing 16 bucks, at which point I spent several hundred bucks trying to save money. Nothing about this make sense except for the fact that we all know how much fun it is. And as for the pragmatist, God bless you, how you managed to use save money is pretty amazing. Now that I have about 25 razors and three or four different kinds of soap. Maybe I can save some money too.

Oh, I drool over the razors and fantasize about the soaps and cremes too, I just don't buy 'em. Gives my relatives something to get me for birthdays and Christmas when I don't ask for clothes. I probably should get another razor soon too, since I've put some chips in the edge of my Sheffield spike trying to clean it up and rescale it and now I'm down to the Jones. It makes me sad too because that spike was my favorite shaver, easy to hone and never really gave me a bad shave, where the Jones one easily develops a foil edge and even when properly honed doesn't seem to keep its edge as long. Although I have to admit that when it is on form it does give better shaves than the spike did. I did get an Ultima Pro 150 for Christmas a couple of years ago, and I recently tried honing it, but that sucker is twisted or something. I can't get the bevel to set on one side of the toe, the edge itself is uneven and the spine is wearing unevenly too just from the bevel-setting I've attempted.

It's easier to save money on shaving if you use a straight than if you use cartridges or electrics, because ultimately, you have more control over what you have to buy to get the job done. You really only need a razor, a hone, a strop and a brush and mug, after that, you only need to buy soap, an alum block/styptic pencil and aftershave regularly. It's also easier to spend more money using a straight than using cartridges and electrics if you give into Acquisition Disorder. That's one of the other great things about straight shaving, it gives you more control, not just over your shave, but your pocketbook too.

On a serious note: it's easy to remain oblivious to the scores of people who log on here for meet 'n greet, purchase a bit and then retreat into obscurity, using their gear and never really bothering in the discussions, hence never tempted to purchase or brought to think of their shave dens as inadequate (which they may not have, either). They just trudge on wiping hairs 'n lather off their private faces. Their "kind" will always be poorly represented in the internet forum shaving communities. I kind of respect them for it, not in disrespect of us, just for their utilitarian accomplishment.

Luckily for me it was never about saving money which I have NOT. I'm still about 5 years or so from breaking even.:rofl2: It was all about the daily razor burn and irritation from those evil cartridges. Since finally getting comfortable shaves and usually not even Old Spice stings anymore.
AHHH that's my sigh of relief.

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Originally Posted by poppy926

Luckily for me it was never about saving money which I have NOT. I'm still about 5 years or so from breaking even.:rofl2: It was all about the daily razor burn and irritation from those evil cartridges. Since finally getting comfortable shaves and usually not even Old Spice stings anymore.
AHHH that's my sigh of relief.

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Yeah razorburn was what str8 razors removed for me, no more red face...well at least from shaving. I look forward to my alum block and witchazel now.

I always had irritation from carts and disposables, most of which were multiblade. I think if the front blade gets the whisker the other blades scrape the skin and make the face feel chapped.

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Originally Posted by CaliforniaCajun

I always had irritation from carts and disposables, most of which were multiblade. I think if the front blade gets the whisker the other blades scrape the skin and make the face feel chapped.

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I think that's exactly what happens. Do you remember the Gillette commercials that demonstrated the first blade pulling up on the hair, then the other blades cutting off bits of the hair? I think it's the pulling that causes a lot of the problem. For me, it was probably raising the skin around the follicle too; and the other blades cut the hair as well as the skin. Add to that, the blades get duller and full of more dead skin (encouraging bacterial growth) each time you use them. So each time you shave with a cartridge, you scratch and cut your face more and more, fill the tiny wounds with more bacteria, and leave hairs with rougher cut ends (from dull blades). It's no wonder that my face was so red and covered with bumps and ingrown hairs.

Well if you discount gifts I've received since I started (2 razors, some cream and a norton hone), I have spent the equivalent of 2 months worth of cartridges and canned foams as a startup cost (back in August). Since then, I have bought 2 tubes of Real Shaving Co. cream, an off-brand Nivea balm knockoff and a pack of single-edge razor blades. That's it. And I haven't even opened one of the tubes of cream.

Now, if I could just get over my tendency to want to scrape my face off when I shave, a holdover from years of electric and cartridge shaving, I'll be very, very happy.

And if I'm allowed a moment of gloating: It's been 2 weeks since I've had even a small spot of blood from a shave.

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Originally Posted by MinATX

I think that's exactly what happens. Do you remember the Gillette commercials that demonstrated the first blade pulling up on the hair, then the other blades cutting off bits of the hair? I think it's the pulling that causes a lot of the problem. For me, it was probably raising the skin around the follicle too; and the other blades cut the hair as well as the skin. Add to that, the blades get duller and full of more dead skin (encouraging bacterial growth) each time you use them. So each time you shave with a cartridge, you scratch and cut your face more and more, fill the tiny wounds with more bacteria, and leave hairs with rougher cut ends (from dull blades). It's no wonder that my face was so
red and covered with bumps and ingrown hairs.

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I do remember that commercial.

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Originally Posted by bamabubba

There are too many benefits to list when it comes to using a straight. For me at least, one stands way above the others. I have fought ingrown hairs since I first started shaving on my 12th birthday. My beard is so coarse that no electric could ever do more that modestly cut cheeks and my neck was just more than they could handle. Most of my life was spent wet shaving with disposables or carts. Ingrown hairs were the bane of my existence!!

This morning it hit me that since I started straight shaving, I could count the number of ingrowns on one hand and have fingers left over! :rock:

Thanks to all you guys here that helped inspire me!

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I feel pretty much the same about it. Thanks to coarse and thick beard and sensitive skin most of the time I got ingrowns an razor burn from shaving with cartridge razors since I started shaving. According to this I shaved only 2 to 3 times a week and looked... unshaven;):D.

That is why I came to google for razors, techniques and trouble-shooting. So I found the german "Nassrasier-Forum" and SRP. Since I started shaving with a straight, just like you bamabubba, only a few ingrowns, no razor burn and fun in shaving.

Thanks to y'all!

I have rarely felt ingrown hairs
So I would be in the minority with that issue
For me its all about the shave and leaning what I can each time I shave

Enjoy

Rick

When I was using the multi-blade cartridges every time I would go for a closer save under my jaw line (second pass) I would wind up with 3 or more ingrown hairs. Some just under the surface, some making red blisters.

They are just a bad memory now. Can't really say I understand why.

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They are just a bad memory now. Can't really say I understand why.

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My wallets also happier I was cheaper buying the razor with the blades rather than the blades themselves, I have alot of things that I could spend £15 every fortnight on... booze. I was drinking the aftershave when I used dispoables :beer1::o

I never used aftershave much with disposables.

Now I find myself looking for new ones. I bought a bottle of English Leather. I hadn't used any of that for 40 years. I forgot hom much I like it.

I also tried Bay Rum. I like the smell, but it only seems to last an hour.

I am new to the group and have not even gotten my firt razor yet (it should be her this week) so amybe I should not be saying anything but it seems like a lot of you are leaving out the value of your razors when talking about money saved. If you buy a 200.00 st8 and use it for a year you still have a razor that is worth about 200.00, those used disposable razors will be worth nothing other than polluting the ground when they are in the landfill

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Originally Posted by Kantian Pragmatist

and one puck will last me a good month

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Wow, you must be shaving 3 times a day or something. You sure your pet rock doesn't use it when you aren't looking? ;)

@stonewall +1 i see the razors and to some lesser part the strops, brushes, and hones more as an investment then an expense. at the end of the day everything comes down to perspective. wishful thinking? maybe but i have made many 'real' investments that cost me 10 times what all my shave gear has cost me and i have every form of AD there is.