the pure simplicity of it and my face likes it as well
the pure simplicity of it and my face likes it as well
Me time. I like the 15-20 minutes of me time. My wife is afraid to approach me while shaving in fear that she will cause a nick. Everyone.....EVERYONE leaves me alone when I shave. Also, a very big part of it is that it reminds me of some really nice times with my father.
Turns a chore into playtime. Pure indulgence unlike any other.
The overall experience is great. The best part for me is when I slap on some high alcohol content cologne and receive very little to no sting.
Shaving with a straight is so more man than shaving with a disposable or anything else. Does this sound crazy? Yes. But for me it is the truth.
And of course the result. Beyond compare, as Lynn says it on a You Tube video I recently watched.
The best thing about Shaving with a Straight Razor is... I can't really answer this question, but for right now, everything about shaving with a straight razor is best. For me there is nothing that is better than anything else because it is all the BEST!!! I enjoy the pre-shave prep, I enjoy stropping the razor, I enjoy making the lather, I enjoy slicing the hair and the lather off, and I enjoy the AS and ASBs. It is overall a wonderful thing, and I am so happy that I have left the flock of cartridge razors. OK, if I have to pick something it would be all of the new challenges and the building of new skills. From Honing to making my own strops, I am seriously addicted.
I love it because of the nostalgia of shaving with a blade made well over a hundred years ago. I can only imagine how many faces it has touched over the generations and the skill and perfection it took to wield it daily. I see my straight razors as a simple device created with old world technology in its purest form built by skilled artisans and has outlived many new technologies and devices. Many of my razors that I shave with, were made when brother was pitted against brother, firing black powder muskets and cannons as main battle field components of the civil war. For me, it is about connecting with a bygone era to a much simpler time when our society still took pride in its values and morals. For me, it is a historic link to the past and a means to experience the little daily events of life that my forefathers did. After shaving with straights for over a year now, I will never shave any other way. I want my kids to experience what our prior generations have as another way to ensure that I am teaching them to appreciate the modern day conveniences of life that we've been blessed with, that kids lived for eons without cell phones or "status updates on facebook" and that their lives were never ruined from the lack of it. :)
Straights lead to a quality and close shave. It takes practice and patience to really master it.
I have yet to bring a person to the dark side ! It has been 3 years for me and every time we have some friends over and I show them WHAT I SHAVE WITH.... We all get the same response........ That's why I shave with a straight because you CAN'T.
Totally agree, except for the fact, that I do not make razors.Quote:
Originally Posted by shooter74743
Everything !!! Especially that I don't have to buy another one... Tho I probably will :)
I love that the process takes long enough that it makes it special. I get to slow my day down, take it one small stroke at a time. Listening to the blade as it cuts the hair and the feel of the menthol on my skin. The world spins so fast, it seems like this is the one thing that slows it down.
I get a kick out of it when everything lines up just right, and the blade is smooth and sharp because my honing / stropping / prep worked, (or didn't NOT work), and a small thrill that I ran a wicked sharp hunk of steel across my neck and got a away with it unscathed.
Just a small tap on one of the nails in the coffin of metrosexual men everywhere.
I like the fact that it requires the utmost attention, so no matter what's going on in your life,it all just disappears for duration of the shave it's the ultimate escape . And I really like the fact that since straight shaving I have not had one in growing hair, and from my early days I have a few cool scars to invent stories about :-)
Anthony
What I love about straight razors and shaving with them is:
That it is a ritual in which all ingredients are fun to do and are even more fun when done right and result in a great shave.
Trying to do it right is going totally zen and being yourself for, what, half an hour. Total bliss!
The simplicity of a straight razor; a piece of fine steel with a pure and most of the time beautiful form. The scales can be basic or a work of art too. To think that the layout of a straight razor has been around already a couple of hundreds of years and today still gives thousands of modern day men a comfortable and bbs shave.
The artistry of the badger brushes and the comfort they render while using when building the lather and applying them on the skin.
The fact that we are keen on collecting razors that enables us the joy of admiring and a rotation of several blades. Ever do/did that with home appliances like a vacuum or a toaster or even with the hated multi blade cartridge razors?
Same goes for the soaps and aftershaves; trying a new one once in awhile gives new joy and builds up a choice of scents. The fun to know that the soap you use sometimes have been around for more than a century without having been changed.
The fact that no conglomerate company dictate us a brand of razor or allure us in a ‘lifestyle’ by using their product. The choices we make are mostly based on a nice find on flee market or a left over from granddad or a honest advice from fellow users on the forum.
This forum; never have I encountered such a fine motivated group of people who never roast newbies or others but are genuinely interested in helping in giving advice in the latest or even all the worn down topics.
The fun when you tell your friends that you shave straight; the men wonder “you do what?” and the women smile “Mmm, I like that!”
I Love that!
Regards,
Paul
Attachment 98331
It reminds me of something that I should have done with my father, were he still around. Discovering that kind of person that I am, I was drawn to somewhat dangerous looking things and of course, SR shaving came to me. As it's been said, it was no longer a chore, but a ritual to be enjoyed. Something that's just cool looking! honestly, the best shaves i've gotten are with a SR and i love it. I love the community the great help I get and the familial sense from the forum. Thanks everyone. :D
Great thread.
I have a problem beard (seen in my avatar). Though it isn't full or thick the hairs are thick and on some parts of my beard are steeply slanted. The worst part of course, after proper stretching technique was attained, was learning how to shave the part of my steeply slanted beard that was difficult to stretch in the appropriate direction (near chin/jaw stretching towards center of face). I'd struggled with getting close shaves in problem areas for a good long time with non-pivoting disposables (generics are as good as a quality DE shaver and blade IMO), and I dislike shaving with pivoting cartridge razors. No matter how well I shaved, technique-wise, I'd get a lackluster shave OR, if I was determined to get a close shave, usually have those annoying random deeper nicks that all safety razors give me. Pretty much because going 45 degrees off ATG, with the acute angle of the hairs makes it very difficult for a safety razor to cut cleanly, due to the difficulty in adjusting the angle of attack of the safety razor's edge.
What I like best about straight razor shaving is the inherently safer and closer shave I get from these non-safety razors. Due to 3 factors: 1) individual idiosyncrasy of steeply slanted hairs in difficult to optimally stretch areas 2) the gentleness of a re-used, stroppable and personally tailor-honed edge 3) the ultimate adjustable-angle razor that no other shaver can match.
Chicks dig it.
My mind is always racing on what I have to get done that day so even when I used to shave I was thinking about the workday etc. with Straight Razor shaving I slow down and I only think about shaving. So it's very relaxing for me.
I immensely like the fact that i have transformed what for years has been an utterly mundane, and mind numbingly boring daily drudgery, into bliss with a blade...
I LOVE how shaving with a straight razor takes me back in time, performing something that men have done for literally centuries before me. I am a re-enactor of the French & Indian War, specifically, my unit is a portrayal of the 60th. Royal American Regiment, a British regiment raised for service in North America in 1758. So, I have a very deep appreciation for history. I shave every day with a straight razor, whether "on campaign" or not. One of the many really neat things about shaving with a straight is that you can vividly picture a soldier, crawling out from under his tent flap to begin the day at the sound of the drums and fifes. Making sure that that his musket is clean and dry first, then, digging in to his haversack for his razor, brush, and soap. Filling his field mug with hot water poured from the camp kettle....while the smell of woodsmoke drifts about..ahhh..well, I digress. We have a pretty damn cool activity here gents.
It is the closest, smoothest and most comfortable shave I can get,
- and it matches my 1911s. :)
I like shaving with a straight razor because it's part of the past. You could say the same thing about a Gillette FatBoy today, too. I like that kind of stuff, kinda why I sometimes Morse code on the radio. I generally tell people I must be an old, old soul.
Judging by your screen name, you're shaving with some old, old technology.Quote:
Originally Posted by ClovisMan
Yep, but most people don't know about it! :)
Great idea for a thread!
I like shaving in this way because it is very smooth and 'clean' - I get less ingrowns this way. Lathering up a nice smelling soap is exciting and a great feeling on the face. I wish I had used this method longer! It is a cost effective way as well when you take into account the 'cost per shave'.
40 years of bad shaving with the latest and (hardly the) greatest. I think I had more trouble than most people with the cartridges and disposables. Monday would be my only close comfortable shave. Tuesday it would begin to irritate. Wednesday-Friday my face was chapped. I didn't shave on the weekends at all if I could help it so my face could heal.
I was also fascinated by the use of straight razors in movies.
Two years ago I reached the breaking point. I made a renewed commitment to electric razors, which my dad used, and the new razor head assembly gave good results for one week before beginning to deteriorate despite my best attempts to clean it. Then I went back to the Fusion. When they were invented about 15 or so years ago the strip stayed green for several weeks. Now the green was going away in two days. The green was the indication that it was time to change cartridges. I felt like a first class sucker. :aargh:
I ordered a Parker 91R DE razor which was defective and I didn't know it. Then after two weeks I explained to the vendor what was happening and he interpreted it as defective. I got a 34C HD Merkur because it was his personal razor. So I got close comfortable shaves on a consistent basis for the first time in my life at Age 54. :angel:
The lure of straight razor shaving took root when I found this article on the internet: Is Straight Razor Shaving for You? - Yahoo! Voices - voices.yahoo.com. While on the learning curve I had the DE shaving to fall back on when necessary. I ordered the equipment and persevered for two years, when I finally nailed it. I'm still struggling with my stropping. But I'm loving it. :y
I'd like to say its the machismo of straight razors, or mastering a nearly lost art from my grandfathers era, but the real truth is that nothing else makes me feel cleaner or fresher. I find it much quicker and easier than using a disposable and I get near on zero irritation from my straight.
I see it as the equivalent of Romans visiting the baths for a good strigiling to clean the skin 2000 years ago, or the male equivalent of our wife's facial!
I can't ever see me foregoing this one pleasure!!
I enjoy the time I get to slow down, relax, focus on myself and intensely scrutinize something that I'm doing.
I enjoy playing in the warm water.
I enjoy the sound of the brush making lather, the blade sliding across the strop, the scrape of an old blade against the hone.
I enjoy restoring something rusted and neglected to useable shape.
I enjoy the feeling of history held within my hands.
I enjoy talking about the aspects of the hobby with other people.
I enjoy having reasons to keep getting something in the mail.
But most of all, I enjoy acquiring and using the gadgets involved!
I know what you mean. I really do think those strips are scams backed by excellent marketing. I really hated buying a pack of Fusion razors for $20 once a week; which is why i always grew my beard out and shaved once every few weeks.Quote:
Originally Posted by CaliforniaCajun
But a few things I like about straight razor shaving is the relaxing preparation/rituals, the nostalgia, the practicality, the amount of skill requred, the challenge, and definitely how well it shaves compared to the cartridge razors.
What I like most about straight shaving, however, is it takes a significant amount of time, effort, and attention to detail, and the end product is something you can be proud of.
I am very new to straight shaving, and since I started I haven't shaved with a disposeable (except for my head). I get up 40 minutes earlier now (5:20 am) just to shave and I am not sure why. Just something that has to be done.
Ok guys I am very new to this. I have been shaving for about 3 weeks now with a SR. I purchased one at an antique store, honed it (with a lot of reading on SRP) and I have been shaving with it and the SEVERAL others I have purchased since.
I enjoy everything about it. I like the me time I have while shaving, when I can only think of that one thing. I like the fact I took an old razor, brought it back to presentable condition and used it for the purpose it was created. I like the fact that I am probably the first person to be shaved by some of these razors in 40+ years.
I haven't experimented with a lot of soaps yet and I don't have an expensive brush, a boars hair brush and mug I got at Walmart. But I enjoy picking out the razor I am going to use that day, lathering up and using a device that 99% of people are horrified of. I enjoy that when people find out that I use one they are mortified but slightly curious. I know I have a lot to experience with straight razors but so far I don't think i will ever go back.
The best thing so far was today after I finished shaving and splashed Clubman on my face and didn't feel a burn. Then my wife told me it was the closest shave she had ever seen me with.
i find it interesting that lynn referred to it as a sport, and jzaharias<sp?> likened it to golf... as do i..
some folks buy the best equipment to improve their game, some buy golf magazines.. in the end the fundamental skills matter more than having the fanciest equipment, but learning through others (golf magazines) like srp (a wonderful free forum) can be invaluable in accelerating a learning process... the sense of community that comes with srp is wonderfull. as odd as it may seem to others, i find it no more rediculous than those who love golfing.
my first razor stone and strop all came from a flea market when i was twelve(or so) before i ever shaved and peaked my interest since, and i only returned to it in a serious way at about twenty five after knowing a local antiques dealer. i liked the old school aspect of it.
ive never shaved with a pro honed edge, only my own, and i had to learn how to hone and shave at the same time.. started out a little rough, but i learned pretty quickly..
i like being able to shave with an edge ive honed/"made" myself.. and i like that im not using what is destined to be disposable junk. i hone for sport, far more frequently than i need, and i am often experimenting with different finishing stones, and to a lesser degree stropping abrasives (cerium oxide only at the moment). often my 'zen' time is spent honing a new razor (antique/ebay), or refinishing a razor from my rotation for experimentation sake.
my shaves are pretty simple, at this time i dont seek the BBS shave, i go for the ergonomic simple one pass shave with buffing strokes. in some spots my shave may be less than DFS, but irritation is next to none. at some point im sure i will work towards mastering the multipass shave, but it is not a necessity for me.
i spend more time stropping then lathering, and more time lathering then shaving, but i agree during this process (any of it) my attention is there and it has a therapeutic quality not unlike meditation.
beyond the basic elements that is required of someone i am amazed at all the various facets of learning that one encounters down this path.. i am getting into blacksmithing (and grinding, metalurgy etc.) towards the end of making my own razors, and this is a huge field of study.. i am getting (eventually) into essential oils (always of some interest) fragrances and perfumes along with the chemistry of soap making.. i may apprentice in leather work with an older gentleman in the business of shoe repair in part because of my interest in strops. razor restoration will eventually lead me to working with wood, horn, and modern composite materials. and then there is HAD... even as i realize i have all that i need, curiosity will still lead me to buy the odd stone, and i expect these stones to outlive me, so i consider them an investment in the future, not wasted money..
oh, and although the first thing i have learned to sharpen is a razor, my interest has expanded to all tools.
when/if my persuit of knowledge reaches a plateau i expect i will continue to shave with a straight razor.. should my health ever prevent me from doing so i expect i will use a DE/SE saftey razor.
in short, the endless learning process, skill development, and satisfaction of accomplishment. somewhere in there is a consumerist streak even though all my razors and strops and most of my stones are vintage. i will ultimately buy more soaps and creams then i will ever finish, but may gift on the ones i dont finish so it may not be a loss.
ramble ramble ramble... i love everything about it.
I consider myself to be lucky as I did not go (have to go) through the pain of shaving with the desposable razors. I shaved with them for a few times before I had to try my grandfather's gillette DE which I found to perform better, way better to be honest. Even though the DE I had was in a very bad shape and needed a lot of work and restoration it still performed really good which got me interested in straight razors which was only a step away. I used shavette for the past 6 years or so and I enjoyed shaving with them even though now I know I was doing it all wrong.
After I started the whole wet shaving process shaving stopped being (just) enjoyable. I am not in it for the money saving or going green or anything anymore. I'm in it because, for me, it became a ritual. Shaving became a ritual I don't think I do without in my life. It's a very fine discipline that I still need to conquer and get better at some more, but perfection is something everyone aims for and can never reach in my opinion. The finesse from stropping the razor, to the lather and down to the shaving has become a discipline that I do with finesse and tremendous respect. I don't remember myself having a smile on my face after every shave I did before, now I do. I love shaving, it stopped being something I have to do, it is now something I want to do. I feels great after every shave, and I would wish everyone can go through my experience.
I have always been interested in the older and finer things in life, and was drawn to the straight razor when I was handed my Great Grandfathers razor not so long ago and told that it was mine. I believe that my partner and family had grown tired of hearing me talk of having crappy shaves and that I was riddled with in growing hairs and rashes and they felt that perhaps a straight razor may cure my ills.
Up until the straight I had several DE and a few SE, I had learned to shave with a SE Ever ready but it just didnt ever feel right in my hands.
Learning with the straigh was exciting and somthing new, it was as though I was learning a new skill for the first time and ive had my ups and downs and stuck with it, these days and im 3 months in I am getting the best shaves ive ever had and no in growing hairs or rashes, the straight razor feels like a paint brush in my hands and that im painting a fine picture when shaving.
But I also like the fact that I am not littering the earth up with plastic and metal from the disposables or needing batteries for the vibrating gizmo, I may be 28 but im looking forward to ending my days with the straight razor i first set off with in these first few weeks knwoing that ive saved money and the envionment.
RAD has now gotten the better of me and my collection is growing, even the misses helps me polish and clean the old vintages and recentley ive managed to perfect honing though I will admit not yet perfect, hell im too scared to put my Dovo to the stone! yet my Christel 6/8 has done well on upon it.
There are so many aspects to straight shaving that simply do not end with just shaving, the ritual of preparing for the shave, the care and atention taken to the detail of shaving, the collecting and restoring of older pieces and much more......what was a chore that I hated has now become a thing of pleasure and a hobby too.
I look forward to every shave that I have but most of all I love it when after an hour of being in the bathroom I come out smelling of Bay rum and Florida water with a silky smooth shave, I step by my partner and she leans in to kiss my cheek......checking for smoothness........damn it in short I feel like im a man and that I could conquer the world!
Beat that Mr Disposable or vibrating gizmo razor!
For me the greatest thing about straight razor shaving... the "coolness factor".:rock:
One day I "sliced" my jawline and someone at work asked what happened.
I told them I started straight razor shaving. They said "That's cool, I couldn't do it!"
NO ACTUALLY, I think the real reason is that the skin on my face has not been better!
Started DE shaving about a year ago and fell in love with brushes, shave soap and aftershaves!
Now, with the straight razor shaving it's even more...the time I get to spend uninterupted and "just shave".
Not think of anything else... "just shave." :tu
I must say that the reasons for me are very much tied to wanting to connect in a meaningful way with a "simpler" time. I say "simpler" but I know that is not the case, it's just that life's challenges were just different and more tangible. Early yesterday morning, I found myself walking through the historic site of Daniel Boone with a very good friend of mine. This site has many homes from the late 1700's and early 1800's (very young when you compare it to European Historical sites). The temperature for the day was approaching 106 degrees Fahrenheit and I commented to my friend "We have it so much easier than these guys did....and I bet every one of them used a straight razor". That being said, the things I connect with the most: a connection to the past, all the hardware/software, the nature of self suffieciency that comes from getting a blade shave ready and maintaining it, a tremendous sense of self accomplishment, the great shaves, but above all, it reminds me that no matter how complex the world gets, it is the simple things in life that provide the most perspective. That, and of course the fine gentlemen that I am proud to call friends on this fine forum.
Glenn
For me there are several reasons I do this, but I guess the biggest reason I do this is the reason I first looked into straight razors in the first place and that is comfort. I have a beard that with even the best newest POC (piece of crap) out there I got razor burn every shave and would only shave every other day because of the irritation (even with soap and brush). Now not only do I get an awesomely close shave, but not even Old Spice burns (most of the time) its just a nice warming feeling. I shave nearly everyday and I work a 4 on 4 off schedule, thats right I shave on my days off. Plus its cool as hell and most people think I am nuts. If I could only convince them, and I do try, but no takers so far.
It started with my love of sharpening and restoring blades of all types. I had sported a full beard for years, so it didn't start with shaving. A friend had an old Shumate razor, and he wanted me to sharpen it. Rather than just go off half-cocked, I did a lot of research and expanded my hone collection as a result. While it took me quite a while to get it where he was satisfied, by the time I was done I wanted to give it a try myself. I bought a Gold Dollar and went to work. For the first 18 months I was just a neck shaver, and that poor Gold Dollar took a lot of abuse as I grew in honing, but near the end of last year I had fallen so in love with using the fruits of my labor I shaved my beard off and expanded my collection of straights.
