Thread: What is it that you like best about shaving with a straight razor??

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.

Originally Posted by ClovisMan

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

Originally Posted by CaliforniaCajun

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.

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.

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.