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

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".
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."

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.