Two questions for straight razor users: when did you begin shaving with a straight razor and why? I think it would be especially interesting to hear from the pre-interweb guys.
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Two questions for straight razor users: when did you begin shaving with a straight razor and why? I think it would be especially interesting to hear from the pre-interweb guys.
I started in January this year, at the age of 42.
I'd been toying with the idea for a while, because there were all kinds of annoyances about shaving with a multi-blade plastic gizmo (expense, skin irritation, mistakenly buying blades that didn't fit, poor design). The thing that finally pushed me to get a straight razor was when I dropped the plastic one, and a tiny plastic peg broke so the handle wouldn't hold the cartridge securely any more. Instead of getting a new handle, I got a straight.
I considered a DE, but I preferred a system with no disposable parts at all. I didn't consider an electric shaver, because I've never heard anyone speak well of them, and I prefer low-tech / old-fashioned equipment where possible.
Started with straights about 6 months ago at age 59. No real reason to try it, just took it into my head to do so out of curiosity I suppose. Never had a problem with using cheap $1.00 disposables or DEs that wasn't caused by operator error.
Bob
Started about 2 years ago because I just couldn't afford disposables anymore and they didn't work well for me. Ton's of irritation and razor burn and the electrics I used always broke and did a poor job. I did some math and I was actually spending 300 dollars a year on just the disposable razor heads let alone shaving creme, which really didn't work well either. My big problem was my beard was so thick and course it actually blunted most multiblade razors in 3 shaves making them unusable. I started out because I wanted to save money but I quickly discovered just how challenging and fun straights are and now I'm hooked and probably not saving all that much money on it anymore. Got to admit though, when I'm not getting new equipment and razors my annual up keep is still way way lower then 300 plus dollars that I used to spend.
Disposables never lasted long for me either, steelstubble. I'm 23 and started using SRs a little under 2 months ago. I hadn't shaved since I was 17 - just used an electric razor twice a week to keep my whiskers trim.
Growing up my father told me about my great-grandfather teaching him how to use a straight (apparently he had a gorgeous custom 7 day set with the family name on one side of the scales and the day of the week on the reverse - sad I never got to see those...). With the history of my dad and my great grandfather, I figured it was only proper to give it a whirl, so I picked up my fathers old straight and here I am now...
While I never had the experience of shelling out hundreds of dollars a year on disposables, I am looking forward to redirecting that cash flow to acquiring straights and all sorts of other shaving accessories :)
I got interested in straights about four years ago. My previous razor was a Gillette Sensor, which gave decent shaves I guess, the problem started with the introduction of the Mach 3 and the Fusion razors. The Sensor blades became harder and harder to find and the price was going up on them. I tried a Mach3 once or twice and it irritated my face so bad, I figured there has got to be a better way. What's funny is I never even considered a DE or SE until I found SRP. I stumbled across some site selling straight razors and thought I would try one out. Being a noob, I of course made noob mistakes and purchased worthless gear that has since found its way to the local landfill. I found SRP about three and half years ago and the rest as they say is history.
I started about three months ago. First with a shavette then a straight. Been wanting to do it for years..I mean almost twenty years Being 40 Now I always was intrigued by it. With the work I have Done it was needed for me to shave three to for times a week and cartridges were just that much easier.
Living in New York there are a lot of great stores to get great products just not straight razors. I was spending a ton of money on multi blades and it was getting sad.
I lost my job recently and really thought about the price and said it was worth it. I had been using a brush and good soap for years already now just get a blade and strop. Went to a festival and picked up my first one and it was the beginning of my start. Although the blade I picked up turned out to be on the do not buy list...all those things came together to really get me started.
About 2+ yrs. ago. DE's caught my eye because of the history and fascination with all the styles. Naturally coming across str8's during my hunting for shaving stuff. Had a couple but never did anything with them until I started seeing beautiful pieces on the net. Well curiosity got the best of me and I figured , why not? I love sharp tools ( deal with them daily) and since I seem to be rooted in the past with my line of work it just made sense. I love the whole process and the fact that it's such a minimalist experience, just you and a sharp blade, nothing else, no bells and whistles and you can make a 150 yr old 'tool' perform better than anything available today. It's just too cool in my book.
Mid-1970s. As a kid I watched my paternal grandfather shave w/a straight, and the way he whipped it across his face was like watching poetry in motion. I wanted to be that guy! He gave me an Amco Royal Crown and Illinois strop for my 16th birthday (which I still have) and taught me how to use it. Used it throughout high school and some in college (1x per week on average), then my career got in the way. I've been off and on in straight blade use for the past 16 years as other razors have found their way into my grubby little hands, and I've used straights exclusively for the past year.
Maple, I knew that you knew your stuff but I never realized that you were such a veteran.
I wish i could say 20 years, but it's only been 3 months exclusively with a cut-throat, approaching 50 shaves i am guessing, initially started with DE razors, but then found this site, and saw some razors that were nothing short of a work of art. The reason for starting was like alot of others here, initially to save money on expensive cartridges. That theory has been blown out of the water, but the up side is i actually enjoy shaving. I did buy a razor and strop about 20 years ago but purely as display items, and without the internet, and this website, i don't think we would be able to get the knowledge to hone, strop and restore these items, let alone learn to shave with them.
I am in straight shaving for almost a year now.
Why? Because the shaves are better. Because razors are fascinating tools. And there is the stropping and touchups. It opens a whole new world. But most important, it is pure fun.
As I recall I started about 10 years ago. I used a DE for years before that and I was looking for a place to buy supplies and saw an ad for a straight. Being that I used to carry one all the time in my younger days with the gangs in N.Y it was kind of like a old friend type of thing.
Of course it was easier using one to slice someone up as opposed to shaving but that's another story.
My regression therapist tells me I have used straight razors for the past 350 years, on and off. Apparently back in the late 1870's I used to shave once a week on Friday nights after work before I'd go out on the town. Bearded ladies need love too you know...
I cannot remember how many years I've been using straights - before I joined here, but not too long before: maybe a year or two maximum. I don't count them really, because I had no idea what I was really doing then and only really a vague idea of what I am doing now. Wisdom may come with years but IME the converse is certainly not true: as Oscar Wilde said, "With age comes wisdom, but sometimes age comes alone."
However, I can be definite about why I started using straights. I am ornery and belligerent. Anything I can do to set me apart from the "norm" and thus allow me to criticise the rest of society, I embrace with an open heart and a narrow mind!! :p
James.
I started two weeks ago so I do not count yet :) However, all the time I'm asked why I bother. My answer: because it's bad-ass. Then the questioning ceases :)
I started around six months ago. Always was interested in the craft of it. I've used a DE for maybe over five years and a shaving brush for about fifteen years. I just wanted to put my chips in and give it a shot. I am very happy I did. I enjoy taking my time. Having to focus helps make me concentrate.
Oh great question. Sixth of June 2011. I think I came across it (straight razor shaving) on The Art of Manliness web site, which I think I got to when researching cufflinks, fountain pens or hats (I was considering buying a hat at the time, and now am again). I love old stuff, but not old stuff that you just sit in a corner and look at; I like old stuff you can use; the oftener the better. Hence the vintage cufflinks, vintage German Medium Format cameras and vintage fountain pens. These were all 'stages'. All are still with me, albeit pared down a little (only two pens, 8 cameras, maybe 30 pairs of cufflinks). I'd like to be Edwardian, I think...
After finding the article on SR shaving; and then this site, I jumped in head first and bought a Burrell Top Flight. I am forever indebted to the seller for selling me a truly shave ready razor; it could have been disaster otherwise. I then got a massive gaudy W&B in huge abalone scales that I hated and swapped for another, smaller W&B. While getting that W&B I annoyed the seller constantly by asking question upon question about honing. I'm no handyman at all, but I again jumped right in and got a Norton 4/8 and a Shapton 16k. I've made a great many friends along the way; and got a tiny bit of knowledge. What some of the guys here know about the whole thing still amazes me, as well as how much some people are really in to it.
Shaving used to hold no pleasure really at all for me, but now, it can be almost a main event in a day. I especially love the looks of amazement you get when people find out (are told, whether they like it or not, and whether it's relevant to the conversation at hand or not) that I shave with a straight razor. I hope it never goes mainstream, I'm a bit of a hipster I guess, I hate to be counted as one of the herd, I want to be a little bit different. If straight razor shaving goes mainstream I'll start shaving with a Polynesian sea shell from the 30's...
Quite a few years ago.. Back when the army used camo faces everytime they left garrison.. Still had to shave in the field, regular razors cloggered up... Really never knew what I was doing until I joined this site though... Good thing I was a bared faced youth, I only had about four whiskers until I was thirty..
I have always been fascinated watching straight razor shaving in movies, and once many years ago I watched a friend get a straight razor shave in a barbershop. 2 1/2 years ago I got so fed up with electric and disposable/cartridge shaving I decided to do something about it. I surfed the internet about alternative ways of shaving and found out that some people were still DE and straight razor shaving. Then I found that there were forums devoted to the subject. I ordered one of each (DE and straight). I used both until I was able to master a straight, and now use a straight almost exclusively.
What an enjoyable hobby! I hated shaving for 40 years because of the poor results and discomfort, so when I got the old fashioned equipment both my attitude and results did a 180.
Just a few months ago. As a petrochemical inspector most of the facilities I work in are clean-shaven for respirator purposes and I was complaining to a coworker about the constant razor burn from shaving every day. He started talking about his de & how it never leaves burn. That's what got the seed planted.
A few months later we were in Mineapolis getting certified for phased array & walked into to super-fancy haberdashery, where he convinced me to get a straight shave. The hot towels & all were pretty sweet so after that I started reading up, ordered a couple of dovos and the essentials.
Now, 3-4 months later I'm never looking back! I'm currently about halfway into a 7-day set of Wacker chevaliers. Once I can order the last 3 I'll make I nice walnut case for them & that'll hopefully be the end of my major purchases :)
I don't know if unit has seen this thread, but I think he'd answer "Because I love playing with my Dorko." :rofl2::roflmao
Sorry if I stole your thunder, unit!
I have only been shaving daily with a SR8 for 4 months now but bought my first and gave it a go nearly 30 years ago. Like so many others on this site, I have always liked sharp things and own a fair (maybe not the word my wife would use) number of knives. Shaving with a straight just seemed like a fun and appropriate thing to do.
That first acquisition did not turn our to be "shave ready" and my first experiment didn't even last thru a complete shave. About every 4 years I dug out the razor again and tried but it never worked until last spring when I found this site, bought a shave ready razor, got the lowdown on pre-shave prep and have been happily shaving with a naked blade ever since. I have some kind of native interest in SR8 shaving but gotta thank SRP for making it real. BTW, the first was a NIB Geneva Cutlery from a mall cutlery shop. I have since honed it myself and now get fine shaves with it.
You are relatively new to the forums, so you are forgiven for this almost sacrilegious statement.
First rule of straightrazorplace: there is no end to the major purchases;
Second rule of straightrazorplace (Jimbo's Third Law of AD): To every AD cessation there is an equal and opposite AD commencement.
James.
Oh I have seen it...I was just waiting for someone to drag it down into the mud so I could come in and get comfy;)
I started straight shaving a couple months ago, and basically because my obsession with getting expensive sharp things, then figuring out how to make them sharper, followed by cutting myself, had progressed to the stage where I needed to cut my face and throat -- as they were the only unscathed real estate left on this body. Really, one might say it all started on the second day of my life when the doctor cut me in that most precious place and from that moment I knew sharper is better...and I could make improvements.
When, Today I started Straight Razor shaving this morning. Why, because I needed a new hobby, I am tired of buying razor cartridges, my father had some vintage straights from my grandfather for me, and lastly because I wanted to be challenged.
My father is a Barber and my gramps was a Barber also, I am not a Barber but I guess you could say it runs in the family.
Interweb?
About a year and a half. I was given one of these Gillette Fusion plastic razor with 5 blades per cartridge, when I went to buy new cartridgesand I figured out the cost, it was nasty. So I learned to strop these cartriges to extend their life (I got 7 months out of one) but as I started investigating a more efficient way to shave, I remembered the "navaja barbera" from my youth watching the barber give shaves, and off to the Interweb I went, and I ordered an extremely crappy razor in Amazon After some Interwebbing,soon found out this site and read about what razors not to buy, got a new Dovo, and I was on my way.
I hated shaving back in high school because of the irritation I would get on my neck. It was so bad. So for 13 years I used a beard trimmer on the lowest setting to keep the whiskers tamed. Then, about a year ago, I got a hair cut and the chick who did it trimmed my sideburns halfway down my face. So I decided, lets try shaving again. I purchased a schick quattro disposable, and went to town on my face. What a mistake!!!! My neck was so red and irritated. What a joke that thing was!!
I then got on the computer and searched for ways to shave, without irritation. That lead me to DE razors. I purchased a Parker 99R with some Astra blades and col. conk bay rum soap. What an awesome experience it was. I loved everything about it. Of course, a straight razor was always in my mind but I never thought id go that route.
I then signed up here and read a lot of posts and other info. I realized that it would fit right in with my lifestyle. Being a carpenter, achieving a sharp edge on a tool, I had already done many times. Straight razors, would prove to be way more challenging. So I dove in.
I've been SRS for only 6 months now. I look forward to every shave, like a kid at Christmas time. Coming on here and sharing with you guys, who know exactly what Im talking about, is awesome. The info, brotherhood, camaraderie, and friends on here make everything worth doing. I'm 32 now and can see this being a hobby for a long, long time.
Harry, that may just be the best reason I've ever read. Pretty good, Ferret Guy! :tu
IIRC 1983 was my first straight purchase which makes me pre commercial internet. Like a lot of guys I was sick of spending money on cartridges. I started shaving with a DE as a teenager & got sucked into the multi-blade hype. I guess it's odd I didn't think to go back to a DE but I still saw that as a disposable medium & no longer wanted to be a "customer".
Now that I think back, I actually started with a DE back around 1989. Basically I liked doing things the old and simple way.
Unfortunately I knew very little and used goo from a can and a cheap DE picked up in a dime store. It was WAY too aggressive for my fine fuzz and I did several numbers on my face before giving up on it.
I received my grandfathers DE around '95 and tried again with similar results and put it in the drawer.
I started with a straight a little over a year ago. Just after my wife gave me an engraved AOS one for our wedding. She knew I had been looking into it for nearly a year and it made the gift all that more special.
I started because of the amount of irritation I got from those darned cartridges. Razor burn and ingrown hairs on a daily basis. I quickly picked up a DE Merkur HD to get me through the weekdays while I was learning the straight technique. After applying everything I've learned (mainly from this forum), I can easily say I will never look back. With the exception of a minor slice I gave myself when I sneezed once, I've never had any irritation since making the transformation.
Thanks to all the seniors and vets on this forum for showing me true enlightenment.
Sneezing while shaving is a definite no-no. Attachment 110956
Discovering the safety razor was a godsend for me for the reasons you stated.
Like you, straight shaving has become my passion. Sounds like you've got it mastered.
I'm just starting with straight razors. For most of my shaving life I've used an electric razor and finish with a cartridge razor.
The electric takes most of the hair of but doesn't result in a close shave. The cartridge does that and since most of the hair is already removed they last me a long time.
So expensive wasn't really a big reason for me. I do like the idea of a permanent blade and the control of the larger handle with a straight.
I like the old school aspect and the zen like aspect. I've always hated shaving and with straights I actually enjoy the process.
I also appreciate that (to me) the straight edge is a better solution to the problem while the cartridge shavers are more of a marketing thing. Basically, it's a give away the tool and over-charge on the refills kind of a scheme.
I started about 4.5 months ago. I started shaving in 1987 with a DE then switched to cartridge razors after several years. I went back to DE after I found my late Father's DE. After doing that for awhile I made the jump to Straights.
Why? The first reason is I always thought it was cool and dangerous, most guys won't do it anymore. The second is for some reason I use Zippo lighters, Fountain pens and now Straight razors. I like things that have "personality" and things that are used a lot tend to develop that as the years go by. I also attach memories to certain things. Disposable items aren't around long enough to be remembered. There also isn't any pride of ownership with disposable items. Third reason is because I like Knives. I would bet that a lot of guys that shave with straight razors also have a knife collection.
Disposables sucked, only shave twice a week cause they chewed my face up. DE's were just the gateway, but I have been intereste in them for years, just pulled the trigger about 6 months ago on the straights; about 2 yrs w/ DE's.