Thread: Finishing with a DE

I use my de during the week, when I'm in more of a hurry. Also, when my 3 kids are running around. Nothing like trying to gently glide a straight razor over your carotid arteries with a 3yo running in and out of the bathroom, lol. And forget locking the doors, that's just an invitation for everyone in the house to suddenly need Dad's full attention. When I first started out, I always used my de to clean up. Now that I'm about a year and a half into weekend only sr shaving, I've finally gotten to the point where I don't need to do that. It really is nice to take some time to fully enjoy a good shave. Enjoy.

I think that there is nothing wrong with it. It makes sense if you are in a time crunch and you are still building up your experience. But, to be a straight razor purist, I do not like personally to mix the two. As I've got better at honing and stropping and shaving I'm getting better results with the stubborn areas- like my neck areas under the jaw line- with my straight razors. I really can no longer tell a difference. My benchmark to make sure my straight razors are keen is to occasionally shave with a Feather Artist Club to note if I get a closer shave with it. Now I'm happy to say I can (usually) get the same shave from a Feather as I do with my regular straights. When I travel I don't always have the luxury of checking in bags which necessitates taking a DE with me on the trip. I always seem to feel that my shave with it is actually inferior- but then I know I'm straight razor biased, What can I say?

I'm trying to think of who would ever say or argue that there's anything wrong with keeping a second razor handy for touch-ups, and why. Perhaps if I was trying to place first at a barber's competition (is there even such thing?), but otherwise it's the smart thing to do.

I seldom only use one razor, save for my best straights. But most often, when I shave with one of my Gem safety single-edgers, I finish with a Feather Artist for the coup de maitre under my nose, to do the point of my chin (which seems impervious to any kind of safety blade) and to get a straight sideburn line.

Also, it all depends on your shaving style and the type of beard and skin you have. My beard is so thick and tough, if I let it grow I would look like JEB Stuart on Rogaine--so, keeping a super-sharp, somewhat heavy razor handy is just the ticket. Also, the Feather (as 1holegrouper said), is a great benchmark for checking sharpness, whatever the main razor you use.

Anyway--as long as you have fun shaving, you're doing it right!

Here's a photo of the one I use for touch ups. Works great.