Ready to try straight

[pdx]

I have been wet shaving with a DE for about a year now and thoroughly enjoying the experience. For me it is all about the ritual and trying to achieve the closest possible shave without causing irritation as I am susceptible to razor burn. I generally do four passes, WTG, ATG, ATG, and buffing. If all goes well I can be stubble free for 24 hours. My question is, will a good straight shave produce the same results? I know there is a steep learning curve both in technique and maintenance, and am prepared for that if in the end the shave will be superior to a DE. Or is the preference for those who use straights based more upon the ritual?

[JohnP]

I will just say that it is a somewhat steeper learning curve, but having had a straight shave at the hands of a master barber, I know the straight can do as much as a DE an (in his case) even better.
As a general rule though, until you get there, it will be a lot of work for similar shaves.
Just my opinion.
John P.

[alabamalawyer]

I recently ventured from DE shaving into Straights. I can get a very nice, close shave with a DE, but the lure of the straight razor was too much to resist. I will say that the learning curve is greater with a straight. I can shave my whole face with a straight now (after about 2 months) and get a presentable shave without need for touch up. It is not as close YET as my DE shave. I am hoping in the next few months to reach the same quality shave as I can get with my DE.

[wvbias]

It seems that the straight bug has bitten you.
It won't go away until you try it. If you go that
route and wish to buy a new razor go to classicshaving
and do opt fpr the honing service, it's money well
spent and could make the difference between success
and failure.

While there is a learning curve, it's not as steep as you
think.


Terry

[kaptain_zero]

I have been wet shaving with a DE for about a year now and thoroughly enjoying the experience. For me it is all about the ritual and trying to achieve the closest possible shave without causing irritation as I am susceptible to razor burn. I generally do four passes, WTG, ATG, ATG, and buffing. If all goes well I can be stubble free for 24 hours. My question is, will a good straight shave produce the same results?

Yes, with practice and determination you should be able to produce the same results. I do and with less irritation than with a DE.

I know there is a steep learning curve both in technique and maintenance, and am prepared for that if in the end the shave will be superior to a DE. Or is the preference for those who use straights based more upon the ritual?

I don't think a straight shave will be "superior" to a proper DE shave, but it really depends on your interpretation of "superior" and will depend on factors both within your control and beyond your control. There's not much you can do about your skin type, beard type and facial features (well... it's normally not advised to modify your facial features with a straight razor but that hasn't stopped some from trying! ) On the other hand you can take full control of your shave as there is nothing to limit you in the way of angle and sharpness other than your own skills.

As for the ritual, it kept me away from traditional straights for quite some time... the thoughts of honing, stropping, carbon razors and rust all seemed like they would take too much time out of my limited day so I went with a Feather AC instead. This allowed me to work on the single task of learning to shave with a straight and a very very sharp straight at that. It was only when I got around to getting one traditional straight properly honed that I discovered that I could indeed shave just as well with it and thus I began to work on the other aspects, learning to strop properly, learning to touch up an already shaving sharp blade and ultimately taking a butter knife dull razor right up to shaving sharp.

Today I look forward to my traditional straight shaves, the Feather sits pretty much ignored, ditto in regards to my DE razors though the DE might come into play if I'm under the weather with a bad cold or flu and don't trust myself with the straight. Nothing picks me up better than a decent shave when I'm suffering with the flu.

Most straight shavers simply enjoy the whole experience, but I doubt any of them do it strictly because it's "superior" to other shaving implements except for those who have various skin/beard/facial features that may favor the straight.

Should you decide to venture forth and give it a try, I personally would suggest an inexpensive used/vintage razor honed by an experienced straight shaver. It won't cost very much, can be sold pretty much for what you paid for it and will most likely shave just as well as any *new* razor you could buy. You will see them come up for sale here once in a while or more frequently on SRP (straightrazorplace.com). My first razor was a $10 flea market find... I used it to train myself to hone... it's seen it's fair share of bad honing but today it's my most reached for razor... I know the blade, the steel and what it particularly likes in the way of touch ups on the hones so I'm always sure I'll get a great shave when I grab it. It also doubles as my backup razor when I test shave with a razor I've not honed before, sometimes what you thought was sharp isn't quite there and there's nothing worse that pushing on with a shave if the razor is not sharp enough.

Hope this was of help to you...

Regards

Christian