Straight razor vs DE razor...

[Martin]

Hello. This may not be in the right topic, but im curious about straight razors.

Ive been using a straight for quite a while but went back to a DE for a change. I read an article that said DE razors give a smoother & closer shave. I must admit it did feel better than when I use my straight. What do other people think?.

Afterall theyre both single edge blades. Is a straight just purely aesthetic & more traditional? Looks rather than performance???.

[drmoss_ca]

I might be biased, but I'd put it this way: a DE is an easy way to get a very good and close shave, but a straight can do even better IF you have your honing skills perfected, technique perfected, and an excellent chunk of steel. I am sure most straight shavers don't get near a DE shave (I'd be shot at dawn for saying that in some circles), and most of the time I don't manage it.

I think the main reasons for using a straight are the satisfaction of knowing you have done it all yourself, the historical connections, and if you are extremely self-disciplined, the saving of money, and lastly the creation of less waste in the landfill.
The nice part of going back and forth is that using a straight is like riding a bicycle: you don't forget once you have learned. Muscle memory takes over and you don't have to think about it at all.

C.

[brothers]

I've recently reached the inevitable age when the old worn out muscles and bones just don't work like they used to. While I love my straight razors, I don't love the tedious process of maintaining the edge. Example: endless hours of honing (straights) vs. the absolute zero - 0 - time spent on safety razor blades, other than changing my blade.

Fourteen years ago I devoted the expensive and time-consuming practice as I learned how to create and maintain an outstanding straight razor shave every time, and there's no better feeling than when the perfectly sharp straight razor provides a beautiful but admittedly "different" result than that of the safety razor.

[Brutus]

There are only a few safety razors that can match a straight razor.

By design, most safety razors have the razor blade slightly recessed (the so-called negative blade exposure).

The fact that the blade is “hiding” a fraction of a millimetre back in the razor head produces a comfortable shave, but also means that the blade is not directly gliding over the skin in the way a straight razor blade does.

The exception are safety razors with positive or at least neutral blade exposure that allow the blade to come in direct contact with the skin.
These are IMO the safety razors that have the potential to match the closeness and efficiency of a straight razor.

Of course, shaving with a safety razor is much easier to learn than coming to grips with straight razors, but once you have mastered these skills there is no razor type I can think of that outclasses a well honed, well stropped and well handled straight razor.

The catch, as brothers mentioned, is that there might be a time (I am turning 71 in January) where skin and muscles force me to abandon straight razors, but so far muscles and skin continue to cooperate…



B.

[drmoss_ca]

As well as the shave being perfect and longer lasting than a safety razor shave, there's the satisfaction, which cannot be matched.

C.

[Brutus]

As well as the shave being perfect and longer lasting than a safety razor shave, there's the satisfaction, which cannot be matched.

C.

You’re so right.

What started as a quest to prove to myself that I could master a straight razor, eventually morphed into something that I look forward to inpoiutrewq morning.


While certainly more satisfying than any cartridge razor, as safety razor can never quite match this.



B.

[EL Alamein]

I'd be curious to read the article that Martin references in his post.

Chris