Thread: WTB: Best straight for super tough beard.

My beard may as well have been made of copper wire it is so hard to cut, regardless of pre-shave prep routine. I want to buy the best straight razor available to handle the task.

I would like any recommendations from the experts here and let me know if you have one in excellent condition that you would like to sell.

Thanks.

Buy any well honed good razor and pay more attention on pre shave preparation

Originally Posted by Garrett

My beard may as well have been made of copper wire it is so hard to cut, regardless of pre-shave prep routine. I want to buy the best straight razor available to handle the task.

I would like any recommendations from the experts here and let me know if you have one in excellent condition that you would like to sell.

Thanks.

I also have a very thick, stiff beard, and I've had my best shaves with very stiff hollow-ground razors. One of these is a 7/8" stainless Friodur and the other is a ~9/16" carbon-steel Swedish "Kan-Tan-Kar-Us", so blade size doesn't seem to be as important. Some people seem to prefer wedges for this sort of thing, but I've found that the hollow grinds seem to be more effective, as long as they're still stiff -- perhaps because the thinner blade allows for a sharper, narrower edge.

Originally Posted by Yannis

Buy any well honed good razor and pay more attention on pre shave preparation

There are two important points here. First, your blade will need to be wicked sharp; I get my best shaves from edges that I've touched up on .25-micron diamond paste, which many guys with thinner beards feel makes the edge too harsh. Second, pre-shave prep is, of course, enormously important. The softer you can make the hair before you start, the easier it will be to cut when you get to that stage.

Best of luck!

Have you tried the slather-your-face-with-conditioner technique?

I also have a quite tough beard, and I'm also looking for another blade to try with. I found out that the most important thing for me was that I had to really stretch the skin. I never have streched my skin in my face so much before I started straight shaving. As long as I stretch good enough, the pre prep is good and the lather is perfect everything goes. But the stretching really was the key for a good shave, on my face that is...

I have an extremely tough beard, curly thick mediterranean black hair, which is what brought me to straight razor shaving. I started 4 years ago with a dovo 5-8 ebony silver steel which did the job. Recently however, I got a 6-8 Bismarck by dovo, and I feel this razor is by far more suitable for tough beards. In comparison to my older razor, it is much heavier and cuts through my beard almost effortlessly.

I am so pleased with this razor that I am thinking of getting another!