Thread: straigh razors are rubbish

I've just shaved a patch of my arm hair with a straight and another with disposable. Went over both 3 times (one with the grain one to the side and one against) They both feel as smooth as each other but I'll see which grows back faster! ill keep you updated on the results!
(i do realize this is probably quite an unfair test seeing as i am new to it, altho i dont see how i can go too wrong with a flat surface, but either way should be a laugh )
Also thanks to sidneykidney for being so nice to me and everyone else tbh, this has turned out to be one hell of a discussion. either way im having alot of fun with straights!

Adam

Adam:

We are here for a reason - straight razor shaving. And this is a thing to be learned. You WILL NOT get instant results with a straight... the main reasons I can come up are the following:
1) this method consists on beard reduction and not, as is the case with multi blade disposables, beard elimination - therefore a certain number of passes are required and to acomplish this you have to be proficient with it... and to be proficient you have to LEARN, STUDY, WORK on it... these are things that are becoming out of fashion
2) this method relies on the sharpness of the blade skilfuly used - and that has to be LEARNED
3) this method relies a lot on beard preparation before the shave - that also has to be learned... you need to learn to use a brush and shaving cream that needs water to develop... and there is a lot to be learned here as well
4) stropping (I will not refer to honing - whole different ball game...) - that is a very important part of the preparation of the blade - also has to be learned
As you see, there is a lot of study involved. It takes time to master this skill. Therefore it will not happen overnight. It might happen in a couple of months if you are willing and if you bare in mind that you have to LEARN a lot before you achieve good results. Each atempt you will do better - and that will be a victory everyday. Today, for instance - after almost a year doing this and after more than 6 months of consistent shaves - I LEARNED to feel a razor that is just needing a touch-up on the hone...

Today we are used to fast, if not instant stuff - instant noodles, fast food, instant results, instant satisfaction of every need. When, may I ask, was the last time you wrote a letter by hand? This is what I mean, Adam. Things take time to be LEARNED. Not only that but also the frame of mind that is necessary for doing a thing that requires skill and patience. Xbox and Playstation require no patience; Mach3 requires no patience and the electric shaver was invented by a man with no patience... I even wonder how he managed to do it!

You strike me as a young fellow. I am a young fellow as well, mind me. But you also strike me as someone who thinks he knows it all... FYI you don't. None of us do, in fact... but you waltzed in here - again, you are very welcome here - and your first post has the unhappy title that is this thread's title. I mean... talk about a poor entrance. Your luck is that we are all gentlemen. I hope you appreciate this. This is a comunity unlike any other on the web - our avatars and our anonimity in here do not make us aggresive wolves dressed as muttons. If you stick around long enough you will find that each and everyone of us is always willing to help the other guy. If you stick around long enough you will witness amzing displays of chivalry and friendship. These guys help solve problems related to shaving but also stand for a thing that was lost with the rise of the "I want it and I want it now" culture: we are GENTLEMEN here. American gentlemen, British gentlemen, Canadian gentlemen, Portuguese gentlemen... you name it. Only if you are a true gentleman - and this doesn't mean Saville row suits and bowler hats - will you be able to understand patience and deportment: things that are intimately related to this method of shaving. Patience in particular... and that also has to be learned.

Now for my thoughts on why I think a straight razor will provide a better shave (taken that you LEARNED how to do it, that is...)
1) there is only one blade that is very sharp and that you use to reduce stubble gradualy; taken that the angle is right you will cut the hair closer to the skin
2) the SR is the ultimate adjustable razor - you can adjust the preasure and the angle in order to cut the hair closer while being in complete control of the razor
3) the SR shave relies on the shaving method called wet shaving - this involves water that soakes the stubble thus making it softer; if the hair is softer it will offer less resistance to the blade and be cut cleanly - this makes for a smooth shave; also the water and the cream will provide a good slipery cushion that will reduce the drag of the blade on the skin thus making for a even smoother shave
4) an open blade requires the attention that any very sharp object requires - you are always confortabily on your toes - this extra attention will make for a more complete shave, though not a materialy smoother shave

Concerning that badass thing: if you think it is badass and nothing else, I suppose that you are a bit off track. There is nothing badass in this method. It's just a sharp blade. A gillette fusion has 5 blades... it's a ninja! The straight razor has the precision of the Sherlock Holmes mind. But Holmes could put up a fight and punch any victorian thug's teeth in. A ninja jumps and shouts too much... I guess I make myself clear enough on this point...

Now if you can't be convinced after all the arguments present in this thread - arguments stated by people that know this object intimately and that use it everyday and that after decades of shaving with different razors conclude that this will provide the closest, most confortable shave possible - nothing will convince you. First I thought you were just sceptic; then you struck me as being a young man looking to be badass with an attitude. Now you just strike me as being stubborn. You seem to want the perfect shave PRONTO. You won't get that with a SR... unless you LEARN the skill and take the time to learn it, provided that you are in the correct frame of mind.
Therefore I must conclude that if you think that learning something is rubbish, then sure, straight razors are rubbish. So is cooking, writing, reading, composing, having a conversation, making love, enjoying life, facing the hardship with a smile...

So enjoy yourself. Be yourself. Be stubborn for all I care... but you'll have a nasty life in front of you, I assure you. I know I enjoy my life... and I enjoy starting the day with a SR shave and my 20 minutes of Zen time with the sharpest object in miles. And I also enjoy a smooth face at five o'clock and I don't miss the irritated skin my previous shaves gave me. There: I said it!

By the way... do you know why the disposable gillette took the place of the Straight Razor? Because it was standard issue to all American military in WWI because of the lyce in the trenches; the US military comanders instituted the obligation of being clean shaven beacuse of health reasons. Why did Mr. Gillette get the comission? Because his method was fast enough to provide a clean shave in a very short time, thus preventing loss of time grooming in the trenches. When the men returned victorious and standard issue clean shaven, the fashion stuck... it was the baby butt smooth face of the "hero" that allowed the Gillette razor to ascend to a monopoly in shaving... that and the fact that the world just started to become faster and faster by the day. Things that took time ultimately became superfluous in a faster world... and here we are: on the web discussing straight razor shaving...

Suit yourself Adam. If you cannot understand both the technical aspects of SR shaving and the things that wrap around them, maybe this isn't for you. So stick around and learn a thing or two. Not only about shaving but also about life itself... you know you are welcome here.

Originally Posted by adamround

Thanks for the replies again everyone but I'm still not convinced! it seems more like everyone wants to believe its better (which i do too) because its so badass and unique, there seems to be the odd person thats kind of saying that. If you want to use one for those reasons even if its no better then fair enough. It does also seem to have the benefit of being less irritating to your skin though ill give you that.

Will anyone openly admit to me that you like it more beacuse of the badassness and fun/relaxation!?

cus i could understand that.

Its just alot of people have said i need to practice more, which im going to try. But i dont know wether it would be just as good spending the next couple of months trying to get the perfect shave with a disposeable. It seems as though people who take care and pride in shaving use straight razors, but that doesnt mean its the razor, you guys are just good at shaving!

Thanks again for the help guys. I really dont want to sound angry but i guess when im going against what this whole website is about its hard not to sound that way!
Im going to keep it up for a bit and ill let you know if results improve. Ill keep checking this thread and see if anyone can convince me, because i really do wish it was better!

Thanks everyone

Adam

I'll put my unwanted two cents in. In regards to the badassedness of razors the straight is king of the mountain. I'm proud of my straights and when I show them off to my friends and coworkers, every one of them cringed and took a step back after I told them that I used them. In regards to being fun. Damn straight it is.What could be funner than shaving with an open blade?Well maybe a couple of things,But nothing related to shaving.As far as relaxing I rarely know because I have a busy household and a 5 year old. Other folks spend a good deal of time to really enjoy themselves.Very seldom do I get this time, but when I do I take it.

By the way I've been reading the other posts and some have not been so kind in their responses. I can understand the frustration you think someone is talkin s...t about the way you do things, but that is no reason to act like cristians when a mormon comes knockin.

Jesus, this is still going on?!?

Nice to see BeBerlin back though!

I enjoy straight razors.

Originally Posted by adamround

Thanks for the replies again everyone but I'm still not convinced! it seems more like everyone wants to believe its better (which i do too) because its so badass and unique, there seems to be the odd person thats kind of saying that.

Wellllll...

Per my earlier post, I'll give it to you that we are enthusiasts here, and that we are occasionally prone to exaggerating the tangible benefits of the art we've revived.

I gave you that.

But badass? Come on. I mean, how much actual evidence of that do you see? How often do you see a post where someone says, "this morning I took out my huge W & B 10/8 wedge and shaved naked with cold water only like Crocodile Dundee"?

If you actually spend some time here and read the posts, you'll see that most guys here are interested in the history of it, the different kinds of stones, the various qualities of steel and processes of steel-making, various aesthetic aspects of razor design, and above all recovery of the skills and techniques that brainless mass-production can sometimes rob us of to no benefit.

None of us are Luddites, but sometimes progress ain't progress.

There's a bit of machismo here and there but it isn't the main thing. I think you'll see that if you take a hiatus from posting and actually read around a bit.

At one time or another most people have run out of functional disposable blades and have had to get by shaving with a worn out razor. A straight razor that you sharpen yourself at home can have a like new edge whenever you desire it, every day, for decades.

The successful straight shaving technique is very subtle. It is real easy to get it wrong. If you do not do it just right it will simply wipe away the soap, and do nothing to the whiskers, while cutting you to pieces, but a remarkably tiny correction can produce excellent shaves.

I find most of the macho factor is in the eyes of beholders who have never used a straight. I keep my straights out of sight in the bathroom cabinet but my leather strop is out in the open. When visitors see the strop they are invariably fascinated, and occassionally horrified, to learn that I use a straight, and they often demand a demonstration. Once in a great while to avoid such performances I will hide the strop but I usually leave it out in the open come what may.

just shaved with a mach3 'been qa long time. Quick yes, closer no, at least on my beard. :Tempting ..that Crock Dundee big blade body shave..sounds......bad ass

Another point:

Grow a full beard and then try to remove one half with one pass usig a mach 3. Thats painful. Now tak a straight using the 3 passes (to equal the same three blades of the mach3). I tell you the straight razor will remove most of a full beard in one pass.

Adam,
Sorry for questioning your sincerity. Thanks for taking the time to read the replies and examine the subject more closely and trying some experiments. In the end you will do what is best for you. Like I mentioned earlier I enjoy shaving with straight razors, but I'm not too proud where I can't use a disposable if I have to. In any case my technique with both straights and disposables has improved since learning to shave with a straight and practicing.

Funny thing about all this badass talk: I have been called the opposite!!!!! When certain people see our bathroom counter and that half of the products on it are for men, I guess they wonder. Let them, I could care less.
What can I say?? I love to pamper myself, STR8 shaving, and all of the quality products out there available for us badasses.