Thread: Benefits from Straight Razor Shaving?

Originally Posted by celestino

Costabro,
You definitely have courage shaving your head with a straight. Good for you. How do you manage the back part of your head, what kind of an angle do you take, and do you use both hands?
Cheers

Originally Posted by whiskeypete

I have to agree with Celestino, you've got one pair of cojones there, mate. How do you manage to maintaing the angle and not cutting yourself? Cheers!

I've been shaving my head with a disposable for 6 years and have gotten used to using a hand held mirror while my back is to the bathroom mirror. Some shave their heads, or the back of their necks, by feel. Not me. I've missed patches of stubble too many times and CANT STAND IT when I see that mistake on someone else's head.

So, after 3 or 4 times with the straight, I switched to the safety and loved it. One pass wtg, relather, then one atg. smooth as butter and no burn.

About the angle. You're talking to a newbie, so I've taken other's advice and just used a light touch along with a consistent angle. I'm going by feel, mostly, and just trusting my instincts. When I overanalyze it, I slow down or stop and end up digging in. I'd rather go lightly and have to relather for the not-so-proficient spots of my shave than get bogged down in self-doubt.

The result? The first time on my head w/ a straight I hacked into my ear......it took a while to stop the bleeding:0. The next few times, just a small nick or two. Then the hair just seemed to want to stop my extra hollow 5/8ths, so I switched to the DE. I hope I encouraged and not discouraged. The scalp is PLENTY of square inches to get extra practice on!!

Carry on.

I stumbled on to straight shaving a few weeks ago while Christmas shopping.I was in an antique store and saw an old vintage Raven razor hone.I thought it was cool looking so i bought it.That got me to thinking about how people used to "own" things years ago,i mean actually own things,not like owning a box of disposable razor refills.So on the way home i bought my first SR,a disposable blade type.I enjoyed it so I went ahead and bought a Dovo.After 17 years of using everything imaginable,the straight razor is the ONLY thing to cure the ingrown hair issue I had learn to hate about shaving.Shaving has gone from a hated,painful experience that i used to put off as much as possible,to a daily pleasure that i now enjoy.And no more ingrowns!!!Had someone told me that SR shaving would cure my ingrown issue I literally would've paid thousands for a SR if I had to,no doubt.Im new(a few weeks) to this and still learning,but i enjoy it very much. Also,it feels nice to shave like a man...c'mon,can you really hand down a Mach lll to your kids as an heirloom???Of course not...they might stop making refills!LOL IMO Its healthier for your face,it feels like your accomplishing something and I'm tired of living in a disposable world.I wish my Pops had taught me how to use one.I will definitely teach my three nephews and hopefully my own son,if I ever have one.Its not just a neat lil hobby I picked up,its a new way of life in a way

I had one of those Philips 3-head shavers, which all credit due gave an acceptable result but grabbed my neck, and because of regular trips to hotter climates where electrics really don't work well at all, went back to wet shaving. I thought cartridges were the best option against getting cut. What a mistake that was, they got me all the time! So I changed to Gillette butterflies after finding two forgotten in my parents' bathroom cabinet. Still use them on the road (my guess is airline security would not view straights favourably), and think them wonderful. However, one thing leads to another, and I am so pleased curiosity led me to discovering straights, and straights led me here.
I have two, a Dovo Pearlex 6/8 and a Greaves 13/16 smiling French point. Does the modern formulation German manufacture/Swedish steel Dovo deliver the more perfect shave? Probably. Does the nineteenth century Sheffield cutlery Greaves give the more pleasurable shave? Probably.

Personally, I tried straights in the past, but hadn't had much luck. I think since I've discovered the internet and all you can learn here contributed to my finally learning how to do "it" right. I don't see myself ever doing it any way - - including the DE shaver! Though, I think when I teach my own son, I will begin with the DE. He's nine and he knows daddy shaves with a straight razor and he sees it as a normal thing to do.

I have tree trunks for a beard and the only thing that ever worked was a straight. I can now feel like I don't need to shave untill 8:00 pm. Before the straight at 3:00 I looked like I needed to shave again.

Originally Posted by jmsbcknr

I have tree trunks for a beard and the only thing that ever worked was a straight. I can now feel like I don't need to shave untill 8:00 pm. Before the straight at 3:00 I looked like I needed to shave again.

Yeah, I know what you mean...for me it's however a little different. I don't really NEED to shave the day after a straight shave, but I kind do...if you know what I mean.

I started shaving with a straight after researching it as a cure for ingrown hairs, esp. the neck area and it is the only way I can get a close shave! I think the exfoliation helps too, as I am often told that I look much younger than my true age! The horrible cartridge multi-blade messes on the market irritate my skin to no end and I really enjoy getting to use some of the same gear my great-grandfather used as that was the only way he ever shaved!

Hey Pete, great post. You don't sound like a blow hard at all, more like someone whom knows what he is talking about...in the medical field I would guess. As a Pediatric ICU RN myself, writing like that is hard to mistake. Nice job!

I have been using a str8 razor for about two years now and aside from the obvious physical benefits of using a str8 razor, there are several psychological benefits as well. I no longer feel the need to prove anything to anyone because I do something that not many men are even capable of attempting, I fear nothing and I have a confidence that I never had when I was younger. So the benefits go beyond the smooth shave, clean lines, and exfoliation. All things should be considered.

I must agree with much of what has already been said. Especially the sense of pride that comes with shaving the very ancient way. For myself, being that I'm only in my 45th year of my age, probably means that I'm already several generations removed from the straight razor shave. My namesake - as I'm the 4th of my name - was born in 1894. He very likely shaved with the first Gillette safety razor that came on the market. The other great grandfather from the same side was born in 1899 - so chances are the same with him. However, my maternal great grandparents were a little bit older - born about 1870. So, those gentleman definitely shaved with the straight. But being that they came from a little bit of money, chances are they didn't shave themselves, rather, they were probably shaved by the barber. So for me, it's really about learning something I never thought I could do. And, man-o-man is it such a darned good way to shave! I mean to say is that, being so many years ago since I shaved with the garbage they have out there, I really don't always appreciate it. And, to think of the gall that Gillette really has - producing such an absolutely terrible product that they've managed to sell several generations on. Tonight, I saw a commercial for some new Gillette product in which they "proudly" advertise that they produce a razor that's good for several weeks or fifty shaves - if I heard it correctly. Fools! All of them! Fools I say! I have a couple of old straights that have out performed, outlasted and out-shined their garbage, hands down! And that's for many generations... not just weeks. I shave regularly with razors from around the time of the War between the States. Now that's cool!!!