Straight Razor Shavers

[kingfisher]

It's not dangerous.


And if you think open blade shavers ought to move up to a more modern system, then the question is why are you still using a DE, which is, by now, also an antiquated tool/method of shaving.

Using your Amish analogy, I may be riding in a horse-drawn buggy, but you are still cranking the engine on your Model A when you should be driving a car that starts with a push button and has back-up cameras and onboard Bluetooth for your navigation.

 

[SamplingNature]

I view riding a motorcycle as infinitely more dangerous, regardless of experience and training.

I started on dirt bikes at 14 years old. I progressed through many road bikes, the last three were Harley Davidson and never laid one down or had an accident, just a few close calls.

We moved to northern Michigan a few years ago. Last year I was driving home one night in my SUV when a deer jumped into my driver's side front fender. Never saw it. The deer wiped out the entire side of my vehicle.

After over 50 years of riding motorcycles, I sadly sold my Street Glide, knowing that as a 65 year-old man with 50 years riding experience I would likely not survive a collision with a 200lb deer at 60mph...despite my awesome riding skills.

A man was killed in that exact scenario in my area yesterday.

 

[Wgg2017]

I don’t use a SR, yet. I will in the future. Once I hone my shaving skills on the DE. I do see the pics of the SR in the SOTD post and I’m drawn to them. It seems universal among the SR comments here that the OP assumption that SR is inherently more dangerous is false. Once the shaver skills get to a certain level. Maybe it’s fear the OP has that is holding him back. No offense was intended at all with that remark. I’ve read before that SR gives superior shaves to DEs and save for @gpjoe all said they got better shaves with SR vs DE and Joe is new to this.

I get similar questions as to why I choose a motorcycle as my primary means of transportation. Sure it’s easier to take the car. Sure it’s more convenient to keep the bike parked when it’s raining. The skill needed to ride a bike takes time to acquire. There is a zen like quality to riding a motorcycle. You tune out all distractions and focus solely on the need at hand. To get yourself home in one peace. It’s hard to describe this zen like moment you enter into. It’s quite calming despite someone on the outside of it looking like you’re riding through chaos. I suspect you enter into a zen moment when using a straight razor more so than when we use a DE razor. You must be attentive to the moment at hand in SR shaving just as in riding a motorcycle or the consequences of a misstep are much greater than other means. To me, it’s called living. It’s called mastering your surroundings, not taking the easy route. Making yourself a better man. I don’t fear my motorcycle. I surely do respect the fact it is a more dangerous mode of transportation and I need to be in the zone to return home safely. I suspect SR shavers fully respect their chosen tool of shaving and are more attentive to every aspect of the shave, more so than using a DE, and as a result have superior shaves. I know my rides to work on my motorcycle even in the rain are more enjoyable than any drive on a car. Hands down.

I wonder how many SR shavers are motorcyclists? And I agree with OP on Ape Hangers. Makes no darn sense. It makes handling a bike worse. More dangerous. As well as not wearing a helmet. But that’s another forum’s discussion.

I get a similar experience from driving fast on old, winding country roads. A weird thing happens where the faster I go the more time seems to slow down. It's pure bliss and mental meditation.

That's not to say I'm driving recklessly, just that I know the road and my (old) car very well. I've put 150,000 miles on it lol.

 

[Wgg2017]

I don't use a straight very often (in my case a Feather shavette) but what drew me to it in the first place was that it seemed like the purest way to shave. Using a DE razor seems like riding a bike with training wheels and using a cart is like riding a bike with autopilot where it does all the work.

Using a straight requires more focus and skill and that is what appealed to me.

Edited to add: Regarding climbing mountains without a rope, I can't recommend Free Solo enough. From what I can tell it's available on Hulu right now. I got an adrenaline rush from just watching it.

 

[Quaznoid]

It's not dangerous.


And if you think open blade shavers ought to move up to a more modern system, then the question is why are you still using a DE, which is, by now, also an antiquated tool/method of shaving.

Using your Amish analogy, I may be riding in a horse-drawn buggy, but you are still cranking the engine on your Model A when you should be driving a car that starts with a push button and has back-up cameras and onboard Bluetooth for your navigation.

I use DE’s and injectors because they provide the best results at the lowest cost without hassle or risk of injury. So there!

 

[kingfisher]

I use DE’s and injectors because they provide the best results at the lowest cost without hassle or risk of injury. So there!

Well, I use open blade razors because they provide the best results at the lowest cost and at the lowest possible environment impact. So there right back atcha.

 

[Quaznoid]

Well, I use open blade razors because they provide the best results at the lowest cost and at the lowest possible environment impact. So there right back atcha.

Whatever does it for you. I merely asked a few questions about straight razor shaving, to be accused by you of hypocrisy because I don’t use multi-bladed plastic crap. Frankly, I don’t give a damn how you shave. But I would wager that you cannot shave more cheaply with your SR than I do with my DE’s, with no risk of injury and with less hassle. I don’t strop (no strop belt), I don’t hone (no stones and other equipment, or do you have someone else do it for a fee?), and I couldn’t cut my throat or chop off my ear even if I tried.

 

[Halfbeard]

Why I sense some tension here! Be more empathic!
Do what you like and let others do. Enjoy yourself (and if possible others).

 

[Quaznoid]

Why I sense some tension here! Be more empathic!
Do what you like and let others do. Enjoy yourself (and if possible others).

Thanks, brother.

 

[Doc Dan]

I had heard all of the horror stories about how dangerous straight razors are. I was scared to use them and thought people that did were nuts. Then, I got to thinking...people for many thousands of years have used straight razors of one kind or another to shave. if it was that dangerous nobody would have done it. Even cowboys on cattle drives shaved. So, I got a good razor that was sharpened by a honemeister, and found it was not only safe, but I nicked or got weepers only a few times in all of the shaves I've had. I can't say that about cartridge or DE razors. I also didn't and don't get razor burn. It was a revelation.

 

[kingfisher]

Whatever does it for you. I merely asked a few questions about straight razor shaving, to be accused by you of hypocrisy because I don’t use multi-bladed plastic crap. Frankly, I don’t give a damn how you shave. But I would wager that you cannot shave more cheaply with your SR than I do with my DE’s, with no risk of injury and with less hassle. I don’t strop (no strop belt), I don’t hone (no stones and other equipment, or do you have someone else do it for a fee?), and I couldn’t cut my throat or chop off my ear even if I tried.

I use replaceable blade straights, so I don't have to worry about honing or stropping, nor do I have to pay somebody to hone for me.

I get, generally, 16 good shaves from a single AC blade, which for me is four weeks of shaving. At the end of the year I would have only 12 tiny little blades of refuse, which is a lot less than DE shaving produces.

I don't have any problem with people who DE shave. I do it myself sometimes. My original comment was only a light-hearted attempt to point out the inherent absurdity of somebody who DE shaves in 2023 accusing anybody else of shaving in an old-fashioned way.

In my experience, DE shavers who think open-blade shaving is dangerous and/or ridiculous are generally DE shavers who have never tried open-blade shaving.

I'm sure there are quite a few DE shavers who tried it for a while and decided it was not for them, and that's fine. But there are also many others who tried it and never went back.

I was one of those DE shavers who believed that open-blase shaving was ridiculous and dangerous. I remember asking at an antique store if they had any old shaving stuff. My wife chimed in to say 'he actually uses those old razors.' At that point the store owner looked at me with amazement and said 'you shave with a straight razor?!? ' My answer was 'heck no, I'm not that crazy. I shave with double-edge razors.'

At a later point I decided to try straight razor shaving, and it wasn't a smooth landing. After about the 25th attempt I was about to give it up for good, but decided to press on as a challenge to myself. I was a slow learner, and it wasn't until about the 160th shave that lt finally began to feel like a viable method of shaving.

After about 280 straight razor shaves I went back to DE because I didnt want to learn to hone. After about six months of DE shaving, on a whim I decided to try a folding Feather SS, and the rest is history. I had my first 'shavette' shave in 2019 and they are still my principal tool of choice. As I said, I enjoy the occasional all DE shave.

Lately I have been mixing the shaves, doing one pass with DE and one with an open blade. I like this because it allows me to keep blth skill sets, use all my razors, and it also yields a very nice shave.

So I obviously don't have anything against DE shaves or DE shavers.

So what works for you and what you enjoy. For myself, I can't imagine not using open blade razors unless I lose the ability to control them.

Anyone who has made it this far and is still reading, hats off. Anybody who wants to try open blade shaving I will give you two rules and one suggestion. The rules are as follows:
1) Maintain positive control of the blade at all times
2) Squeegee the lather

The suggestions are these: when you are first starting, do the following:
1) Use both hands, right hand for the right side and left hand for the left side
2) For the first 7-10 shaves, or even mlre if you are a slow learner like me, shave only the easy, flat part of your cheeks with the open blade and complete the shave with a razor with which you are familiar
3) If at any point you get frustrated, stop and revert back to your usual razor. There is always the next shave. Slow progress is fine.

 

[Quaznoid]

I had heard all of the horror stories about how dangerous straight razors are. I was scared to use them and thought people that did were nuts. Then, I got to thinking...people for many thousands of years have used straight razors of one kind or another to shave. if it was that dangerous nobody would have done it. Even cowboys on cattle drives shaved. So, I got a good razor that was sharpened by a honemeister, and found it was not only safe, but I nicked or got weepers only a few times in all of the shaves I've had. I can't say that about cartridge or DE razors. I also didn't and don't get razor burn. It was a revelation.

I hear that a lot, but the pre-Gillette guys had no alternative. It was SR or beard. Men rode horses for thousands of years until the objectively superior car was invented. When King Gillette gave us an alternative, shavers made the safety razor the overwhelming favorite. But some few continue to ride horses.

 

[Quaznoid]

I use replaceable blade straights, so I don't have to worry about honing or stropping, nor do I have to pay somebody to hone for me.

I get, generally, 16 good shaves from a single AC blade, which for me is four weeks of shaving. At the end of the year I would have only 12 tiny little blades of refuse, which is a lot less than DE shaving produces.

I don't have any problem with people who DE shave. I do it myself sometimes. My original comment was only a light-hearted attempt to point out the inherent absurdity of somebody who DE shaves in 2023 accusing anybody else of shaving in an old-fashioned way.

In my experience, DE shavers who think open-blade shaving is dangerous and/or ridiculous are generally DE shavers who have never tried open-blade shaving.

I'm sure there are quite a few DE shavers who tried it for a while and decided it was not for them, and that's fine. But there are also many others who tried it and never went back.

I was one of those DE shavers who believed that open-blase shaving was ridiculous and dangerous. I remember asking at an antique store if they had any old shaving stuff. My wife chimed in to say 'he actually uses those old razors.' At that point the store owner looked at me with amazement and said 'you shave with a straight razor?!? ' My answer was 'heck no, I'm not that crazy. I shave with double-edge razors.'

At a later point I decided to try straight razor shaving, and it wasn't a smooth landing. After about the 25th attempt I was about to give it up for good, but decided to press on as a challenge to myself. I was a slow learner, and it wasn't until about the 160th shave that lt finally began to feel like a viable method of shaving.

After about 280 straight razor shaves I went back to DE because I didnt want to learn to hone. After about six months of DE shaving, on a whim I decided to try a folding Feather SS, and the rest is history. I had my first 'shavette' shave in 2019 and they are still my principal tool of choice. As I said, I enjoy the occasional all DE shave.

Lately I have been mixing the shaves, doing one pass with DE and one with an open blade. I like this because it allows me to keep blth skill sets, use all my razors, and it also yields a very nice shave.

So I obviously don't have anything against DE shaves or DE shavers.

So what works for you and what you enjoy. For myself, I can't imagine not using open blade razors unless I lose the ability to control them.

Anyone who has made it this far and is still reading, hats off. Anybody who wants to try open blade shaving I will give you two rules and one suggestion. The rules are as follows:
1) Maintain positive control of the blade at all times
2) Squeegee the lather

The suggestions are these: when you are first starting, do the following:
1) Use both hands, right hand for the right side and left hand for the left side
2) For the first 7-10 shaves, or even mlre if you are a slow learner like me, shave only the easy, flat part of your cheeks with the open blade and complete the shave with a razor with which you are familiar
3) If at any point you get frustrated, stop and revert back to your usual razor. There is always the next shave. Slow progress is fine.

No offense to you but I think your argument breaks down when you imply that cart shaving is superior to DE or SE shaving. It isn’t. That’s why I don’t use carts. Inferior shave. More expensive.

 

[Quaznoid]

No offense to you but I think your argument breaks down when you imply that cart shaving is superior to DE or SE shaving. It isn’t. That’s why I don’t use carts. Inferior shave. More expensive.

I use replaceable blade straights, so I don't have to worry about honing or stropping, nor do I have to pay somebody to hone for me.

I get, generally, 16 good shaves from a single AC blade, which for me is four weeks of shaving. At the end of the year I would have only 12 tiny little blades of refuse, which is a lot less than DE shaving produces.

I don't have any problem with people who DE shave. I do it myself sometimes. My original comment was only a light-hearted attempt to point out the inherent absurdity of somebody who DE shaves in 2023 accusing anybody else of shaving in an old-fashioned way.

In my experience, DE shavers who think open-blade shaving is dangerous and/or ridiculous are generally DE shavers who have never tried open-blade shaving.

I'm sure there are quite a few DE shavers who tried it for a while and decided it was not for them, and that's fine. But there are also many others who tried it and never went back.

I was one of those DE shavers who believed that open-blase shaving was ridiculous and dangerous. I remember asking at an antique store if they had any old shaving stuff. My wife chimed in to say 'he actually uses those old razors.' At that point the store owner looked at me with amazement and said 'you shave with a straight razor?!? ' My answer was 'heck no, I'm not that crazy. I shave with double-edge razors.'

At a later point I decided to try straight razor shaving, and it wasn't a smooth landing. After about the 25th attempt I was about to give it up for good, but decided to press on as a challenge to myself. I was a slow learner, and it wasn't until about the 160th shave that lt finally began to feel like a viable method of shaving.

After about 280 straight razor shaves I went back to DE because I didnt want to learn to hone. After about six months of DE shaving, on a whim I decided to try a folding Feather SS, and the rest is history. I had my first 'shavette' shave in 2019 and they are still my principal tool of choice. As I said, I enjoy the occasional all DE shave.

Lately I have been mixing the shaves, doing one pass with DE and one with an open blade. I like this because it allows me to keep blth skill sets, use all my razors, and it also yields a very nice shave.

So I obviously don't have anything against DE shaves or DE shavers.

So what works for you and what you enjoy. For myself, I can't imagine not using open blade razors unless I lose the ability to control them.

Anyone who has made it this far and is still reading, hats off. Anybody who wants to try open blade shaving I will give you two rules and one suggestion. The rules are as follows:
1) Maintain positive control of the blade at all times
2) Squeegee the lather

The suggestions are these: when you are first starting, do the following:
1) Use both hands, right hand for the right side and left hand for the left side
2) For the first 7-10 shaves, or even mlre if you are a slow learner like me, shave only the easy, flat part of your cheeks with the open blade and complete the shave with a razor with which you are familiar
3) If at any point you get frustrated, stop and revert back to your usual razor. There is always the next shave. Slow progress is fine.

Interesting read, Kingfisher. Why did you decide to try a straight razor? Why did you persist for 160 shaves before you decided that it was a viable shaving method? This curious mind wants to know.

 

[kingfisher]

No offense to you but I think your argument breaks down when you imply that cart shaving is superior to DE or SE shaving. It isn’t. That’s why I don’t use carts. Inferior shave. More expensive.

Never meant to imply that carts were better, only that they were more modern, newer.

 

[Quaznoid]

Never meant to imply that carts were better, only that they were more modern, newer.

I get that. But safety razors won out, and quickly, over straight razors because shavers recognized that it was a safer, more convenient way to shave.
So, one might ask, why did carts become so popular? Several reasons. Gillette, Schick, etc woke up to the fact that selling consumers $2, $3 or $4 cartridges was more profitable than 3 cent blades. Plastics technology improved to allow mass production of cheap handles. And marketing invented novel (and bogus) arguments to lead consumers to replace their DE’s. New shavers were given no real alternatives to carts when DE and SE production stopped.
Were carts better? No.

 

[Darth Scandalous]

If we're worried about risk of injury, we should just use electrics.

Seriously, people manage to cut themselves with safety razors all the time.

 

[Quaznoid]

If we're worried about risk of injury, we should just use electrics.

Seriously, people manage to cut themselves with safety razors all the time.

Yes, but not seriously. One cannot argue that a safety razor is not safer than a straight razor

 

[Mitzie]

If we're worried about risk of injury, we should just use electrics.

Seriously, people manage to cut themselves with safety razors all the time.

Wilkinson Sword/Schick from the early 80s'and Gillette with the Protector 3 and SkinGuard razors respectively seem to be slowly addressing this problem with their 'guarded' blade cart' razors... a development long overdue

 

[Rosseforp]

I hear that a lot, but the pre-Gillette guys had no alternative. It was SR or beard. Men rode horses for thousands of years until the objectively superior car was invented. When King Gillette gave us an alternative, shavers made the safety razor the overwhelming favorite. But some few continue to ride horses.

Some of us even live in HorseTown USA. I love driving over the hustle and bustle of the 91 freeway, then seeing all the streets in town lined with horse trails.

Yes, but not seriously. One cannot argue that a safety razor is not safer than a straight razor

I've known a few gents that needed a trip to the Emergency Ward after changing blades on a DE.

~doug~