A heart to heart.to those new and that have given up;

[rickboone1]

Greetings, gentlemen. I write to you today with something that's needed to come to surface for quite a while. I talk with many straight razor users. It's still crazy to me at its popularity. I just met another gentlemen yesterday that uses them. Quite often, I meet more that tried it, but didn't stick with it. I've found out some reasons why. And, these reasons can be avoided!

Yes, straight razors are not for everyone. That's fine.

But, for those of you that do want to try it...

- I don't know of anyone that's offed himself unintentionally with a straight razor.

- Yes, you might get cut. So, what. Your DE or anything else will cut you, too. Personally, I have more DE cuts.

- You may get a better shave from your DE. It's what you're used to.

- Your edge didn't feel right. Okay...who honed it? The greatest person that can hone, or maybe the talk of the forum for that month? Well, great. Perhaps your technique needs improvement. Yep, you've heard that. Get it honed by someone else! Try SEVERAL different people. Don't just take one person's edge for what it is. I've had edges honed by over 20 different people. Truth be told, there was only a handful that I really liked. Does that mean the others were bad? Nope. Not at all. Think about DE blades. There are hundreds, but only a handful you really like. So...try all kinds of different edges.

- This art takes time to learn! This is not something you can do once a week or month and expect to learn it. Hide your other razors and keep at the straight until you learn it! Don't cheat yourself. Yes, your shaves will suck at first. Pick up any musical instrument you've never played before and see how good you do at first. If you are trying to learn guitar and only practice once per week for 10 minutes, you will not get very good at it. If you do this daily and no other instruments, you'll start to get the hang of it.

- Don't give up.

 

[ANeat]

Im pretty new with a straight, I heard somewhere to expect 100 shaves or so to get proficient at it.

Sounds good to me.... I look forward to shaving now..... and thats never happened before.

 

[noahpictures]

Great points Rick.

Learning to hone my razors helped me a lot when I was starting out. I honed on lapping and for me that was the easiest and least expensive way to get started. I created my own edges according to my preferences. Making a commitment for 100 shaves and having a public journal also helped.

 

[Saxman11290]

It's good to hear this type of talk, as the world of straights is certainly intimidating, whether you are able to pick it up quickly or not. I've had a straight since this past Christmas, and while I'm getting better at it (but not practicing as often as I should), I'm beginning to realize that I may not have had a great edge on it to begin with, or at least, an edge that I didn't quite prefer. Perhaps I'll send it out for some honing sooner or later when I get bored of some of my DE stuff. The urgency to learn it just isn't there for me quite yet, especially since I've experienced nothing but crummy shaves and tons of razor burn.

That being said, your post gives me hope and inspires me to keep at it. Great sentiments Rick, keep up keeping up the morale!

 

[rickboone1]

It's good to hear this type of talk, as the world of straights is certainly intimidating, whether you are able to pick it up quickly or not. I've had a straight since this past Christmas, and while I'm getting better at it (but not practicing as often as I should), I'm beginning to realize that I may not have had a great edge on it to begin with, or at least, an edge that I didn't quite prefer. Perhaps I'll send it out for some honing sooner or later when I get bored of some of my DE stuff. The urgency to learn it just isn't there for me quite yet, especially since I've experienced nothing but crummy shaves and tons of razor burn.

That being said, your post gives me hope and inspires me to keep at it. Great sentiments Rick, keep up keeping up the morale!

Don't give up on it. It's possible the edge is fine and you're not. Or, the edge may not be. Send it out. Try someone else's. I'm happy to do it for you if it keeps you in the game and there are surely a lot of folks here that can do it.

 

[Saxman11290]

Don't give up on it. It's possible the edge is fine and you're not. Or, the edge may not be. Send it out. Try someone else's. I'm happy to do it for you if it keeps you in the game and there are surely a lot of folks here that can do it.

Thanks Rick!

 

[rickboone1]

Thanks Rick!

I'm not going to promote members' honing abilities here in this thread, but there are two fantastic honers up there in the NYC area that I can think of off the top of my head.

 

[Saxman11290]

I'm not going to promote members' honing abilities here in this thread, but there are two fantastic honers up there in the NYC area that I can think of off the top of my head.

Yes, got your PM, and I turned around a PM to a NYC member that might be able to lend me a hand. Thanks again!

 

[Kailand09]

Thanks for this, I had a rougher shave today. No weapers, but a rough shave. I'm just going to keep on keeping on though, I know it takes time for technique to get right and provide a comfortable shave. It's a lot to learn, that's for sure. With proper lather, proper angle, etc etc... It's a lot but it's a great learning experience that opened up a new world and long lost interest I had in blades. I don't regret getting into shaving this much one bit.

 

[shuasdad]

I found the shaving to be ok, it was the stropping that did me in. The time and work involved with miserable results there lead me to lay down my sword.

Haven't offed them yet, so maybe I'll think about giving it a go again.

 

[Gustav]

Well said! FWIW, I am up to just over 400 shaves and I am still discovering things. I was slow on the uptake but the thought of chucking it in never occurred to me because I have been enjoying it all the way. To those who start out, I think it is sound advice to try and use it at least for most of the week until you get the hang of it but there is no shame in finishing off the first crappy shaves with whatever you were using before. Slow and steady wins the day, learning to shave with a straight is not a race, in fact it is all but a race. For me it is the learning of a subtle art of grooming which has more contemplative aspects to it than any other method I have used because the concentration needed to shave properly and without bloodshed is so intense that it makes my mind go blank to all else. Finally, if somewhere along the way, you find out that honing is not for you or you just do not have the time for it, there are plenty of good options to avoid it such as sending your straights to a professional or shaving with razors holding disposable blades.

 

[noahpictures]

Many of us at the beginning made the mistake of shaving our entire beard in multiple passes. For the first week it is better to stop at the jawline and do a simple North to South pass. Confident (fake it), efficient strokes in a pulling motion while using little pressure takes a while to learn.

 

[kirisute]

i was scared stiff when i started out; and i didn't want to lay out alot of money on a straight razor if it wasn't going to work well for me or be something i enjoyed using.
so my tip for people is to think about a shavette!
i use the Parker sr1 stainless and feather blades and its the best shave ive had in years!!
yes ive cut myself, yes its a steep learning curve but its been fun all the way!

so if the price of a straight razor is off putting; or you fancy just trying it; then my recommendation would be go for a shavette!! then if things work out well you can always upgrade!!

 

[Relentless]

I'll be on shave 7 tonight. I ordered a coticule to maintain the edge while I learn. I'm not setting a bevel or anything; just attempting to maintain a usable edge. The first thing I've noticed is that the blade is not keener than it was when professionally honed (yet); but it certainly is a more comfortable shave than doing nothing at all. I still have insane amounts of trouble getting anything remotely useful done around my mouth, but I eventually fall back to DE after at least attempting. I only regret is that I didn't start learning when my appearance was not as important and my beard wasn't as coarse.
It is a fairly difficult skill to acquire.

 

[ladykate]

Good advice. I recently honed a razor for another member who was having trouble. He thought my edge was the best he had tried but it still pulled on his chin and he wasn't getting great shaves. Just as was said, it might be that my edge wasn't the one for him but it might also be that his technique needs improvement.

I normally use ACs and clones mostly, but for the last few weeks, I've been using regular straights and, if the right technique and a little more time is used, they leave me with a 24 hour shave with no problem. They aren't shavettes (thank god) - they are much more sophisticated and friendly.

 

[global_dev]

I found the shaving to be ok, it was the stropping that did me in. The time and work involved with miserable results there lead me to lay down my sword.

Haven't offed them yet, so maybe I'll think about giving it a go again.

stropping should be relatively relaxing and non-contentious.. send me your straight if it needs a rehone. i'd be glad to help you out.. PM me if you want

 

[dpetrzelka]

I'm just learning to use a straight for keeping my beard in shape - so just upper cheeks and neck.

No doubt its tough learning on your neck, I get a little irritation, but only being on shave #4, I know I shouldn't expect perfect result yet.

Thanks for the encouragement - some of us new guys need it.

 

[Haggises]

Good kick up the jacksie for me!
I only used the Gold Dollar once in the last 5 weeks and gave myself a good vertical nick.
Will be getting back on the horse, starting from scratch again, this week.
Thanks for the reminder!

 

[noahpictures]

I'll be on shave 7 tonight. I ordered a coticule to maintain the edge while I learn. I'm not setting a bevel or anything; just attempting to maintain a usable edge. The first thing I've noticed is that the blade is not keener than it was when professionally honed (yet); but it certainly is a more comfortable shave than doing nothing at all. I still have insane amounts of trouble getting anything remotely useful done around my mouth, but I eventually fall back to DE after at least attempting. I only regret is that I didn't start learning when my appearance was not as important and my beard wasn't as coarse.
It is a fairly difficult skill to acquire.

Maybe you've already done this but...Youtube Unicot honing method. In the video he only uses tape at the end. My suggestion is to tape the spine at the beginning to avoid hone wear and add a second layer of electrical tape for the "finish". Should take only a few minutes from bevel to finish.

What are the dimnesions of your coti?

 

[Doc226]

Excellent point Rick, excellent