First Real Straight Shave

[jsmith]

Tonight I had my first shave with a real straight razor. I received my sight unseen from Whipped Dog. it is made by the Cattaraugus Cuttlery Company, which I have not heard of. I will post a picture at the bottom of this post. Anyhow, before this I had only shaved with a shavette, so my expectations were that it would be similar but slightly different.

How very wrong I was. The blade is much more dull than a DE blade in the shavette, but this is actually much better. It isn't harsh on the skin and is more forgiving of mistakes. It was also WAY easier to hold. It didn't feel as slippery, or rotate in my fingers at bad times. Overall it was much easier to shave with. I am glad I gave it a chance. So if anyone has used a shavette, and contemplated making the switch I would suggest it. It is an elegant tool that I will work patently to master one day.

 

[PMT]

Is that a new razor pictured?

 

[Dirk-Lerxst-Pratt]

Very nice scales. Bet you could polish it up real shiny if you were so inclined.

 

[jsmith]

No it is not new, it is a vintage razor from whippeddog.com.

I do plan of polishing it up, I am going to wait until it gets dull so I don't mess up the good edge in the process.

 

[Arved]

Tonight I had my first shave with a real straight razor. I received my sight unseen from Whipped Dog. it is made by the Cattaraugus Cuttlery Company, which I have not heard of. I will post a picture at the bottom of this post. Anyhow, before this I had only shaved with a shavette, so my expectations were that it would be similar but slightly different.

How very wrong I was. The blade is much more dull than a DE blade in the shavette, but this is actually much better. It isn't harsh on the skin and is more forgiving of mistakes. It was also WAY easier to hold. It didn't feel as slippery, or rotate in my fingers at bad times. Overall it was much easier to shave with. I am glad I gave it a chance. So if anyone has used a shavette, and contemplated making the switch I would suggest it. It is an elegant tool that I will work patently to master one day.

View attachment 271777

I recently ordered a Shavette off eBay. While I was waiting for it to arrive on the slow boat from China, I wised up, bit the bullet, and ordered a WD "sight unseen" with starter kit and extra strop. Who'd imagine - they both arrived on the same day.

I've used the Shavette twice, and I can see where the straight is going to be a better shave. I'm not sure I would say "much more dull," but certainly milder. ("much more dull' calls into question Larry's honing skills, which I'm pretty sure are top notch). The real advantage, I think, is in the corners. Rather, the lack of them on the straight. The Shavette is so narrow, there's a possibility for the corners of the blade to dig in. I've had it go into the skin without drawing blood. Kind of a weird sensation. Almost like a paper cut. The blade on the straight is so much longer that there's less chance of a corner piercing the skin.

I have yet to try the straight, but I wanted to give the shavette a first try, and I want to go over all the materials Larry sent with the razor and understand it better before I use it. A vintage straight demands more respect than the shavette. One skill at a time was my reasoning. Learn to hold the razor, stretch my skin, and get the blade angle right with the shavette before worrying about stropping and honing skills with the straight.

The shavette still has the advantage of not having to worry about stroping and honing, but I can certainly see why straights are preferred to shavettes. Will I get rid of the shavette? Time will tell. Probably not. Like I'm also not ready to part with my DEs (and in fact, just bought another DE today in the b/s/t forum).

Looking forward to hear you "blaze the trail" for me with your vintage straight!

 

[jsmith]

I'm not sure I would say "much more dull," but certainly milder. ("much more dull' calls into question Larry's honing skills, which I'm pretty sure are top notch).

I wasn't necessarily calling it dull in a bad way, It is actually much less scary to put the vintage to my face than the shavette. The blade is just so much smoother. It cuts about the same I would say. The vintage also lets me learn at a much shallower angle. Sure it doesn't get as close as i'd like right now but it will soon.

 

[PMT]

Thanks, just asking, I am thinking of going that way from DE, now I'm being selfish, if I find a vintage straight at an antique post and know a barber who is an expert with straights, will that be an ok start?

 

[jsmith]

if the barber is willing to hone it to shave ready for you then it should be OK. I don't have anyone to help me out so I had to buy one from someone who is well respected for providing sharp "shave ready" razors. In the future I want to learn to hone, but it was important to know what it is supposed to feel like to shave with a sharp razor first.

 

[PMT]

Thanks js, now may I ask a stupid question? I am learning, what is honing, I am totally a newbie on straight

 

[Mike H]

Thanks js, now may I ask a stupid question? I am learning, what is honing, I am totally a newbie on straight

Honing - Sharpening the razor using a stone or film. http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/Honing

 

[LarryAndro]

Us honers like to think our edges cut whiskers like lasers. This isn't true, of course. And, as mentioned above, the best edge on straight razors isn't as sharp as Shavettes and commercial blades. I also agree with the original post that this is not necessarily a bad thing. (You have to learn technique, after which straight razor shaves are very nice.)

After a month or two using straight razors, my wife commented that I don't bleed any more. I hadn't thought about it till then, but she was right. I used commercial blades before, and during shaving always had one or two bleeders... little spots of blood that occurred when the blade sliced off some dead skin and sliced thru a capillary. (Wipe it once, it coagulates, and disappears. Not a big deal.)

By that time, I was getting shaves that were as close as commercial edges, with the 5 O Clock Shadow reappearing maybe even later after a shave then commercial blade shaves. Made no sense!

My surmise is that the edge on straights becomes rounded from stropping, although still sharp at the edge, and that the razor basically rides on the skin on the rounded portion pushing the skin down over the whisker. Then, the whisker is cut, and the hair slides back up over the shaft. Just a wild guess.

Even though the above is a guess, it is consistent with the common observation that the best shaves after honing don't start until 2 or 3 shaves after honing. There is a long controversy whether straight razors can be too sharp. My vote is yes that straights can be too sharp, and my most comfortable shaves don't start until 2 or 3 shaves after honing, and interestingly that is about when straight razors have lost some of their initial sharpness.

But, why did I say that razors lose their initial sharpness?

Imagine two identical razors, one honed well, the other honed to an absurdly sharp edge. How long can you shave without stropping? About two shaves, maybe. By then, both razors are too dull for shaving. The point is that for most shaves between honings are on edges produced by STROPPING and not primarily the initial honing.

Returning to the above point about "rounded, but still sharp", isn't that what happens after some stropping?

My conclusion is that the initial observation above is correct about the razor being less than Shavette sharp. I agree that the shave is as good and even better. While I am not sure, at least my theories above make sense to me.

 

[JLuger]

I have 2 Cattaraugus razors, both are excellent shavers, so Larry sent you a great razor! I love using a straight, not sure I would even want to try a shavette, as the idea of a fully exposed DE blade makes me nervous.

And I must confess, I shaved maybe 4-5 times with my WD razor before I even attempted stropping.

 

[jsmith]

So just to give an update. I am doing well with my WTG passes, I learned quick to use a shallow angle. The only issue is that I am not removing enough stubble to attempt an XTG pass. The few times I have tried the blade just sort of sticks, and wants to skip. Should I stretch my skin more on the WTG, or maybe try a steeper angle? Any suggestions to improve my WTG closeness.