How did you end up straight shavin?

[bromsvajer]

My thread I go first.

Life takes you strange places. Myself five years back would have never guessed I would develop any form of interest in shaving, never.

In contrast to near all BB members who seems to in grow bamboo on their face, I have thin sparse beard, like a boy in his early teens. I used to shave it off with some liquid hand soap and a mach3 in twenty seconds. So why did this change?

My best friend had problems with ingrown hairs, he read straight shaving might help and also liked the coolfactor about it. He bought a straight, but got a whole box of 12 (edwin jagger). The store seemed to have realized their mistake and called him up. Somewhat dishonest as he is he replied “Ehh no?”.

I was into sharpening of culinary knifes, so I got one as a challenge. I have read somewhere that knife people don’t understand razorsharp. I think that is very true. I sure as hell didn’t.

Its a special feeling when you first try it. Aiming that supersharp knife against you soft moist face, you know there is potential for some serious bleeding. The “zen” thing of the focus required kind of got me. I also got somewhat obsessed with the honing part of it. So here I am. Straight shaving is HARD to master. It takes a lot of practice to reach expert level. I like that and I am still very much improving.

My friend is now a happy DE shaver, he was never really the SR type.

 

[Polarbeard]

For me it must have been bad genes.

 

[Seveneighth]

My grandfather taught me not long after I started shaving.

 

[StuartT]

I admit to being attracted to the nostalgic cool factor of straight shaving.

 

[mrlandpirate]

I admit to being attracted to the nostalgic cool factor of straight shaving.

yep me too

 

[StuartT]

I bought my first straight razor 35 years ago at the age of 25. I saw it in a window of a shop in NYC and thought, "How cool would it be to learn how to use that...?". I had no idea how to shave with it but I brought it home and had at it. After some serious cuts, i admitted defeat and put it away carefully. Over the next 25 years I would happen upon the razor from time to time, pull it from its case and pantomime a stroke or two but I never seriously attempted to shave with it. Around 10 years ago I saw an instructional video and had the "Eureka" moment. So I picked up a few hones, a new strop and put in the time that it takes to learn how to shave with a straight. It has been a rewarding skill to learn.

 

[Badkarma]

When my grandfather passed he had a few wet shaving items. I started DE for about 10 years. Then its been straights, I don't want to look back. Its been a expensive and fun to learn. Like my signature block says (Life is too short to shave with a ugly straight)

 

[Carmo]

I just started straight razor shaving not too long ago. It all began after not liking cartridge razors. I then tried a de razor for the first time. Loved it. After that, decided I wanted something more. I ended up with a gold dollar 207 shave ready from etsy. I love the challenge. Getting better each time I use it. Next I want to start learning the honing process to maintain. It changed me from hating shaving to a hobby that is enjoyable.

 

[Deelyte]

My road to straight razor shaving started with a gift from my lady friend. She gave me a tube of Penhaglion Endymion shaving cream with the matching aftershave balm. So to avoid any bad feelings and a arguments I decided to start shaving with a DE that quickly led to shaving with a SE razor. Gem, EverReady and last of but the favorite was the Henckels Rapide with a CVH wedge blade. Oh my what a great shaver. So my curiosity was high and I wanted to see if using a straight would’ve just as good of a experience. So off I went on the hunt for a a straight. I started with a TI 69 frameback because I liked the looks of it. After watching lots of GeoFatboy videos and others I was off and learning to use the str8 razor. Four years later I’ve acquired lots of str8’s that I love using and it’s exclusively my razor of choice with a occasional shave with the Henckels Rapide

 

[musicman980]

I don’t know if it was a YouTube recommendation or if I just had an idea, but it all started with Geofatboy’s video on how to straight shave. After much research I bought a whippeddog sight unseen razor, which turned out to be a Genco. Amazing geometry which made learning to hone much easier.

 

[steveclarkus]

My first razor was a Gillette Slim in 1964 or 1965 and I enjoyed shaving from the start I started using a Trac1 in the 1970’s then went back to my Slim. In 1982 I bought a SR and shaved with it until it got dull and I had no idea how to hone it. Two years ago I got a SR and learned to hone using the method and haven’t touched a DE since my first SR shave with it. It wasn’t particularly difficult to learn to shave with it and honing with the Method was easy. In any case, it is the best method for closeness and comfort possible and won’t nick like a DE.

 

[Pattorashu]

Groomatorium spilled a bunch of aftershave on boxes. $15 for a Parker shavette in stainless is hard to argue with to try SE shaving.

 

[azwetshaver]

I walked into a Sally's Beauty supply to buy a neck duster and Pinaud talcum powder. I was told that was good for irritation after shaving. I noticed a cheap TTO razor and asked the clerk. She told me they also sold blades. Out of curiosity I purchased the set and started my DE journey. I wound up here to learn about DE and got great results. I always loved the beauty of SRs in SOTD pics. So one day asked about honing and cost. Found out I do not need to hone often and its inexpensive to send out. I was getting bored with my effortless, smooth, BBS shaves to I decided to jump into SRs. That was several years ago.

 

[totorlekiller]

I have always liked to play with knifes (my Corsican origins maybe) but in my sedentary life, I never had much excuses to use the ones I bought. Then one day, I walked by an Art of Shaving store and saw the Thiers Issard in the window...

 

[fastback]

When you can't get enough blade exposure from a DE it seems the natural next step.

 

[Biglo13]

About this time last year, I had a memory as a child, my dad letting us pretend shave with a DE razor ( obviously with out blade). This led me to buying birth month and year tech as a present to myself, This was my entry drug....... which led to slight acquisition disorder soaps, blades, more DE’s eventually SE’s ... I remember my first lather from poraso and immediately throwing away canned goo. within weeks I found my first SR screaming at me at a local antique shop. A Genco master barber. That led to stones and hones and learning/ struggling to hone, seemed like forever but finally I got it Honed and decent shave from it..... I’m a year down the rabbit hole, Hones, films, strops, soaps, razors, after shave, pre shave, balms, colognes ...... it has and continues to be an amazing ride, wish I would have discovered it sooner.

 

[Jakebullet]

I’d discovered DE shaving a year earlier and was happy. I liked the huge selection of blades and soaps and aftershaves which I just hadn't known even existed and I was getting hitherto unmatched Shaves every day. I had no intention of trying a straight razor as to be honest it looked pretty terrifying and I was happy as I was. But I was randomly watching an Anthony Esposito video where he said that the price of the razor didn’t make the shave, all that mattered was the edge. If you try and learn cello with the cheapest instrument possible, the thing will work against you and be pretty much unplayable but it seemed that the straight razor wasn’t like that. This meant it was possible to get a very cheap razor to experiment with that could still give a perfect shave if mastered so when my girl asked me last year what I wanted for Xmas I heard myself say ‘how about a cutthroat?’. I got one and loved learning it then realised that once learned it shaved better than I could’ve imagined. It’s taken me the best part of a year to really learn how to hone it and maintain it and how to get the best from it shave wise and I’ve bought a few others to try along the way. Now I’ll never go back.

 

[billhinge]

I started with double edge safety razors when I started shaving 40 years ago, same as my father. I felt fairly skilled using them but after a while it was difficult to get my favourite blades

Moved to cartridges about 20 years, hated them but they were a quick drag around the face in the morning with my eyes closed so no effort required. Recently I started getting a bit of a rash for the first time ever
.
I was feeling old and bored, remembered by dad had an old vintage straight that lived on the top shelf of a cupboard when I was a small child in the 60's, big and heavy I found it fascinating. My dad never used it because he said it need sharpening. Using a straight was someething I always wanted to try and seemed exciting.

I was doing OK money wise, thought how hard could it be? decided to give it a try. First razor was a vintage Gotta, second was a s/h custom zowada (I thought when am I going to get another opportunity to get one ). Chopped my face a couple of times with the zowada, tried a lighter razor, found it fairly easy by comparison. I picked up a s/h Neil Miller cordovan, new Kent blk 12, Panama 1924 soap to replace the cheap strop and brush I started with. Touch wood I seemed to get used to a straight fairly easily, the cordovan strop seemed to make a big difference.

I had a few shapton stones for my hard steel kitchen knives, I could get a good edge on them so it didn't seem too difficult to sharpen a razor after reading up on these forums.

Only been straight shaving since August but touch wood it seems to be enjoyable, I don't cut myself or get razor burn and my skin seems to have got better and I feel very comfortable with straight shaving now. Along the way I've picked up some nice vintage swedish and sheffield steel to go with the zowada. Even gone back to buying nos 70's and 80's vintage Paco Rabbane

 

[FuzzFace513]

They are just cool, I love history and I love the look on peoples faces when I tell them I use a straight razor.

 

[willye]

I've gotten on a "non-disposable" kick. The idea of not throwing away something but rather sharpening it to continue its useful life was appealing. I was already a wet shaver using DEs and I knew the basics as my father liked to use the straight razor every so often (he always wanted to be a cowboy). As a retired person, I have the time. It's a bit of a learning curve, but so far I've yet to inflict serious injury and my shaves are improving. So.... as of yet... no regrets.