My little experiment: DE vs Straight on my face.

[IMightBeWrong]

Decided to play around a bit. I've read some debate over whether or not the Straight Razor offers a closer shave than a DE and wanted to see for myself. I dedicated the left side of my face to my EJ89 with a Feather blade exclusively (brand new blade) and the right side of my face (right handed, wanted to stay strong side) exclusively to my Dovo Inox straight razor. Another goal was to see how far I'd come with both shaving methods. I finally have worked on my technique enough that I no longer dice myself up with Feathers and I'm catching up to my DE skills with my straight fairly quickly I feel.

I decided that I'd make no more than two passes per side of the face and neck. One wtg, one against, and as little going back over spots as possible. Here are my results:

Closeness: EXACTLY the same. BBS on both sides of the face. Did miss one spot during my ATG pass with the DE89, but that's my fault for not going over it.

Comfort: Slight edge to the EJ89 because of my comfort level. A couple of nicks with the straight which I'm positive are just my technique needing work. No razor burn from either.

Speed: Obvious win for the DE89. It took more than twice as long shaving the right side of my face with the straight.

My current conclusion, which may be wrong of course: The closeness capability is identical. HOWEVER, having missed a spot with the DE I feel that it is possible that many get closer shaves with a straight due to giving it more thought and attention to detail. I felt less of a need to pay close attention to my technique with the DE and therefore missed a spot whereas I spent more time and paid closer attention to what I was doing with the straight and therefore left no stone un-turned so to speak. YMMV.

Anybody else tried a similar test?

 

[Gustav]

Yes and I came to similar conclusions. Here is the thread in question: http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/283361-Straight-razor-vs-DE-experiement?highlight=

I also did a further experiment comparing a DE to a shavette: http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/277546-Shavette-vs-DE-experiment!?highlight=

For me, these experiments were real eye openers which put shaving with straights into perspective. Thus, on my face and with my current skill, straight shaving is only an alternative to DE shaving in terms of shave quality. However the added pleasure and sense of fulfilment of the straight shaving experience is what I keep going back to.

Finally, your conclusions on how shaving with these two devices feels on your face cannot be wrong since they are your personal opinion on the outcome. Another user, repeating the experiment, may come to another conclusion but that does not put into question your own conclusion since the results are not necessarily comparable.

 

[dparish1952]

I bought a shavette for touch up but haven't used it. Thanks for the insight.

 

[Toucan]

The only reason I'd like to do Straight Razor shaving is because it looks really cool. Heck, If I hadn't seen a really cool video of a guy Straight Razor shaving, I wouldn't have gotten involved in the world of wet shaving and wouldn't know safety razors exist, and still be going at it with my Gillette ProGlide.

 

[ladykate]

I have done this several times with M3s and DEs. When I travel, I'll sometimes pack the cartridge just to simplify packing. A 'normal' three pass with the cartridge and with the DE will not last as long as a 'normal' three pass with a regular straight or with a Feather AC. I can start feeling stubble within a few hours with the M3 and DEs (at least most of the time). However, a 'normal' three pass with the M3 or DE is quite quickly done.

I agree that paying more attention is probably a factor but I've tried to get a BBS with an M3 and it is hard to do - requires multiple passes and just as much time as with a straight and it still seems inferior. Same with the DE although the DE is better than the M3.

 

[cb91710]

Some of my observations are a bit oxymoronic...

Closeness? Definite edge to the R41. Every spot on my face felt perfectly smooth... 100% pass on the "business card test"
Here is where the conflict arises... 12 hours later, my face is smoother from a straight. I don't know what is causing this.

Comfort? Easy edge to the straight. The DE blade is much sharper than the straight edge. I find I am FAR less prone to razor burn with a straight. Pressure seems to not be an issue at all.
There is a touch more pulling from the straight... but it is consistent with my 3rd shave on a DE. FAR, far far far far less blood with a straight than the R41. After over a year with the straight, the only time I draw blood is when I clip the edge of my ear, or maybe a pimple on my chin. I have only used my alum block maybe twice in the last 6 months.

Speed? After a year, my speed with a straight is comparable to the Mach-3. The slower pass is made up for with the blade covering over 2" in one pass.
Shaving my pits used to be a multiple-pass mess with the Mach-3... pass, clean, pass, clean, lather, pass, clean, pass, clean, lather....
Straight? Lather and ONE pass covers it all.

 

[Gustav]

I have done this several times with M3s and DEs. When I travel, I'll sometimes pack the cartridge just to simplify packing. A 'normal' three pass with the cartridge and with the DE will not last as long as a 'normal' three pass with a regular straight or with a Feather AC. I can start feeling stubble within a few hours with the M3 and DEs (at least most of the time). However, a 'normal' three pass with the M3 or DE is quite quickly done.

I agree that paying more attention is probably a factor but I've tried to get a BBS with an M3 and it is hard to do - requires multiple passes and just as much time as with a straight and it still seems inferior. Same with the DE although the DE is better than the M3.

+1 This is one of the reasons why I left cartridge shaving and moved into DEs and then straights. No matter how hard I tried I could never get some parts of my face clean with a M3. Personally I think that it has something to do with the blades on springs which just cannot gat as close to the face as stiff blades.

 

[buca3152]

IMO Straight more comfortable. BBS lasts much longer. Honing yourself gets you repeatable results in closeness and comfort. I can do a straight shave almost as fast as de. The difference being stropping otherwise the prep is the same. And the skin feels velvety after the shave which I never got from a de. YMMV.

 

[Tierdaen]

I see no real reason to think either is inherently superior or inferior at cutting hair at or above skin level. I think the blade width and handle angle of a DE allow me to get my neck ATG where a straight can only approximate it with creative stretching and mostly XTG strokes. Neither produces a longer-lasting shave or a smoother shave on cheeks, and neither has less irritation. If I had to give up straights for DEs, I would not mind. If I had to give up DEs for straights, I would be slightly more reluctant, but would be able to deal with it. I don't have to give up either, so I can use them in a complementary way without feeling the need to sacrifice one to justify the other. I also don't have to sacrifice my folding European/American straights for my nonfolding Japanese ones. I also don't have to sacrifice any of these for my Feather AC.

If open-back cartridge razors like Mach 3s or Fusions were cheaper, I would have no problems with them. It's more a price thing and ideological thing, and not so much a results thing. They remove hair pretty well when working within the limitations of their chassis.

 

[OkieStubble]

Shaving regularly with DE, SE, Straight and Trac II, I have not noticed any difference in closeness of shaves between them. I have the exact same smooth places on my face and the exact same trouble areas regardless of razor type used.

 

[RNQubain]

I have been using a straight razor (Dovo best 5/6 and Silver steel 5/8) for the last two weeks and a DE razor (merkur 34c with an Astra razor) for two weeks before that. The straight razor definitely has a steeper learning curve and I still can't get the closeness of a DE razor.

Furthermore my straight razor causes more irritation to my skin due to going over and over spots under my cheek that until now I can't get the whiskers off.

of course I am more pationate about using the straight razor, for there is more zen and art about it, however DE razors and a badger brush beet the multi blade and Gillette gel by light years.

 

[gsurko]

All said and done, I agree you can get great shaves from a DE and I have for years but the satisfaction from a straight shave is through the roof. In this day and age I crave the time spent straight shaving, It's good for my soul and the cool factor....what can I say.

 

[buca3152]

I recently shaved 2 days with my de, a future adjustable and a merkur slant. I still end up with an itchy neck 1/2 hour after shaving and the shave always last longer with the straight. I did my straight shave yesterday and PERFECT! No irritation 2 pass bbs. No comparison IMO. YMMV as always.

 

[drmatt357]

Some of my observations are a bit oxymoronic...
Shaving my pits used to be a multiple-pass mess with the Mach-3... pass, clean, pass, clean, lather, pass, clean, pass, clean, lather....
Straight? Lather and ONE pass covers it all.

Dude, are you saying that you shave your arm pits with a straight? I want to see a video of that. I would love to if I could figure out how.

 

[cb91710]

Dude, are you saying that you shave your arm pits with a straight? I want to see a video of that. I would love to if I could figure out how.

Yup.

It's all in the angle to present a fairly flat surface. Arm is straight up, muscles relaxed. Single pass downward, maybe one touchup and no ATG since I'm not going for BBS.

 

[ladykate]

(cartridges) It's more a price thing and ideological thing, and not so much a results thing. They remove hair pretty well when working within the limitations of their chassis.

Well... I'm not so sure about price as a tangible factor. I've spent much more on shaving gear than I ever should have. I believe that is true for most of us. However, I agree that the 'price thing' is an emotional irritant. When I can get a better shave with a cheaper system, I kinda like it. I'm flashing back to the 60s and 'sticking it to the man.' Having 30 DEs and 60 straights seems to have negated the price advantage... practically speaking - though not emotionally speaking...

Still (to repeat myself - sorry, the post seemed anemic so I'm adding to it), I get better shaves from the straight (or Feather AC/clones) than I do with the cartridge or the DE. All can be BBS if I try - but the straight/AC seems to last much longer.

 

[gsurko]

I get about the same level of shave from DE's and str8's, very near BBS, but waaaaay less irritation with a straight. The time involved is about the same but I'm learning as I get older not to rush myself through the finer things in life. "Far better Grasshopper to get up earlier than rush through shave."