Section 2 - DE VS Straight - Which one for me?

[phil a minyahn]

I went to a big Eastern shaving and grooming outlet yesterday and they had several good straights from Dovo and Thiers Issard. My only experience to that point was shaving with a Dovo Shavette stainless.

All I can say is, while I disagree about a major difference in 'heft' (i feel the shavette stainless approximates well the weight distribution in the REAL straights I fondled yesterday), there WAS a noticeable difference in the wieldiness. It was a difference in sharpness, too. Those real straights were incredibly sharp, but it was a strong sharp, not a flimsy sharp like the DE blade. And these were in low $100's.

If I can find me one for lower priced, I'm gonna have to try a 'real' straight, as just holding one and feeling it made me see there might be a significant difference from the DE blade of a shavette.

 

[timbrown]

I just didn't want to spend a lot of money on a Feather Straight that requires special blades or the Dovo Shavette that uses either a special blade or a DE blade snapped in half and costs $30 +. I found an "Annie Disposable Shaver" on ebay for $9.00 delivered USPS.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=150219140460.

It comes with 2 Dorco blades and is made of Stainless Steel with a plastic handle. It also can be used with longer special blades available at beauty supply stores.

I have about 150 DE blades that I want to use up. Most (100) of them are Dorco like the ones that come with the "Annie". I wanted to try straight shaving but I didn't want to invest in a Straight and all of the accessories needed to keep it sharp. I just wanted a little "Starter Wife" for now and if I like it, I'll make a long term commitment later.

I had my first shave with it last night and again today. So far, I'm impressed with the closeness of the shave but it did take a long time to shave and I did manage to draw blood on my right cheek. I cut my cheek through carelessness in a place next to where I was shaving. I'll probably make the plunge later to a Straight Razor and commit to learning how to maintain it and keep it sharp. My first step is reading this forum and all things related to Straights.

 

[jamesbeat]

I really enjoyed reading this post, but I have to respectfully disagree in part with the Feather AC part.

I say 'disagree in part' because I have never actually used a Feather AC, but its close relative- a shavette style razor that takes half a DE blade.

I'm sure the inconsistencies in blade sharpness must be hellish, when you are shaving with an open blade, you need predictability!

So, while the Feather AC may not be a viable alternative, I have to say that the Shavette style razor that takes half a DE blade has its place.

I like my DE razors well enough, but I vastly prefer using my shavette. I'm not sure what the reason is, but I do get a genuine pleasure from it that I don't get with a DE razor.
This type of razor uses a blade that is just as consistent as any DE razor, because the blades are obviously the same!

I have five straight razors, but none of them are usable yet. I got them from ebay and I am restoring them before sending them away to a honemeister.
Until that time, I will be using my Sanguine shavette.
I love using it so much that when I realised the other morning that I had run out of blades, I took the blade out of my DE razor, snapped it in half, and used it in the Sanguine!

I know I'm going to regret saying this, but I have yet to nick myself even slightly, even though I have been using the shavette nearly every day for over a month.

Obviously, I intend to use straight razors one day, but I think I'll be keeping the Sanguine around too.

 

[umgowa997]

I read most all of this thread and I don't think this point came up . . . How do you take a straight razor on an airplane? What do you do if you're a straight razor guy and travel via airplane?

 

[mparker762]

I read most all of this thread and I don't think this point came up . . . How do you take a straight razor on an airplane? What do you do if you're a straight razor guy and travel via airplane?

Put it in your checked-in luggage. If it doesn't make it then you can fall back on a disposable from the concierge desk.

 

[justice strike]

hmm... the opinion on the feather AC really is a bit questionable and inconsistent. How can a blade be boring and easy to cut yourself with?

If you really want to stay with the car analogy. Basicly your saying that a road car is better then a track car because the latter has a steeper learn curve and is unforgiving.

As for cuts and nicks... i can't really remember having any significant cuts and nicks... Yes the first time i have a tremendous razor burn... but only the first time. I can now shave pretty fast with a feather AC without cutting myself or getting nicked.

finally the argument "a straight is more forgiving then a feather AC" this has got to be the lamest excuse i've ever heard. Why don't we all go back to electric shaving. They are so much more forgiving. Get your technique down correctly, then decide on a blade.

Perhaps the best advice is to make a choice and stick with it. Every blade needs you to get to know it better. Some more then others.

 

[joel]

hmm... the opinion on the feather AC really is a bit questionable and inconsistent. How can a blade be boring and easy to cut yourself with?

If you really want to stay with the car analogy. Basicly your saying that a road car is better then a track car because the latter has a steeper learn curve and is unforgiving.

As for cuts and nicks... i can't really remember having any significant cuts and nicks... Yes the first time i have a tremendous razor burn... but only the first time. I can now shave pretty fast with a feather AC without cutting myself or getting nicked.

finally the argument "a straight is more forgiving then a feather AC" this has got to be the lamest excuse i've ever heard. Why don't we all go back to electric shaving. They are so much more forgiving. Get your technique down correctly, then decide on a blade.

Perhaps the best advice is to make a choice and stick with it. Every blade needs you to get to know it better. Some more then others.

A differing opinion is welcomed - but disrespect and puffery isn't. Act like a gentleman - certainly I don't think you would appreciate it if I instead responded with a similar quip. I use a feather straight quite frequently, and have no ill will towards 'em, but I can also sharpen a razor to the point whereby it gives a more comfortable shave. If you have a quality straight razor in good shape, PM me, i'll hone it up for ya gratis.

 

[justice strike]

I ment no disrespect or puffery. I was talking in the general sense.

I feel that bad technique shouldn't be a excuse to take a "lesser" blade. As i mentioned, if that where to be the benchmark, we would all be shaving with electric shaving aparatus. So in the line of that thought i made the comment, "get your technique down correctly, then decide on a blade". Since you already have a large collection of blades and aren't exactly looking for a new blade, I thought it was obvious this comment wasn't directed as a personal attack towards you but as a general advice for people. It has impinged on your imagination in a significantly different way than I anticipated.

 

[SiBurning]

I recently started using a straight because a girl friend's been bothering me for years to use one. She thinks it's my style.

After nearly two months, I'm still barely clean looking with the straight. Nowhere near DFS. This is from 5 different straights from 5 different people, all of which shave about the same, so I doubt it's the hone job. No, it's me.

Although the feather cut me the first couple of times, by the third shave I was getting very smooth. I'm not using the feather much because... let's pretend it's to impress the ladies by learning to use a real straight.

I have no intention of ever learning to hone my own razors. If I do, it won't be because I want to maintain my own edge, but because it's a retro thing to do. So honing isn't a consideration for me in the straight vs. feather debate.

The feather seems to be much better than a DE in the sense that I can get very smooth with fewer passes. I haven't used it enough to do that everywhere, especially in the hollow under the jaw and under the nose, but managed well enough everywhere else. To be fair, I have trouble getting into the hollow with my flat-edged straights and find it much easier to use a smiling blade. But the feather does solve the problem of having a safety bar and head limit the possible angles and scrape the shaving cream off too early. In this sense, it functions no worse than a wedge.

Two of my straights are wedges. They still give me weepers, which I no longer get with the thinner straights, unless I'm trying too hard and doing too many passes, and even then, the weepers from the wedge are a little worse. I think the rigid edge requires more care. The feather has this same issue.

One negative for the feather is that the corners of the blade are hidden. I have no trouble with a sharp corner on my straights because I can see them. To be honest, I prefer a rounded notched edge, but am fine using a sharp cornered straight. The feather requires more care to keep safe from these hidden corners.

The thin straights are very gentle, and the feedback is great. I haven't noticed much feedback with the feather. Feedback from a wedge is almost as little as with the feather. Although my face feels the wedge better than the feather, it's too stiff to really be able to act on that feedback in real time and adjust my hold or angle, at least in comparison with thinner blades or even a DE. I think using the straights has made me more aware of the blade edge, and that's improved my DE skills.

I've been using a DE for a dozen or more years. Although I rarely hear people talk about feedback from a DE, I get nearly as much with the DE as with a normal hollow straight. Maybe that's from experience. What I really like about the DE is how I can get a good shave while paying very little attention. One of these months or years, I expect to get as good a shave with a straight as I get with a DE. Not better, though. And not without paying a little attention. I just don't see how a closer shave is possible, since I can already shave past a reasonable point to where I can feel the hairs pushing through my skin when they grow back. Even if I could somehow shave closer, I wouldn't.

There are areas where straights have no competition whatsoever. DEs don't really come in different shapes and sizes. There is no smiling DE. Adjustables and combs are just half way measures that barely hint at the freedom of a straight. DE Wedge? Then there's the ::ahem:: retro factor. But maybe most important is I'm actually having fun shaving and trying out different straights. DEs are so boring in comparison.

 

[justice strike]

A differing opinion is welcomed - but disrespect and puffery isn't. Act like a gentleman - certainly I don't think you would appreciate it if I instead responded with a similar quip. I use a feather straight quite frequently, and have no ill will towards 'em, but I can also sharpen a razor to the point whereby it gives a more comfortable shave. If you have a quality straight razor in good shape, PM me, i'll hone it up for ya gratis.

It's nice that you do take the time to comment on my alledged attitude. However, i have failed to see an answer to my question. Could you perhaps elaborate your opinion?

 

[withoutink]

wow, great writeup so far. I am going to need to read the whole straight guide from front to back. thanks for this!

 

[scottish steve]

As the owner of a 1960s muscle car, I can surely tell you that there is a TON of passion and excitement involved in taking it through a winding road, and while it might not be as precise as some foreign "sports" car, it is definitely more elegant.

So if *I* were to rewrite that paragraph, I would definitely make the straight razor the old muscle car (antiquated, much more artristry involved in the construction than current models, more power, and dangerous for the inexperienced), and the sports car the DE (more widely seen, quicker, smaller, and easier to find replacement parts for)!

So there!

Your ideas of "elegance", passion and "artistry" are fundamentally divergent from my own and those of the overhwelming majority of Euorpean enthusiasts. Also, the power to weight ration of modern cars is hugely superior to those of old muscle cars. Fortunately, some manufactureres can now combine both-Weissman MF3 anyone?

 

[justice strike]

why not the spyker laviolette. But i think europeans cars in general (even the older models) tend to be more to cornering then to power, as opposed to american cars.

 

[scottish steve]

With the exception of the latest crop from the US, I believe EU cars have had the advantage in both areas since the year dot. It just depends how much money you're prepared to spend, but there are a lot of smaller EU makers with incredible products for woderful prices, such as Noble. For vintage US muscle tho, the Cobra takes a lot of beating and it is heart-breakingly beautiful. Its that, an E-type or a 250GT IMHO if you want a classic and are a millionaire.