If there is anything stupid about straight razors it would be the maintenance required to keep it sharp.
The rest is practice, on the journey to perfection.
The rest is practice, on the journey to perfection.
He learned that from watching me!Do all your posts look like poems? I'm too lazy to check your post history right now.
That depends on your chosen maintenance routine. Using that diamond pasted hanging balsa strop routine only adds about 1 or 2 minutes to a shave and the blade should never need honing again.If there is anything stupid about straight razors it would be the maintenance required to keep it sharp.
The rest is practice, on the journey to perfection.
Don’t forget about the maintenance of the maintenance tools. Sometimes even the maintenance tool maintenance tools need to be maintained.If there is anything stupid about straight razors it would be the maintenance required to keep it sharp.
The rest is practice, on the journey to perfection.
Straight razors are ( or used to be ) barber tools.
They are made to be used to shave
another person with and not yourself.
Safety razors were invented for that
purpose.
Only problem with a pasted strop is that it will take the bluing, gold wash, paint, and frost/etching off of the blades you use it on. Otherwise if you’re not concerned with looks, it a fantastic way to maintain your edge. I wasn’t thinking and took a NOS Puma 222 to a Diamond strop and it fouled up the etching a little bit. So, for me I only use pastes on razors with no design on the blade.That depends on your chosen maintenance routine. Using that diamond pasted hanging balsa strop routine only adds about 1 or 2 minutes to a shave and the blade should never need honing again.
Mind you, not using the diamond pasted balsa routine could overall take less time. Refreshing an edge on a stone say every two months may only take about 30 minutes or less verses the 1 to 2 hours total spent on diamond pasted balsa over two months. The advantage with the diamond pasted balsa routine is that you get a fresh edge every shave. For that, I will spend the extra time.
It’s tough early on, but if you stick with it, soon you’ll be on the road to victory!Straight razors are stupid. That is all.
All my SR's have some form of decoration on the face, including some with gold wash. All of my SR's are maintained after each shave with a 0.1μm diamond pasted hanging balsa strop.Only problem with a pasted strop is that it will take the bluing, gold wash, paint, and frost/etching off of the blades you use it on. Otherwise if you’re not concerned with looks, it a fantastic way to maintain your edge. I wasn’t thinking and took a NOS Puma 222 to a Diamond strop and it fouled up the etching a little bit. So, for me I only use pastes on razors with no design on the blade.
Number one maintenance suggestion, keep it dry when not in use, in a cool(especially if vintage) dry place.
Would you mind sharing the source of the claim that straight razors were invented for shaving a second party, and not oneself? If that is correct, how did guys shave themselves (which I believe many did) during the industrial revolution in the 19th century. The safety razor I understand is a fairly recent innovation.Straight razors are ( or used to be ) barber tools.
They are made to be used to shave
another person with and not yourself.
Safety razors were invented for that
purpose.
I’m aware that many will pose objections to the above statements ,
but the nature of every tool is not
subject to one’s opinion.
Being able to shave your own face
with a straight razor does not qualify
the latter as being a tool for self-shaving.
You can kill a cockroach with a hammer of course ,but there are
other tools that will spare the floor tiles...
Would you mind sharing the source of the claim that straight razors were invented for shaving a second party, and not oneself? If that is correct, how did guys shave themselves (which I believe many did) during the industrial revolution in the 19th century. The safety razor I understand is a fairly recent innovation.
Maybe you're not as rough with them as I am LOL.All my SR's have some form of decoration on the face, including some with gold wash. All of my SR's are maintained after each shave with a 0.1μm diamond pasted hanging balsa strop.
None of my SR's show any sign of deterioration of the decoration on their faces.
I don't know what you did with your Puma 222 to foul the etching with a diamond pasted balsa strop. Very strange.
The "peach fuzz"It's universally acknowledged that straight razors are better for the skin. Women even remove the 'peach fuzz' with them.
The post shave feel is unique and has to be experienced
I think it’s fairly obvious .
Once upon a time every neighbourhood had it’s barber or
even more than one .Meaning that
MOST men were getting a shave from
a barber and not by themselves .
This started to rapidly decline once
the safety razor became the popular
tool for shaving .
Of course back then ,there were men
who used a straight to shave by themselves.But they were the minority
( as they still remain nowadays).
Me thinks the minority is always
the “exception” and never the “rule”.
If straight razors were made for shaving oneself ,safety razors ,cartridge and electrics would have never been as popular as they eventually had or have become.
I think it’s fairly obvious .
Once upon a time every neighbourhood had it’s barber or
even more than one .Meaning that
MOST men were getting a shave from
a barber and not by themselves .
This started to rapidly decline once
the safety razor became the popular
tool for shaving .
Of course back then ,there were men
who used a straight to shave by themselves.But they were the minority
( as they still remain nowadays).
Me thinks the minority is always
the “exception” and never the “rule”.
If straight razors were made for shaving oneself ,safety razors ,cartridge and electrics would have never been as popular as they eventually had or have become.
Don’t know if I agree about life being about poetry? But your post on SR shaving seems to match my thoughts also.Life itself is poetry!