To keep my Feather AC or switch to a regular Straight or Slant?

[woodbane]

Hello gents,

Well now I'm in a quandary! I've been using the Feather AC for about 2 months now to shave with on a Friday evening....my weekend shave I call it.

Trouble is, I get very mixed results. Some weeks I'll get a very nice shave, others (like this last Friday) I'll resemble a victim from the Texas Chainsaw massacre. I've tried all 3 blades and so far the Pro Guards are coming in tops.

So, I got to thinking, maybe I'd be better off with a regular straight or even a Slant Bar for my Friday night 'weekend shave', the aim of which is to get me so smooth I don't need to shave on Saturday or Sunday.

There's a gentleman on the Selling/Trading Forum currently that's looking to trade a regular straight and a paddle strop for a Feather. The straight has been honed by Lynn from SRP as well so I know it'll be sharp (for a while anyway!). Maybe I should consider it?

Or......should I go for a Slant Bar? My DE technique is now very good and I'm shaving my usual daily routine with a Futur set wide open with a Feather Blade. I haven't had a nick/cut or irritation for weeks with this combo and can't see any reason to change it. I would be hopeful that the Slant/Feather blade combo could get me about as close as I could want on my Friday shave.

Last option, keep on plugging away with the Feather AC and hope it's all gonna click into place. I'm sure half the problem is that only shaving once per week with it I'm not getting enough practice but there you have it, I really don't have the time to shave with it on a daily basis.

Opinions and advice from you fine bunch of gents would be much appreciated.

 

[guenron]

Andy, you sound deeply conflicted and should seek help from MTSSB!
Barring premature dimentia though, the rather limited use of the AC is probably at the root of your consistency issue.
I won't pretend to know what it is you are really looking for in a shave in your inner self of selves. The Futur - Feather combo should give you as close and clean a shave as the \| or the AC.

 

[rtaylor61]

Don't forget that once you use the razor, the blade is deteriorating. I would say hang on to the Feather until you have tried a straight. Sam got rid of his, then got rid of his straights and bought another Feather. Spend some time at SRP to get more of a feel of things.

Randy

 

[Sam]

Randy is right, and I made him swear his unborn grandchildren's lives that he would not let me sell my Feather. I liked the beauty and weight and aural feedback of a regular straight. However, stropping and honing were not techniques that I was able to get down. I rolled my edge on occasion and was too stupid to know the difference. I tried pastes and they helped somewhat. Yet with the Feather, it is about the only thing that really mimics a regular straight. Shavewise, the straights would snag a bit, even when honed by Lynn (I never got an edge better than when he had honed it). Yet the Feather did not snag one bit, but gave me more nicks. I am using a Super Pro up and I think I prefer the regular professional blade. I still have to touch up my neck with a DE but nothing, nothing, ever shaves me as close on my cheeks and keeps stubble away longer than a Feather straight razor.

My decision was also based on the fact that I shave in the shower, and so, speed is a bit more important to me than a long, luxurious shave.

Sam

 

[JMT]

I agree with Ron in that the lack of use is probably your main issue. My suggestion is shave with the Feather on Sunday night in place of your Monday morning shave. This way you will have plenty of time to shave and I would think you should still be smooth enough for work on Monday. Anything you can do to use the Feather more often should definitely help your technique and improve the consistency of your shaves.

 

[woodbane]

I agree with Ron in that the lack of use is probably your main issue. My suggestion is shave with the Feather on Sunday night in place of your Monday morning shave. This way you will have plenty of time to shave and I would think you should still be smooth enough for work on Monday. Anything you can do to use the Feather more often should definitely help your technique and improve the consistency of your shaves.

Jim,

Now why didn't I think of that? That would give me two shaves with the Feather quite close together, perhaps increasing the likelihood that I'll be able to improve my technique? Might have to give that a go this weekend!

Re blade choice, I just had my last shave with the Feather using a regular Pro (I swapped some Super Pros with rols from this board). I have to say that I've never had so many cuts from the Feather, man that blade just sliced me up!

For the time being I may stick with the Pro Guards while I work on my technique, then use the Super Pros which I think are a bit stiffer and thicker.

I seem to recall reading somewhere that some Feather users run a new blade through a wine cork a few times to take the wickedly sharp edge off.....anyone care to comment?

 

[vputz]

some Feather users run a new blade through a wine cork a few times to take the wickedly sharp edge off.....anyone care to comment?

Since you asked for comments and not intelligent discourse, I must just say that this idea sounds like pouring sugar into a martini because it's too dry. Silly-sharp is the whole point of Feathers!

(mostly kidding there--it's not like you have a plethora of blades to try in that).

Having said that, and having never tried a straight (I'm curious to try an AC at some point), I've heard many folks say that the point of a straight razor shave is the experience, not the closeness, and that a DE can shave as close or closer, if that is your goal.

I will say that my slant bar with a Feather (or Derby) has given me some fantastically close shaves with minimal effort (except in my usual problem spots). If close is your goal more than the "fun" of the straight-razor shave, I'd go that route (it's my "everyday" shave and is close and also fairly gentle).

 

[Coche_y_bondhu]

Hello Andy,

I agree with Jim. You will become more proficient and get better shaves by using the Feather more often.

I shave with the Proguard blades in my Feather AC, which I use on Saturday and Sunday shaves. The regular use of the Feather on days when I can take my time has helped immensely in feeling comfortable with the razor.

I am getting DE quality shaves with my Proguards, but I have to take my time, and that is possible on weekends. I also tried the Pro and Pro Super blades, but prefer the Proguards.

Practice makes perfect as they say.

Cheers,
Richard
Plano TX

 

[ouch]

The correct answer is to keep the Feather AC and to buy both a regular straight and a slant, and perhaps one or two others, just to be on the safe side.


I'm Winston Wolfe. I solve problems.

 

[mparker762]

I shaved with the feather pretty much every day for a month before switching to traditional straights. Get the razor/paddle combo from that guy in the trading forum, it should be a sharp razor and the paddle will serve you well to keep it sharp.

With a traditional straight the hard part isn't the shaving (that's pretty easy really), it's the honing that takes time to master. But pasted paddles make it much easier to keep a honed razor sharp, and if you don't want to tackle honing you can send the razor out to lynn or joe and get it honed for a few bucks.

If you've had the interest to try a feather then you've probably got the interest to try a straight. So go for it. I did, and never looked back.

Only downside of straights: RAD. You think DE people have it bad, imagine a world where there were hundreds of makes and models and grinds and steels over centuries, all on ebay just calling your name...