What Do You Dislike Most About SR Shaving?

[Jakebullet]

I find it a bit hard to shave my chin and moustache area. My whiskers in those areas seem more dense and coarse and the blade just bounces off and I have to be really careful not to cut myself if I press the razor and cleaning those areas super closely is very hard for me.
The other thing that I don't like is that I will have to eventually learn how to hone my straights. The problem is that the chances of ruining my razors is very high, but that's the only way to learn how to do it and i'm kinda afraid to try it.

I found learning to hone to be fun and relaxing and I’m still very much learning though I can keep my razors sharp and fix minor problems like chips and dings.
If you’re just refreshing then it’s really not difficult once you get the feel and the chance of damaging a razor with most finishing abrasives is tiny.
Buy some 1 micron lapping film and a flat acrylic block of a thick sheet of glass/stone and give it a try it’s not too hard to learn.

 

[global_dev]

I have realized that my general sink/bathroom area is not well setup for the best straight razor experience.

 

[Rusty Blade]

I have realized that my general sink/bathroom area is not well setup for the best straight razor experience.

I agree...my bathroom is not the best set up for SR shaving...but I make do. Your comment reminded me of the guys in the trenches in WW1.

 

[Jakebullet]

I agree...my bathroom is not the best set up for SR shaving...but I make do. Your comment reminded me of the guys in the trenches in WW1.
View attachment 1269891

What a great photo

 

[Eastcoast30]

So many razors; so little time!

 

[Dovo1695]

I disliked the sharpening, honing and stropping, but only because my edges really never got to where I wanted them. Luckily, it turns out "just shy of shave ready" is "screaming sharp" for kitchen knives. Now I have a lot of expensive, and stupidly sharp Japanese kitchen knives, and I shave with DE razors.

I get to use all my stones and shave with Feathers. I'm a happy guy!

 

[global_dev]

Its so interesting to see the divide between those who love honing and those that find it a negative. I wonder when the decision is made in the thought process

 

[Biltong & Boerewors]

Its so interesting to see the divide between those who love honing and those that find it a negative. I wonder when the decision is made in the thought process

I started with shavettes, thinking "let's learn to shave first". It worked, but ever since childhood I have been fascinated with being able to hone knives and for that matter anything else that needed sharpening.

Didn't take me long to buy my first set of vintage razors and hone them on the 3k/8k combo stone I had for my knives. I could get reasonable edges, better than most "shave ready" edges, using only that and a home made leather paddle strop with Crox. Total set-up cost of less than £20. I later added a Naniwa 12k and diamond pasted balsa strops, and it's only fairly recently that I treated myself to two more 3k and 8k Naniwa stones. Didn't really improve the edges, just made it easier, and more enjoyable, to achieve.

Shows you that you don't need to spend hundreds to hone your own razors. A bit of patience and willingness to learn goes a long way.

 

[Contact_vs_Feedback]

I was given a couple of Feather Artist Club razors (folding and Kamisori) along with three different types of blades.

The generosity is overwhelming, I couldn't process it initially, I hated that about me.

As for the least liked part of straight razor/ Artist Club razor shaving:

I couldn't be proficient soon enough, that is what I like less, but I don't hate it. It's a part that I look forward but also dread.
Am I making sense?

I don't have enough stubble to shave after a regular few days of Straight Razor shaving, because I keep getting close shaves even with 2 passes daily.

This is the part I hate with straight razor shaving.

 

[Dominic]

I agree...my bathroom is not the best set up for SR shaving...but I make do. Your comment reminded me of the guys in the trenches in WW1.
View attachment 1269891

I was noticing how he gripped the razor.

 

[Tomo]

Its so interesting to see the divide between those who love honing and those that find it a negative. I wonder when the decision is made in the thought process

When I test the edge is generally when I decide if I enjoyed the honing session. It always fun getting a perfect edge. Stuffing up a good one is significantly less fun.

 

[Hachet]

Under the nose.

 

[global_dev]

When I test the edge is generally when I decide if I enjoyed the honing session. It always fun getting a perfect edge. Stuffing up a good one is significantly less fun.

No denying case by case disappointment, but i am talking full on put-off, like really dislike it and/or not interested in it.

 

[PintoPlain]

Its so interesting to see the divide between those who love honing and those that find it a negative. I wonder when the decision is made in the thought process

I said making the time to hone is a negative. Once I start honing, it is quite therapeutic. Fortunately I have found a workaround that I will now share.

Get more razors. That is all.

When I make the time to hone, I refresh all of my razors that require a touch up. And do a full hone on new acquisitions. Use the refreshed razors (even in rotation if you wish) until they need a touch up then set aside and use another razor. Continue until the urge to hone returns or until you have no more shaveable razors. If the final unfortunate situation occurs, it can be remedied by acquiring more razors.

 

[haggis]

No denying case by case disappointment, but i am talking full on put-off, like really dislike it and/or not interested in it.

I'll confess. I don't particularly enjoy honing. I would *like* to like it, but I haven't really mustered as much enthusiasm as I might have expected.

While completely hypocritical — I enjoy all sorts of messy things I'm not good at — I find honing time-consuming, error-prone, and somewhat messy. I am able to get reasonable, functional edges but they are just not as pleasant as those I've used from certain people.

Balsa has been a lifesaver for me — it's easily incorporated into a simple daily routine along with stropping, and nudges my mediocre edges into more satisfactory efficiency. No mojo, and again not as pleasant feeling (to me) as some natural edges, but I'm reasonably certain each day that I will be able to do a Fool's Pass effectively and without drama.

My enjoyment seems to come more from the daily dance with a new razor from the rotation and learning and savoring their varied personalities. This rotational bias works against the iterative process that would lead to mastering, fine-tuning, and exploring honing — and the enjoyment that would come from learning the personalities of various finishes. I am obsessional in some areas of life and will work and rework something until exhaustion or enlightenment, but for some reason with straights I'm more in the "Next!" category right now.

I'm open to the idea things could change. For example, asteroids exist.

 

[Dave Sl8r]

Bad geometry, especially when you had or have high hopes for a particular find.
These razors get moved into the challenge box for when I'm feeling it...so to speak.

Its so interesting to see the divide between those who love honing and those that find it a negative. I wonder when the decision is made in the thought process

Great topic for another thread.

 

[Dominic]

I said making the time to hone is a negative. Once I start honing, it is quite therapeutic. Fortunately I have found a workaround that I will now share.

Get more razors. That is all.

When I make the time to hone, I refresh all of my razors that require a touch up. And do a full hone on new acquisitions. Use the refreshed razors (even in rotation if you wish) until they need a touch up then set aside and use another razor. Continue until the urge to hone returns or until you have no more shaveable razors. If the final unfortunate situation occurs, it can be remedied by acquiring more razors.

New blades for a shavette might be a little cheaper.

 

[PintoPlain]

New blades for a shavette might be a little cheaper.

How dare you, sir!

 

[Dominic]

How dare you, sir!

At least you called me sir.

 

[steveclarkus]

Most gentleman enjoy SR shaving but there is probably something that you do not like as much. What is it for you?

Interesting question. I’ve used straight razors exclusively for more than three years now and it is just the way I shave. Same as when I used a DE then a cart. After a while the novelty fades and I don’t give much thought to the positives or negatives. I have over 30 razors all honed and polished to 200k but instead of a different razor each day, I usually go a couple of weeks before changing blades. I use the same cream (Palmolive) and same brush (Omega boar) and Old Spice AS every day. My strop was made by the shoe shop guy down the street (it looks a bit primitive but works beautifully). I’ve become an old school shaver I suppose I suppose - nothing fancy or exciting but satisfied.