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When You Are Interested In Trying Straight Razor Shaving…

Here is my perspective on what is in the mind of somebody who is interested to try straight razor shaving, the (unhelpful?) advice they will often get, and why any talk of balsa strops will likely make them go straight back to DE razors….

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Balsa strops are not merely a bridge too far, they are a bridge-you-have-to-build-yourself too far.

I find that a Feather Artist Club razor with Feather Proguard blades is an excellent way to try out straight razor shaving without being offputting, over-complicated, or filling your house with masses of stuff. Guarded blades are the key, and are a really nice bit of technology.

Just my opinion based on my journey so far. I think people can get into all the other stuff after they find out what they want from straight razor shaving, and what they are interested in to develop the experience further (if anything).
 

rbscebu

Girls call me Makaluod
I agree that getting a replaceable blade SR can be an economical way into SR shaving. Many of the shaving skills so developed can be carried over into traditional SR shaving if the person later wishes to try that.

The main downside with replaceable blade SR shaving is that it is less forgiving, particularly to a n00bie. This can be more off-putting to some than the effort a n00bie needs to put into learning to strop a traditional SR. By less forgiving, I mean that a slight error in shaving technique can more easily lead to skin damage/irritation.

Many also experience enjoyment and satisfaction in maintaining their own traditional SR's. Others don't and just consider it a chore that has to be done.

The main thing is that those contemplating SR shaving are impartially informed of all the pros and cons of starting with either of the two types of SR shaving. They can then make an informed decision that is hopefully right for them.

As for pasted balsa strops, they are but only one way of many to maintain a traditional SR. Another is to use a pasted cloth strop and send the SR out to be rehoned on whetstones every few (6?) months.
 
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I agree that getting a replaceable blade SR can be an economical way into SR shaving. Many of the shaving skills so developed can be carried over into traditional SR shaving if the person later wishes to try that.

The main downside with replaceable blade SR shaving is that it is less forgiving, particularly to a n00bie. This can be more off-putting to some than the effort a n00bie needs to put into learning to strop a traditional SR. By less forgiving, I mean that a slight error in shaving technique can more easily lead to skin damage/irritation.

Many also experience enjoyment and satisfaction in maintaining their own traditional SR's. Others don't and just consider it a chore that has to be done.

The main thing is that those contemplating SR shaving are impartially informed of all the pros and cons of starting with either of the two types of SR shaving. They can then make an informed decision that is hopefully right for them.

As for pasted balsa strops, they are but only one way of many to maintain a traditional SR. Another is to use a pasted cloth strop and send the SR out to be rehoned on whetstones every few (6?) months.
I find guarded AC blades to be a safe experience, with a significant benefit in reducing skin irritation compared to a DE razor, and being fun to use. They are indeed very sharp, but at least you can’t slice your face with a guarded blade. The odd nick or weeper is no big deal to a DE shaver - they have had plenty of those before. But with an unguarded AC blade or a DE blade shavette, a newbie, unaccustomed to handling a straight razor, will almost certainly get some nasty cuts - and I agree this is more offputting than learning to strop.

Stropping is a drag if all you have in your head is that you want to shave with a straight razor. Even having to own and store a strop is an encumbrance, let alone learning it and doing it fifty-plus times for every shave. And I think what is even more offputting is that the shaver knows their edge is still deteriorating all the time and all the stropping won’t stop that. It’s a mental barrier just knowing that your blade won’t last unless you also acquire hones and learn to use them, or find somebody who you trust to hone the razor for you (and how many newbies actually know someone local like that?). I doubt many DE shavers really take the plunge into SR shaving unless they already have a solution worked out for maintaining their edges - it’s a major barrier to entry, and unsatisfactory to not have a long-term answer before you buy your first razor.

All that said, traditional straight razor shaving is well worth taking up, but you have to really be committed to learning multiple skills and acquiring all the kit. There are rabbit-holes within rabbit-holes, and I suspect nobody who enjoys SR shaving will not stop at just a set of synthetic stones. An Artist Club razor is a worthwhile improvement over DE shaving in many ways and I think it gives you enough of the experience you initially wanted, in an accessible way. It’s a gateway drug, really, but at least you have the option of not letting it take over your whole life. If you enjoy it enough you will probably get into all the other stuff sooner or later, and one day even find yourself buying balsa wood and perspex.
 

rbscebu

Girls call me Makaluod
.... But with an unguarded AC blade or a DE blade shavette, a newbie, unaccustomed to handling a straight razor, will almost certainly get some nasty cuts ....
I wouldn't say "certainly" but there is a higher probability. There is less probability with a traditional SR. I can't comment on protected AC blade's as I have never used one.
 
send the SR out to be rehoned on whetstones every few (6?) months.

Is there anything close to consensus on frequency of honing? I've read advice on this site that calls for sending the razor out ONCE for pro stoning and then being set for life with the need only for stropping.
 
Is there anything close to consensus on frequency of honing? I've read advice on this site that calls for sending the razor out ONCE for pro stoning and then being set for life with the need only for stropping.
Not only stropping, but also refreshing the edge with an abrasive like a diamond-pasted balsa strop. You cannot re-sharpen an edge by stropping on plain leather.
 
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I wouldn't say "certainly" but there is a higher probability. There is less probability with a traditional SR. I can't comment on protected AC blade's as I have never used one.
Guarded AC blades are a marvel. I don’t know how they manufacture them so cheaply. It’s up there with the soda can ring-pulls as an engineering feat, in my opinion. They only really make sense in an Artist Club razor, which they were designed for, not in a SE safety razor, where there is little point. The guards don’t really reduce the effectiveness of the blade, but they prevent any accidental slicing of the skin.

I would always recommend guarded blades for a newbie using an Artist Club razor.
 
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A barbers razor hone is perfectly capable of maintaining a shaving edge, I’d recommend it as an uncomplicated way to get started without having to worry about multiple stones or sending the razor out to be honed. I started with a Carborundum 101A razor hone(I think it’s important that the carborundum is described as a razor hone on the box). The first razor I put on it came as an unsharpened blank Wusthof Dreizack extra and the carborundum took it from that state to being easier to use and giving me an easier shave than the shave ready TI I bought as my first straight razor. The carborundum also improved the TI after I’d likely dulled it during the first weeks of shaving and stropping.
 
A barbers razor hone is perfectly capable of maintaining a shaving edge, I’d recommend it as an uncomplicated way to get started without having to worry about multiple stones or sending the razor out to be honed. I started with a Carborundum 101A razor hone(I think it’s important that the carborundum is described as a razor hone on the box). The first razor I put on it came as an unsharpened blank Wusthof Dreizack extra and the carborundum took it from that state to being easier to use and giving me an easier shave than the shave ready TI I bought as my first straight razor. The carborundum also improved the TI after I’d likely dulled it during the first weeks of shaving and stropping.

Excellent advice on the Barber Hone.
 
Is there anything close to consensus on frequency of honing? I've read advice on this site that calls for sending the razor out ONCE for pro stoning and then being set for life with the need only for stropping.

Frequency of honing is subjective to the level of skill a person has with a strop for starters. Many a perfect edge have been ruined on the leather or by dinging it on the faucet spigot. How do I know? I did both in the few two weeks of just learning how to use a straight razor over a decade ago.

Different edges degrade at different intervals based upon the strop, how many shaves and on what beard types. A barber hone or pasted strops/balsa are a couple of ways a Gent can keep an edge going.
 

rbscebu

Girls call me Makaluod
Is there anything close to consensus on frequency of honing? I've read advice on this site that calls for sending the razor out ONCE for pro stoning and then being set for life with the need only for stropping.
If money is tight, here are two ways to maintain a traditional SR with an already shave-ready edge:
  1. Put together a set of diamond pasted balsa strops. Almost zero learning if you follow the instructions and the SR should never need honing on stones again. Maintenance takes 2 to 3 minutes after every shave.
  2. Put together a lapping film substrate with lapping films. Learn to hone and refresh the edge whenever needed. Your face will tell you when needed. You can also produce your own shave-ready edge with lapping films (not with pasted balsa).
If you only have a few SR's, the lapping film method is probably the cheapest. The pasted balsa method gives the keenest edge but, per year, probably takes a little longer.
 
traditional straight razor shaving is well worth taking up, but you have to really be committed to learning multiple skills
You hit the nail on the head there! Straight razor shaving is not about convenience.

I started with half DE blade shavettes, thinking that I couldn't be bothered with all the stropping/honing carry-on. About a year in, I bought a set of two vintage razors, and through trial and error taught myself to hone them to an acceptable edge. Nobody to teach me apart from YouTube. I started with a 3k/8k combo stone I already had for sharpening knives, and I made myself a leather paddle strop pasted with CrOx. It was a cheap start, I didn't want to commit a mountain of cash on something I wasn't sure would suit me.

Turns out it did suit me, and as my skills improved, so did my equipment, incremental. If I had an experienced mentor, I probably could have saved a lot of effort and money by going straight to what works best. My garage is still littered with discarded home-made paddles of different designs. For the uninformed it may look like somewhat of a spanking fetish! :c4:

Pasted balsa is not compulsory, you can make it is simple as you want for a start. They didn't have pasted balsa 100 years ago, but somehow they got by.

We are spoiled by laser-sharp edges, and information "how-to" easily accessible everywhere. To some extent too much information, it's sometimes difficult to separate the BS from the truth.
 

rbscebu

Girls call me Makaluod
^^^ All very true. I also had to teach myself to SR shave and hone at the same time. Fortunately I found B&B at the start (after my initial RSO) and the B&B Method. That helped a lot.

I started honing with lapping films (cheap and available). Later I moved on to include diamond pasted balsa strops. Even later, I started to include some whetstones in my honing.

It's an enjoyable hobby for me and I love every minute of it. Others may feel differently.
 
Here is my perspective on what is in the mind of somebody who is interested to try straight razor shaving, the (unhelpful?) advice they will often get, and why any talk of balsa strops will likely make them go straight back to DE razors….

View attachment 1437341

Balsa strops are not merely a bridge too far, they are a bridge-you-have-to-build-yourself too far.

I find that a Feather Artist Club razor with Feather Proguard blades is an excellent way to try out straight razor shaving without being offputting, over-complicated, or filling your house with masses of stuff. Guarded blades are the key, and are a really nice bit of technology.

Just my opinion based on my journey so far. I think people can get into all the other stuff after they find out what they want from straight razor shaving, and what they are interested in to develop the experience further (if anything).
LOL love that depiction. Thanks for the laugh.

That's exaclty why I love SR shaving though. I like buying new stuff to play with and experiment. I was elated when I started getting consistent edges on my own and frankly I enjoy honing a little more than I do shaving to be frank.

Can't wait to get into balsa strops too one day and really digging into the thread to get it figured out. I'll probably end up making them with my dad as a project together.

I can see how getting into a traditional straight razor could seem daunting and a little much at times, but that's exactly what I love about it. To each their own. It absolutely has turned people off from getting into it unfortunately. There are a million ways to skin a cat and everyone's method is the best method, and LOVES talking about it.
 
:)

It certainly seems like you have found something that works well for you, and you may well be right in thinking that at least some others that should start off or always shave that way too.

That system certainly does have advantages such as the ability to get a very sharp, high- quality blade anytime without any hassle and above all, without any doubt that new shavers / honers have. They are also of course very consistent and so they will not yield varying shaves (good, lousy, adequate and the very occasional 'outstanding' but not able to reliably repeat).

I have personally not used those guarded blades but it does make sense that they would greatly reduce or eliminate the risk of deep cuts.

Anyway, glad you found a method that you like and works well for you and of course you are correct about not opening the hatch to the endless rabbit hole that all 'hobbies' can, and often do, become. And while I do not think you are saving money because those replacement blades are relatively expensive (at least compared with DE blades), you are almost certainly losing money at a slower rate than most of us are...... :)

<snip>

Balsa strops are not merely a bridge too far, they are a bridge-you-have-to-build-yourself too far.

I find that a Feather Artist Club razor with Feather Proguard blades is an excellent way to try out straight razor shaving without being offputting, over-complicated, or filling your house with masses of stuff. Guarded blades are the key, and are a really nice bit of technology.

Just my opinion based on my journey so far. I think people can get into all the other stuff after they find out what they want from straight razor shaving, and what they are interested in to develop the experience further (if anything).
 
:)

It certainly seems like you have found something that works well for you, and you may well be right in thinking that at least some others that should start off or always shave that way too.

That system certainly does have advantages such as the ability to get a very sharp, high- quality blade anytime without any hassle and above all, without any doubt that new shavers / honers have. They are also of course very consistent and so they will not yield varying shaves (good, lousy, adequate and the very occasional 'outstanding' but not able to reliably repeat).

I have personally not used those guarded blades but it does make sense that they would greatly reduce or eliminate the risk of deep cuts.

Anyway, glad you found a method that you like and works well for you and of course you are correct about not opening the hatch to the endless rabbit hole that all 'hobbies' can, and often do, become. And while I do not think you are saving money because those replacement blades are relatively expensive (at least compared with DE blades), you are almost certainly losing money at a slower rate than most of us are...... :)
I am actually starting to get into honing and I acquired a couple of coticules as well as a translucent Ark, in addition to a Naniwa synthetic progression. I think if you enjoy the Artist Club razor experience then you will inevitably end up with traditional straights and stones - but you can shave with the Artist Club on guarded blades right away and take your time to acquire / practice the other stuff until it works well for you.

I think the best advice I could have got at the start was to get the Artist Club razor and Proguard blades first. That would keep things simple and avoid the frustration of buying all the other stuff and not really being able to use it or get / maintain acceptable edges for a while - not really experiencing what straight razor shaving feels like and the advantages of it. An AC razor with guarded blades gives you most of the SR experience without any complication. And if for any reason I didn’t enjoy the AC razor, I wouldn’t have a load of unwanted stones, strops, lapping plate, etc. If I do enjoy it (as I do) then I have much more motivation to invest the time required to develop my honing and stropping skills - it means I will stick with it.

There may be exceptions, but I believe most people who want to try straight razor shaving are interested initially just in the shaving part, and are uninterested in honing or stropping. Interest in honing comes later, as a result of enjoying the shaving and wanting to see what they can do to tailor the edge to their liking.

I’m sure even when I’ve become fully competent maintaining a traditional straight razor I will still use my AC razor sometimes. It’s a good tool and very convenient if I don’t have time for stropping or refreshing an edge.

But, as I say, the guarded blades are the key here. Unguarded AC blades or half-DE blade shavettes are really sharp and dangerous things in inexperienced hands, and very likely indeed to give you a nasty injury that may put you off the entire idea. Handling a straight razor the first few times is quite awkward.

And maybe I will make some balsa strops some day. But to my mind that is something for much later, as a way to maybe refine my blade maintenance process or to experiment with a different edge.
 
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I am actually starting to get into honing and I acquired a couple of coticules as well as a translucent Ark, in addition to a Naniwa synthetic progression. I think if you enjoy the Artist Club razor experience then you will inevitably end up with traditional straights and stones - but you can shave with the Artist Club on guarded blades right away and take your time to acquire / practice the other stuff until it works well for you.

I think the best advice I could have got at the start was to get the Artist Club razor and Proguard blades first. That would keep things simple and avoid the frustration of buying all the other stuff and not really being able to use it or get / maintain acceptable edges for a while - not really experiencing what straight razor shaving feels like and the advantages of it. An AC razor with guarded blades gives you most of the SR experience without any complication. And if for any reason I didn’t enjoy the AC razor, I wouldn’t have a load of unwanted stones, strops, lapping plate, etc. If I do enjoy it (as I do) then I have much more motivation to invest the time required to develop my honing and stropping skills - it means I will stick with it.

There may be exceptions, but I believe most people who want to try straight razor shaving are interested initially just in the shaving part, and are uninterested in honing or stropping. Interest in honing comes later, as a result of enjoying the shaving and wanting to see what they can do to tailor the edge to their liking.

I’m sure even when I’ve become fully competent maintaining a traditional straight razor I will still use my AC razor sometimes. It’s a good tool and very convenient if I don’t have time for stropping or refreshing an edge.

But, as I say, the guarded blades are the key here. Unguarded AC blades or half-DE blade shavettes are really sharp and dangerous things in inexperienced hands, and very likely indeed to give you a nasty injury that may put you off the entire idea. Handling a straight razor the first few times is quite awkward.

And maybe I will make some balsa strops some day. But to my mind that is something for much later, as a way to maybe refine my blade maintenance process or to experiment with a different edge.

You're on the right track in my opinion. I was right where you are now about 11 years ago. I still use my straights exclusively now and I still maintain my own edges.

Enjoy the journey .....
 
Stropping is a drag if all you have in your head is that you want to shave with a straight razor. Even having to own and store a strop is an encumbrance, let alone learning it and doing it fifty-plus times for every shave.
not to mention the rest of the family. They'd say I'm a looney for sure if I showed up with strops, stones, etc. I would find myself shaving outdoors pretty soon :)
 
Nice write up. I got a good laugh out of that. I particularly liked the shouty advise caption that people get the moment they express any interest in straight razor shaving. That and the pile of stuff you will end up buying. Very true.

Shaving with a traditional straight razor that you’ve honed yourself on natural stone is the ultimate shave experience going. There are many ways to get there and the perfect shave doesn’t happen overnight. If guarded blades or balsa is what it takes to get started that’s fine. The main thing is getting started. Everyone finds their own way. It’s something you can only really master by doing. It’s not the easiest thing in the world but the most satisfying things never are.
 
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