Page 2 of 2 FirstFirst 12
Results 11 to 17 of 17
  1. #11
    The Hurdy Gurdy Man thebigspendur's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    New Mexico
    Posts
    32,737
    Thanked: 5016
    Blog Entries
    4

    Default

    Starting with a straight is a YMMV type of thing. Some guys really take to it really well from the beginning and those guys can't understand why many do struggle. Just remember that for every guy who picks up a straight for the first time and gets a perfect shave there is a guy who struggles for a year and never gets it and quits. However for most of us it just doesn't happen that way and it really does take some time to master. I also think the first shave is the most difficult. The problem is after we struggle through a few first shaves we goet cocky and thats when we do the most damage or at least that's what I found.
    No matter how many men you kill you can't kill your successor-Emperor Nero

  2. #12
    Senior Member toolarts's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    SF Bay Area
    Posts
    280
    Thanked: 18

    Default good, but some problems

    The only thing I disagree with is that "sharpening" as you say it, is easy.

    Uh-uh. For most of us it isn't.

    Honing is actually pretty difficult, and most people cannot get it going the way you describe it.


    I'm not stupid, and I'm pretty good with tools, and I have been sharpening things for years.

    I could not consistently get a good sharp razor until I had been honing for at least 4 months, and I tried many, many different stones, and the Norton never worked for me.

    Don't know why there is such wide variation in experience with this, but there is. Part of it may be some of us have steadier hands than others, maybe some of us have tougher skin and finer beards, who knows.

    Maybe some people just get lucky and get Ebite razors that aren't warped and are pretty close to shave ready when they arrive (I have gotten a few this way).

    Honing is not for everyone, and newbies are better off NOT honing their own razors until they learn to shave.

  3. #13
    < Banned User >
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Posts
    3,763
    Thanked: 735

    Default

    A Straight Shave is the Closest You'll Ever Have
    True. It's amazing. The great shave i had, i thought i hadn't washed all the soap off my face because it was so smooth. I now shave at night (as i can't imagine getting up any earlier and still making it to work) and my face is still smoother in the morning than if i had shaved with my Mach3 that morning. Still have a very respectable looking face when i go out in the evening. Try that with a safety razor. Really, it's amazing.
    I always have an issue with this one.

    A straight shave is probably the most enjoyable shave you'll ever have, but I have not found it to be closer than a good DE shave.

    Better and closer than an M3? Probably so.

    Closer than my Merkur Futur loaded with a Feather? Not gonna happen.

    All the reasons given for why a straight shave is closer (usually referencing skin stretching, etc, can also be applied to your DE shave to get awesome results. I was travelling over the weekend, and so I packed up the Futur for hotel-room shaving. Had a fantastic 11p.m. 3 pass shave on 36 hour whiskers that was smooth as butter all through the folllowing day.

    Of course it was back to the straight this morning, which was another excellent shave, but certainly not any closer (both give me BBS goodness).

  4. #14
    Senior Member tjiscooler's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    Norwalk, CT
    Posts
    401
    Thanked: 17

    Default

    I think that a good DE shave is a bit closer and gets into spots i cant even touch with my straight, i have a thin face and its hard to get in the hollow and whatnot. A DE is not as fun tho...and straights look cooler

  5. #15
    BHAD cured Sticky's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Indiana
    Posts
    1,306
    Thanked: 230

    Default

    I still like Williams cakes from Walgreens. Must be the smell of the stuff.

  6. #16
    Member Smalleyboy's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    Northern Ireland
    Posts
    56
    Thanked: 4

    Default

    A straight shave is probably the most enjoyable shave you'll ever have, but I have not found it to be closer than a good DE shave.
    I have to agree. I recently spent some time away from home, staying in hotels and I took my Futur with me and I got consistently BBS shaves with it. It is an excellent shave. However, it just isn't fun like a straight is.

  7. #17
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    Washington, DC
    Posts
    448
    Thanked: 50

    Default

    "I Want to Shave with a Straight to Save Money
    False (not likely) When i started i justified the expense with the fact that i would never have to buy cartridges again. Well, then i started adding up the costs of the razors, strops, sharpening, brushes, soaps and more.... I'm sure that it eventually breaks even but i don't expect it to happen before my midlife crisis. That being said, part of this is due to the fact that i really like buying straights and expanding my collection (four now after two months). I've stopped buying for a bit because i have two great shavers.. but who knows how long it will last."

    I find that you just have to avoid confusing "want" with "need." Through judicious search and purchase methods, I found a decent Boker for $9 and a similar Wade and Butcher for $10. I added a 12k Guangxi. True, I already had 4000 and 8000 stones and a strop, but the soaps and stuff are things you'd buy anyway.

    And I just looked at Walgreen's, and the latest generation Gillette cartridges are going for $3.50 apiece. Doesn't take long to cost that out.

    j

Page 2 of 2 FirstFirst 12

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •