Thread: should i get started?

hi everyone

i'm thinking of trying shaving with a straight razor cause i cant find the right combination of blades/foam/post shave stuff for my skin that doesnt irritate it, trouble is i dont know if the same will happen with a straight razor! obviously its much more expensive to just 'give it a go' with a straight razor than an ordinary disposable, but is there a way to try it first without spending a fortune? i've seen things like the dovo shavette ( Dovo "Shavette" Razors ), does anyone know if these are any good and how similiar it is to shaving with a proper razor?

thanks

You might just go get a shave from a barber and discuss your problem with him/her. Whippeddog.com as some very inexpensive starter kits if you want to look at that. yes there are many more ways to go with a straight razor as you will find out from reading more. But some of the folks here have answers to your initial problem and using a straight may be part of it. Good luck and welcome to SRP ! If you can't find out what you need to know here, your not going to be able to Google it either.

2 things I should warn you about.... Cheap is not always the best option . check out the library and look for " Brands to avoid". And get it sharp what ever you get. A dull razor will hurt your face more than anything. Seems funny but that is the way it works.

Hey dtw. I was exactly the same, my neck was always very irrated after a shave and no matter what foam, gel or after shave balm I used, never helped. Neck and upper lip were always red and neck bumpy.

I started with a cheap boar brush and palmolive shave stick with my fusion and that got a closer shave and a little less irration. Then I went for a Dovo Best Quality, and a better soap and basic badger brush (knowing I'd still use these instead of foam). Irration disappeared straight away and only reappears if the edge is dulled. As I get better with the straight there's not redness any more and no bumps on neck area.

I went to a barber for a shave and they used a shavette. It was NOT comfortable. Nowhere as good as a proper straight. Then again, the person doing the shave didn't look much over 20 (if even that).

Two things:

If the only reason you're interested in a straight razor is to avoid hurting your face:

. . . try a DE ("safety") razor.

They're cheaper than straight razors -- anywhere from $5 Gillettes at antique shops to $35-40 for shiny, new Edwin Jagger (DE 89) and Merkur (34C) razors.

Blades are cheap -- ten cents to 50 cents each -- and last for a few shaves. No stropping, no honing. you can get a 'blade sampler' online and find out what you like, and what you don't -- blades differ.

The learning curve is much shorter than for a straight razor. And the chance for serious damage -- deep cuts -- is way, way lower.

Other people have gone from cartridges to DE's, and had good results -- closer shave, less irritation.

Second thing:

You haven't given any details on what you do for beard prep. The most common cause of irritated skin is simply too much pressure on the razor! The cure is two-fold:

. . . Use a good soap and brush to soften the beard, and provide a protective layer of lather,
. . . before the shave;

. . . Use a _really sharp_ blade (not a cartridge -- a DE or a straight) so that it cuts your
. . . beard with _no pressure_ on the razor.

Don't depend on aftershave products -- once your skin is raw, it's raw.

If you're allergic to soap ingredients -- if you get irritation just by lathering and not shaving -- that's a different issue.

. Charles

Originally Posted by cpcohen1945

with _no pressure_ on the razor.


. Charles

dtw I was in the same boat as you, and I took the plunge on both the DE and str8. When these guys say *no* pressure, they mean it - none, and the DE and the str8 will shave the beard with zero pulling, zero scratching, zero bumps, zero irritation. But it's much more of a skill than scratching the "comfort of 5 blades" tool through canned goop. There is a learning curve, but well worth it especially with those kinds of irritation problems.

...and for the record I'm still very much learning, but I've seen enough progress in 2 or 3 weeks to really start to understand what people are talking about when they say "no pressure" and "no pulling"

thanks everyone, good to know i'm not the only one who struggles!

at the moment i use a 3 blade wilkinson sword hydro cartridge and matching gel. i'm only 21 and can still (just about) get away with shaving every other day. its not great but its the best i've tried so far. i hadn't thought of the pressure on the skin though, will have to see if that helps. i definitely think i'll try a brush and 'old fashioned' lather as well and see if that makes any difference. i've looked at DE razors and (probably wrongly) assumed i would have the same problems as with cartridges so thats definitely worth a look, thanks. as for a straight, its on the 'to try' list at some stage in the future!

how often does a straight razor need stropping and honing?

thanks, dan

Needs stropped before every shave. As for honing, that depends. When you've developed good stropping and shave technique, I've heard once or twice a year. More often when starting out. I've only started about a month and a half ago, but started using soap and brush with the cartridge about over 3 months ago.

If you dont get started, you will never know!

Whether you go with a straight or
a DE be sure to stretch the skin and
use a light touch - let the razor glide
down your face.

Checkout the video link below. It
shows proper technique for both
a DE or straight.

Shaving videos - Straight Razor Place Wiki

There is a wealth of information
in the Library section of SRP and
lots of videos on Youtube showing
both straight razor and DE shaving.

Terry

+1 on whippeddog.com. You can get started using a cosmetically flawed but perfectly good razor and a not pretty but again perfectly functional strop for about 50 dollars. If you want you could probably go on shaving with just these things for a good long time, just needing to send your blade out for honing every so often. If you don't like it I bet you could even recoup some of your money reselling it here on the classifieds. There is a very affordable plastic DE razor on amazon.com for about 6 bucks which I heard is a decent razor to just give safety razors a try.