Found some how-tos and videos online, and I plan to visit a barber and get a straight-razor shave to see how it should feel. Just curious if any Hatrackers have straight razor experience. Straight razor shaving experience, mind you.
And yes, "my arm is whole again!" has come up...
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
quote:Originally posted by Chris Bridges: I plan to visit a barber and get a straight-razor shave to see how it should feel.
A year or so ago I decided that I wanted to find out what a straight razor shave would feel like, and discovered that there were no barbers in my area who were willing to give me one. Apparently there are too many liability issues for most barber shops to be willing to let their employees give them. One barber told me that it's still being taught, though, and that if I wanted to drive the 50 miles to the closest barber college I could get one. Might not be a bad idea for you to call around before heading out to get one.
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
I wonder if my barber* would do it.
*Arguably one of the most famous barbers in the world.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
I'm having the same reaction as I did to your typewriter. Owning one is cool. But why would you want to actually USE it? Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
Typewriters are good for filling out forms. My only problem is that mine is put away, and too much of a hassle to be worth taking out on the rare occasions when I need/want it.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
quote:Originally posted by Icarus: Typewriters are good for filling out forms.
True, especially those in triplicate, etc.
Posted by steven (Member # 8099) on :
I find it mildly entertaining that the Sweeney Todd thread is just below this one.
Posted by Shawshank (Member # 8453) on :
Can't say I have Chris. Sorry.
It'd be interesting to get a really close shave like that though.
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
quote:Originally posted by steven: I find it mildly entertaining that the Sweeney Todd thread is just below this one.
That's what probably what gave Samprimary the idea.
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
quote:Originally posted by Icarus: *Arguably one of the most famous barbers in the world.
That's interesting. Why is he famous?
Posted by JonHecht (Member # 9712) on :
I have twice, at two separate barbers. The first one burned for about a day, but the second one felt fine, and was smooth as a baby's bottom.
Posted by Mike (Member # 55) on :
I just started shaving with a double-edge safety razor about a week ago. I got the kit with the badger brush from the Art of Shaving in the mall. It's kinda fun. No straight razor experience here, though.
You might find the info you're looking for at http://badgerandblade.com/ — there are people obsessed enough with this stuff that they'll set up a forum dedicated to it. Which should come as no surprise, I guess.
Posted by DSH (Member # 741) on :
I used to use a straight razor all the time. (got talked into it by a girl I dated-she was a hairdresser)
Best shave I ever had.
My advice would be to take it REAL slowly at first. (I know, kind of a no-brainer)
Shave "down" (i.e. from head to toe) This will be "with the grain" for the most part, but if your beard grows in odd directions around your adams apple like mine does, don't try to go with the grain if it will require you to shave at difficult angles, just shave down. Shaving your chin will likely be your biggest challenge. Take it REALLY REALLY slow.
Watch (or remember) some old movies featuring men shaving themselves w/ a straight razor and hold the razor the same way they do. I just can't describe it here in words.
Closest shave I've ever had was from a straight razor. (to test this one day, I went back over my face with a Gillette Sensor against the grain, and encountered no remaining hairs.
I gave up shaving with a straight razor because it took too much time (even after I got "good" at it, it still took almost twice as long to shave as I could do with a Sensor. Maybe I'll pick it up again after I retire.)
Good luck and let us know how it turns out!
Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
quote:Originally posted by Icarus: I wonder if my barber* would do it.
*Arguably one of the most famous barbers in the world.
You go to Floyd the Barber, from Mayberry? The Barber of Seville? Tiki Barber?
(Those are the only famous barbers that come to mind)
Posted by Chris Bridges (Member # 1138) on :
Reasons for doing it: more enviro-friendly (no disposable blades, no plastic, aerosol foam is discouraged, etc), cheaper overall (same reasons), the feeling of tradition, portability (great for hikers, etc) and by all reports a much closer, smoother shave. Also you can be more precise around beards and mustaches since straight razors allow you to go one hair at a time if necessary; you can adjust angles easily, where most safety razors enforce a single angle.
Reasons not to: more time-consuming, much more maintainance of materials required, longer learning curve.
But I like trying new things, even when they're old things, so...
Posted by Mike (Member # 55) on :
I just nicked myself. Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
quote:Originally posted by Noemon:
quote:Originally posted by Icarus: *Arguably one of the most famous barbers in the world.
That's interesting. Why is he famous?
He's "The" barber at the Harmony Barbershop in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World. There are actually a few barbers/hairstylists who work there, but Michael Marach is the one constant, while others come and go. Magazine articles in travel magazines and the like about the barber shop on Main Street invariably feature him. He's fantastic*; his "real" job is doing hair for actors, and he's not some young thing in a Supercuts with a beauty school license she got by going to night school for a few weeks. He's got quite a few regulars among the people who live here. I think he does a very good job, and the price is quite reasonable--it's actually the cheapest haircut in Disney World, though certainly not the cheapest in the area. I also like that, since he doesn't he himself as anybody's "regular" barber, he doesn't nag about how long it's been since you've had a haircut. The downside is having to brave Disney transportation (or walk) all the way into the park. And that there's almost always a crowd waiting for a haircut.
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
Icky...we MAY be going there this week, or more likely next week. I am due for a cut big time.....
Posted by Samprimary (Member # 8561) on :
quote:Originally posted by Icarus:
quote:Originally posted by steven: I find it mildly entertaining that the Sweeney Todd thread is just below this one.
That's what probably what gave Samprimary the idea.
naw I just like the sweeney todd
Posted by Glenn Arnold (Member # 3192) on :
I shave with a straight razor every day. Correction, I shave with a straight razor every time I shave, which isn't every day. I've been using the straight razor about 8 years.
It takes practice. I cut myself a lot less often than I do when I shave with a safety razor, but the cuts are actual nicks, rather than just razor rash. They're still razor cuts, though, so they heal cleanly and fast and don't leave scars. I do recommend that you get a barber shave, for reference. Find a barber that actually uses a razor on a regular basis. There aren't many left anymore.
I own two straight razors, one is 3/8" wide (dubl duck), the other is 5/8" wide (Dovo). I can get the Dovo sharper than the dubl duck, but it still is harder to shave with, because (I think) there's more flex in the blade. It "rings" against my skin, and catches more easily. I rarely use it anymore.
The dubl duck runs against my skin more smoothly, but it tends to feel smoother the longer I go before I strop it again. So I tend to wind up waiting until it's actually getting dull before I strop it, which is a bad thing.
Most of the skill involved in shaving with a straight razor is in the sharpening part. At first it doesn't seem that way, because the razor is new and you're busy learning the actual shaving part. But eventually the shaving gets easy, and the blade needs attention. Note: conservative sharpening means less invasive. Strop only at first, with a plain leather strop. Don't use paste with any abrasive in it (if it's red or brown it has rouge in it). And don't let the strop hang loose. I actually laid the strop down flat on a surface for a long time, but I'm more comfortable now. I've never found a new sharpening stone that could work with a razor, but I've got an antique water stone that works nicely. If you choose to use a stone, (many people will tell you never to use anything but a strop) you have to draw the blade as if you're stropping, don't ever run the blade forward on the stone like you usually do if you're sharpening a knife. And if you find a stone company that makes new stones that are good enough to use on a razor, let me know.
Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
I was wondering if people still use those things while I was watching the movie.
Posted by Danzig (Member # 4704) on :
Never used a straight razor... for shaving. My... barber? Hairstylist? The lady who cuts my hair always shaves the top of my neck with one though, but not my face. I like the feeling, but not enough to start shaving my face with one. I cut myself often enough with a safety razor before I switched to electric.
But seriously, can barbers be female? I don't get anything fancy, so she's not really my hairstylist, but you just don't (or I just don't) normally call a female who cuts hair a barber.
Posted by Glenn Arnold (Member # 3192) on :
Depending on the state licensing rules, a barber must be able to give shaves in addition to cutting hair. There's a fair amount of safety training, for example they should be aware that people on blood thinning medication could bleed excessively if you nick them. Stuff like that.
And as I understand it, Richard Burton said that being shaved with a straight razor by a woman was the most luxurious feeling he'd ever experienced. So sure, a woman can be a barber.
Also note: Barber comes from the same root as barbarian, i.e. "a person with a beard."
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
quote:Originally posted by Glenn Arnold: Also note: Barber comes from the same root as barbarian, i.e. "a person with a beard."
Does it? I know that "barber" is ultimately derived from the Latin "barba", which meant beard, but "barbarian" is derived from the Greek "barbaros", which was echoic of how they perceived the speech of non-Greek speakers (bar-bar-bar). The Greeks certainly didn't view the wearing of a beard as an exotic custom, and wearing of beards came in and out of fashion in Rome, but it's possible that the Romans adopted the Greek term, but that the wearing of beards was so closely associated with the Gauls that the beard was synonymous with barbarity, and the very word took on that meaning. Or not. Jon Boy, can you shed any light on this?
Posted by Joldo (Member # 6991) on :
I used to.
Keep lots and lots of tissue paper and neosporin handy while you're learning. For serious.
Posted by Glenn Arnold (Member # 3192) on :
Noemon,
Apparently my version came later. According to wikipedia:"Eventually the term found a hidden meaning by Christian Romans through Cassiodorus. He stated the word barbarian was "made up of barba (beard) and rus (flat land); for barbarians did not live in cities, making their abodes in the fields like wild animals". [4]"
Posted by advice for robots (Member # 2544) on :
This thread just talked me out of ever using a straight razor.
Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
Glenn,
I believe your information is correct according to Cassiodorus, but Cassiodorus was wrong.
Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
Yeah, and who names their kid -odorus, anyway?
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
Look, some kids just stink, okay?
Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :
My son wants one, (a straight razor), Chris. So let me know how it goes on learning with it.
Glad you started the thread, so I can show it to him for him to glean the advice of DSH and Glenn Arnold.
Posted by Chris Bridges (Member # 1138) on :
And of course this morning I nicked myself for the first time in years with my regular safety razor Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
*resists putting this thread and the pornographic spam threads in the Adjacent Titles thread*
Posted by Glenn Arnold (Member # 3192) on :
I tried the thing about only shaving downward this morning. I could only do it on the right side of my face, due to right hand dominance. The result was that I gave myself razor rash, similar to what I always get with a safety razor.
Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :
Which just goes to show, men shouldn't shave at all! (I love beards)
Posted by Samprimary (Member # 8561) on :
I know some guys really like the straight razor but in all honesty it is a defunct, antiquated thing which has been pushed into obscurity for a reason.
Posted by JonHecht (Member # 9712) on :
It is very hard for me to grow a beard, and I actually haven't before, so I decided not to shave for the whole of winter break, and see where it gets me. Apres ca I will go back to my dorm, ask a couple people to be honest, then shave it off.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
quote:Originally posted by Farmgirl: Which just goes to show, men shouldn't shave at all! (I love beards)
Seconded!
Posted by porcelain girl (Member # 1080) on :
quote:Originally posted by rivka:
quote:Originally posted by Farmgirl: Which just goes to show, men shouldn't shave at all! (I love beards)
Seconded!
Almost thoroughly objected. Posted by Mike (Member # 55) on :
Indeed, I've gotten so many compliments on my clean-shaven look in the last couple of months (I used to have a full beard). Then again, I got a lot of compliments on my beard when I first grew it.
Posted by Glenn Arnold (Member # 3192) on :
quote:I know some guys really like the straight razor but in all honesty it is a defunct, antiquated thing which has been pushed into obscurity for a reason.
Depends on how you look at it. I almost always leave a cut at the base of every hair on my neck if I shave with a safety razor. I almost never cut myself with the straight razor, although, as I pointed out earlier, when I do cut myself, the cuts are actual nicks in the skin.
Shaving with a straight razor is a skill that not everyone can master. That alone is the main reason for the existence of safety razors. But as Chris points out, I can expect my razor to last the rest of my lifetime without needing replacement, which is economical, and ecologically sound.
Chris: What kind of razor do you have? How about the strop, and brush?
BTW I have a nice badger brush, but I don't use a shaving cup. I run a piece of soap over my face and then use the brush to work it into a lather right on my face. I haven't heard of anyone else doing it that way.
Posted by DDDaysh (Member # 9499) on :
Beards are icky when kissing. :-)
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
Chris, I'm fond of your brain. While enjoying your novelty razor, please take all necessary steps to ensure that blood continues to flow to your organs.
Posted by Mike (Member # 55) on :
Chain mail?
Posted by Chris Bridges (Member # 1138) on :
Says "Kriegar" on it, not sure about specifics. What with prior commitments, it'll be a week or so before I can get a professional shave.
And no worries, I plan to be very careful. The only folks allowed to remove blood from my body are the ones who give me cookies and juice afterwards.
Posted by advice for robots (Member # 2544) on :
quote:Originally posted by Chris Bridges: The only folks allowed to remove blood from my body are the ones who give me cookies and juice afterwards.
You are apparently very easy to take advantage of.
I'm going for the Brett Favre look right now. Three days, no shave. The stubble is getting long enough to be almost soft. I asked my wife what she thought of me growing a beard, just to see how it looked, but she gave me the "meh." I'm still tempted, tho.
Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
quote:Originally posted by Chris Bridges: The only folks allowed to remove blood from my body are the ones who give me cookies and juice afterwards.
::adds to list of vampiric seduction tricks::
Posted by brojack17 (Member # 9189) on :
I've had straight razor shaves before. The treatment was nice, the hot towel and such, but the shave left me broke out.
I would not try it myself. It's Mach 3 Turbo for me.
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
quote:Originally posted by DDDaysh: Beards are icky when kissing. :-)
*blink*
Well yes . . . odd syntax aside. But I'm curious as to how you know . . .
Posted by Tatiana (Member # 6776) on :
Facial hair on guys is wonderful. I prefer a shortish stubble. Moustaches without beards to go along make a guy look old and unpleasant, though, to me. YWMD.
I would not use a straight razor. Technology advances for a reason.
Posted by anti_maven (Member # 9789) on :
What an odd coincidence that I bought a new electric razor today.
I used to be more 'back to basics' with soap, a brush and an old safety razor. Then electric shaving came into my life and I left it behind.
A good friend of mine reckons the best shave he ever had was in a Turkey; the full hot towel, unguent oils and straight razor affair. I think it's a little far to go to try though.
As for beards, I'm reliably informed that I look like a dog with mange if I let mine grow out, so it's clean shaven all the way... Posted by Chris Bridges (Member # 1138) on :
Technology advances for a reason.
But not always a reason that works for everybody.
Example: author Neil Gaiman still hand-writes some of his novels and (I believe) all of his poetry. He has said that he gets a different tone when he writes that way, he's forced to think about his words more because editing isn't a flick of the mouse.
Using a straight razor is a skill. Safety razors are safer and much easier to use, but they cost a lot more overall and don't give as close or smooth a shave no matter how many blades they pack in there. I don't see that as an improvement as much as a tradeoff.
Posted by Glenn Arnold (Member # 3192) on :
It's kind of interesting to look at shaving technology, pre straight razor. I've read about sharpened clam shells and pieces of obsidian. At Fort Ticonderoga there is an item identified as a home made razor, but it looks like an axe head. The more I looked at it, the more I think that this was done in order to give it a sort of rudimentary "hollow ground" so that it could be honed to a very fine edge. Geometrically, the longer the sides are, the easier it is to get a very fine angle on the blade edge.
This was part of why I chose to buy my Dovo razor, because the dubl duck is only 3/8" wide, I thought that since the Dovo is 5/8" wide it would allow it to have a finer edge, and also to have greater control over the angle when I placed it against my skin. Both of those might be true, but I think the edge is so thin that it actually flexes, which is (I think) why it catches against my skin.
I had been told that I might need to try several straight razors before I find one that feels right to me. As it turns out, the one I use is the one my wife gave to me first. I've never heard of a Kriegar, so I'd be curious to hear whether you like it or not. Then again, until you've got more experience that won't be of any value.
You should probably take your razor with you when you get a barber shave, and let him tell you whatever he can about it. I should've done that a long time ago. I got a couple of barber shaves, but they used their own razors, both of which were straight razors that used replaceable razor blades. This is pretty much required nowadays, since razors can potentially transfer HIV if they aren't surgically cleaned. But if you bring your own blade, that bypasses that problem.
Posted by Mike (Member # 55) on :
quote:Originally posted by Chris Bridges: Using a straight razor is a skill. Safety razors are safer and much easier to use, but they cost a lot more overall and don't give as close or smooth a shave no matter how many blades they pack in there. I don't see that as an improvement as much as a tradeoff.
There are safety razors and then there are safety razors. Some are more wasteful than others.
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
And then there are safty razors (Warning--you'll be subjected to fairly prolific swearing if you follow that link)
Posted by String (Member # 6435) on :
quote:Originally posted by Icarus:
quote:Originally posted by DDDaysh: Beards are icky when kissing. :-)
*blink*
Well yes . . . odd syntax aside. But I'm curious as to how you know . . .
Lol, why wouldn't she know, she's a girl, silly.
This guy has a beard .
I'm in the process of growing mine back, I get carded for everything without it. Never tried a straight razor. It sounds like it could be a useful skill, just in case.
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
*sigh*
Newbies.
Even old newbies.
Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
quote:Originally posted by String: This guy has a beard
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
(I love beards) ![[Wink]](wink.gif)
![[Frown]](frown.gif)
![[Evil Laugh]](graemlins/evillaugh.gif)
My... barber? Hairstylist? The lady who cuts my hair always shaves the top of my neck with one though, but not my face. I like the feeling, but not enough to start shaving my face with one. I cut myself often enough with a safety razor before I switched to electric.![[No No]](graemlins/nono.gif)
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
![[Evil]](graemlins/evil.gif)
.