I've been trying to teach my self for 2+ weeks now: all I've ever used before was a simple electric. The first time I attempted the shave it took forever, removed almost no hair, and cut me around 20 times. Though it's still taking me quite some time and there's a few places that don't get as close as I would like there's been leaps and bounds kind of improvements. I don't know what it is but I find the experience to be very relaxing and enjoyable. A good way to gain some focus. Certainly when (and where) I do it right the shave is infinitely closer than anything I could achieve with electric. I don't have point of comparison with the safe razor shave though.
I highly recommend it for anyone that thinking about it. Like I said: very relaxing. It was a little frustrating at first but honestly the thing's so sharp that even when I gave myself some decent cuts (which will happen) it wasn't really painful. Plus stropping is fun!
Hobbes Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
I want to learn how, and I saw some REALLY cool old razors at a second hand shop back in Newport, RI. If I go back I'll probably buy one. Posted by AchillesHeel (Member # 11736) on :
I heard one tip a long time ago, blow up a balloon and cover it up with shaving cream. When you can shave the balloon without blowing it up and hopefully you can keep from cutting your own face.
I used the internet to learn how to tie a tie, and I'm pretty sure you can find all about how to shave with a straight razor online. As a matter of fact, heres a youtube vid of a guy who gives himself a close shave.
quote:I don't have point of comparison with the safe razor shave though.
You should try a safety razor. You still get a closer shave than with an electric, and the threat of death is largely reduced.
Posted by Hobbes (Member # 433) on :
I have been using the internet a lot to figure out how to do things, very helpful. As for using a safety razor: bleh! That doesn't sound fun at all!
Hobbes Posted by Lupus (Member # 6516) on :
no I'm boring. I use a mach 3 turbo.
It gives a better shave than an electric would...though it is not quite as convenient (though more convenient than a straight razor I'd imagine).
Posted by Tstorm (Member # 1871) on :
I use a sensor 3, which is just another 3-blade safety razor from Gillette. I've been using it for about a year, now.
There is definitely a learning curve. I started out by budgeting 30 minutes to shave. That quickly dropped to 15 minutes, within the first week or two. In the months since then, I've gradually reduced that to less than 10 minutes.
I still have my electric razor, but I almost never use it.
Posted by dabbler (Member # 6443) on :
I keep suggesting to my boyfriend to learn how to use a straight blade cause they look so cool. He refuses Posted by Frisco (Member # 3765) on :
Oh to be young and still think that shaving can be fun.
Are you going to break out your typewriter and write us all letters to tell us when you finish painting your self portrait. We're all dying to hear how your handlebar moustache looks.
Come visit in your hot air balloon sometime, too!
Posted by Raymond Arnold (Member # 11712) on :
Don't knock the hot air balloons. Those things are pretty awesome.
My dad uses a straight razor. He should be chiming in sometime soon.
Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
hurm Next you'll be singing love songs to the thing.
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
I use a safety razor while in the shower. When I'm done showering, I use a mirror and safety razor to see what parts I missed and to trim my sideburns.
The only reason I'd start using a straight razor is if I though I might get attacked while in the bathroom.
Posted by Glenn Arnold (Member # 3192) on :
quote:He should be chiming in sometime soon.
Yep, anytime. Had me a bit confused about the hot air balloons. AchillesHeel was referring to a plain old latex balloon. It used to be part of the barber training to have to remove all of the shaving cream fromk a balloon without popping it. I should try that sometime.
I've had my straight razor for over 10 years, I think. It's certainly a lot cheaper than disposables.
Chris Bridges was starting to use one a while ago, but he hasn't reported as to his success, as far as I know.
Posted by El JT de Spang (Member # 7742) on :
The cool factor of a straight razor is largely overcome by the learning curve and extra work it entails.
Posted by Epictetus (Member # 6235) on :
I've been thinking about getting one for a while now. It's the main reason I still drive across town to my Barber instead of the franchised Dollar Cuts down the street. When done well, a straight razor shave is really comfortable.
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
quote:Had me a bit confused about the hot air balloons.
Well, if you hadn't gotten rid of your buggy whip, you'd've understood what Frisco meant. Posted by Raymond Arnold (Member # 11712) on :
quote:Originally posted by Synesthesia: hurm Next you'll be singing love songs to the thing.
Daisy... daisy....
Fake Edit: Wait, I accidentally confused this thread with the tandem thread.
Posted by Trent Destian (Member # 11653) on :
I personally use a double-edged razor. A happy medium between disposables and straight razors. Very cheap, less likely to kill yourself and still relaxing. All the while getting a fantastic shave.
Posted by Darth_Mauve (Member # 4709) on :
Yes the straight razor is a good tool. Light weight and easily hidden in a pocket, and if discovered you can claim you were bringing it to a friends house who needed a shave.
Now to avoid getting blood over your clothes and being a victim of those @#$@# CSI DNA tests you simply....
oh.
this is about shaving yourself.
This isn't about mur...ttering. I'm just muttering to myself.
Never mind.
Yeah. They give close shaves. I think I just had one now.
Posted by Samprimary (Member # 8561) on :
Straight razors are pretty overrated, tbh. They mostly vanished from use for a reason.
However, they're a pretty brisk trade in antiques. My father started collecting and trading them about 7 years ago and I believe that they're even outperforming his Japanese goods. They used to be a pretty classy item.
Posted by Glenn Arnold (Member # 3192) on :
quote:They mostly vanished from use for a reason.
Yeah, because they take skill and practice to use. No surprise there.
Posted by Threads (Member # 10863) on :
One of my best friends has been practicing using a straight razor. He also makes chainmail.
I use the Gillette Fusion and I find it gives a really good shave. Plus, I find that it's easy to wash my hairs out of the blades (a problem that I used to have with the Schick Quattro, one use and the blades would have hair stuck in them).
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
quote:Originally posted by Glenn Arnold:
quote:They mostly vanished from use for a reason.
Yeah, because they take skill and practice to use. No surprise there.
Skill and practice for marginal benefit.
Posted by Tinros (Member # 8328) on :
I could ask this guy I know. His name's Mr. Todd. I haven't seen him in a while though- last I heard from him, he was mumbling something about meat pies...
...sorry, it was bad, but I had to go there.
Posted by Samprimary (Member # 8561) on :
quote:Originally posted by Glenn Arnold:
quote:They mostly vanished from use for a reason.
Yeah, because they take skill and practice to use. No surprise there.
It's more than that, as was pointed out: it's skill and practice for a tool which is less safe, more expensive, and not really much better (if at all) than the other options. Even my fancy hairdresser phased them down to just back-side shaves, then got rid of them altogether.
Most of the people I know who still use them and/or used to use them admit that it is an image thing. You do it because you like to think that it sets you apart from the safety-razor plebs in your grooming routine. It's like the guys who use zippos to light their cigarettes in spite of the fact that the fuel makes cigs taste like ass. It ain't about the utility. It's about 'carrying a zippo makes me cool.' Rare is the person who shaves with a straight razor and does not make it a point to talk about it somehow.
Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
How do you know that there aren't more people using straight razors who don't make a point to talk about it? I mean, if they're not talking about it, how do you know what they use to shave?
Unless you are talking about and asking people about their shaving paraphernalia.
Posted by Samprimary (Member # 8561) on :
quote:How do you know that there aren't more people using straight razors who don't make a point to talk about it? I mean, if they're not talking about it, how do you know what they use to shave?
At dinner or parties, members of the Straight Razor Shaving Krew are very liable to ask, and even if you are not part of the Straight Razor Shaving Krew, you can always tell them who else does because they do the same thing too: "Oh man, I use a straight razor, you should try it sometime, it's so great, etc"
It was about two or three years ago we noticed this and even gabbed about how people who use straight razors gab about using straight razors and it's surprisingly consistent.
I am also a huge hypocrite because I carry a zippo 100% for the style. One hundred percent. It is not better for what I use it for than a 99 cent disposable lighter would do.
Posted by Samprimary (Member # 8561) on :
I am now dredging up a post I made on the subject X number of years ago mentioning the phenomenon. This will allow me to more accurately date it.
Posted by Samprimary (Member # 8561) on :
Further back than I anticipated: March 2004.
quote:TODAY we found out that these strange UKE PEOPLE are actually not entirely unlike us. oliver wasted no time trying to fit in.
CASE IN POINT -- one of his conversational starter pieces was HEY I USE A STRAIGHT RAZOR YOU GOT TO TRY THEM. He did not understand why we were all laughing after he said that. oliver my friend people use straight razors to talk about using straight razors and we hd watched kostas, jacob, kevin b. and sam c. boist about their mad straight razor skills, sam c even posted about his mad cool straight razor he was using up in minn for the finals
started saying ohoho t.i.a. t.i.a. o wait that doesnot apply!
Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
I suppose all the folk who use homosexual razors remain closeted, huh?
Posted by Glenn Arnold (Member # 3192) on :
quote:Even my fancy hairdresser phased them down to just back-side shaves, then got rid of them altogether.
Your hairdresser phased them out because the are not considered sanitary. It's illegal to give two people a shave with the same straight razor.
quote: less safe, more expensive, and not really much better (if at all) than the other options.
Less safe I'll give you. But I do less damage to my face with it than I did with a twin blade.
My razor cost me about $50 ten years ago. How much does it cost to buy ten years worth of razors? Oh make that - a lifetime or two worth of razors (although I'm sure Raymond won't use it when he inherits mine).
Some time ago, I took a college course on the subject of energy. They pointed out that electric razors are better for the environment than disposable razors, simply because you don't throw them out when you're done with them. Then they added, "Straight razors are even better for the environment, except no one uses them anymore, for obvious reasons." Hmmm.
quote:It is not better for what I use it for than a 99 cent disposable lighter would do.
There again, my Grandmother used her Zippo for all of her adult life, and never once sent a bic to the landfill. There's a benefit in that.
Look, I still use chisels and a bit and brace to do woodwork. Sometimes it's actually the best tool for the job, and sometimes it's just fun to work with old tools. You know, some people still ride horses, too.
This thread asked if anyone used one. Yes, I do. But somehow the thread morphed into a diatribe about why using straight razors is dumb. Pardon me. I don't see where I was proselytizing here. You don't want to use one, don't use it.
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