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ITT: Straight Razor Talk

post #1 of 12
5/7/10 at 11:12am
Thread Starter 
Just got my DOVO in the mail, honed it on a leather strop with red paste and then one with yellow paste, started shaving.. holy shit. After 5 cuts, I decided to just use my cartridge for the rest of my face and leave the DOVO for tomorrow.

I've used badgerandblade.com and a manual that came along with the set, but it's still trickier than I had expected.

Anyway, ITT: Straight Razor talk. What do you use? What are your experiences? Etc.
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post #2 of 12
5/7/10 at 2:14pm
Kas: Four years ago, when I committed to the straight, I cut myself every day for the first 30 days. Some days, as many as five cuts. On the 31st day, I didn't cut myself, and I rejoiced. I still remember what I was using that day, and I was quite proud of myself.

Since then, I have better days and worse days. Lately, no major cuts to speak of, and really not much in the way of minor cuts, now that I think of it.

There are a ton of really minor details that add up to a major effect, as far as using the straight. A few highlights:

First, check out straightrazorplace.com I prefer them to B&B, although the majority of my shave-related posts are on B&B, strangely enough.

Second, your razor should be really sharp, and prepping your beard can't be neglected (well, for now, at least). You don't want to put any muscle behind the razor. For that matter, do not use a slicing stroke at all. It's a elbow-and-shoulder movement. If there is any catch or pulling as you shave, put the razor aside, finish with something else, and hone it again later.

Third, your choice of soap/cream does matter, more so than it would for a Sensor or Mach 12.

I use mostly older razors, plus a couple of NOS. English, German, French, Spanish, Polish - they all work fine. Wedges, quarter-hollows, full-hollows, etc.
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post #3 of 12
5/8/10 at 12:54am
Lower angle!!! I have 3, dovo 5/8", some 1927 one with no edge off ebay for $20, and some $3 one from houston my dad got in the 1970's.

I use a 1930's safety razor from gillette or my 1927 straight mostly. So amazing after putting the straight on a 16,000 grit glass stone.
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post #4 of 12
5/8/10 at 1:49am
Was the razor honed and shave ready when you received it?

Beard prep-mentioned previously-is very important. always hydrate your face and maybe add a touch of water to your soap/cream between passes.

Always keep your skin taught as you shave.

Maybe just start with your cheek area, then finish with a cartridge. each day expand the area you use with the straight.

I have over 30 razors of all types-it's enjoyable to choose the type of razor that suits your mood.

SRP is a great source. hang in there, once you get it down there is no going back.
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post #5 of 12
5/9/10 at 5:55pm
hmm, i borrowed a straight razor for several weeks recently, and i nicked myself once on the first two shaves and that was it. just take it slow and pay attention. it really isn't as treacherous as it's made out to seem.

i eventually returned it because i didn't notice any improvement in the quality of the shave compared to my double edge.
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post #6 of 12
5/10/10 at 3:56pm
Does the Straight Razor have any advantage over the double edge? Or is it mostly about accomplishing a challenge because of the level of difficulty involved?
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post #7 of 12
5/10/10 at 7:22pm
are you talking striaght safety or wedge?
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post #8 of 12
5/10/10 at 7:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by dv_indian View Post
Does the Straight Razor have any advantage over the double edge? Or is it mostly about accomplishing a challenge because of the level of difficulty involved?


I use both, and occasionally a cartridge razor when I feel lazy. I think a straight razor gives you more control over certain areas that are very curved, like the back of my jaw area, but generally they both shave well. I prefer straight razor because it is more enjoyable.
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post #9 of 12
5/10/10 at 7:30pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by dv_indian View Post
Does the Straight Razor have any advantage over the double edge? Or is it mostly about accomplishing a challenge because of the level of difficulty involved?

For me it was 75% the challenge, and 25% not wanting to buy more blades. I just had a major issue with the rising cost of Mach 3 cartridges.
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post #10 of 12
5/10/10 at 8:25pm
"more control over certain areas that are very curved"

Yeah, that's a good point. I use a double edge and it's unwieldy in some spots. I use a Gillette Power(don't remember exact name - it's the 5 blade battery powered razor) to 'clean up' the 10-12% of the shaving spots not done cleanly by the double edge.
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post #11 of 12
5/12/10 at 7:55pm
The double edge ought to catch pretty well every spot on your face, provided you stretch your skin and get creative with angles. The straight (depending on what you get) will likewise require a bit of creativity and probably more skin stretching/pulling. I resigned myself to needing two passes to get everything to an acceptable closeness.

Speaking of acceptable closeness: it took me a while to get my shaves even all over. Now they're quite good, although 10 minutes is my limit in the morning - if it ain't done by then, I'll fix it tomorrow.
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post #12 of 12
5/13/10 at 10:27am
I use a safety razor, dunno remember the brand but its new, and its heavy duty and has numbers on it to adjust. I dunno if it gives a better shave as I haven't tried the 5/4 blade razors in a while, but I've been wanting to give a straight razor a try. It's cheap, I think I got 100 blades for $15, lasts me for like 2 years. I think Gillette is gonna release another blade soon with more razors on it. Of course its gonna cost 4x more then their 4 blade one. 5 blades is the new standard now I guess. I stopped buying their product a long time ago. Isn't it like $48 for 5 refills?
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