Why so good?

I'm kind of amazed by the fact that when I use a straight I get a close shave that lasts me 1.5 days with only one pass!

Why do the straight cut so much closer that what I managed to achieve with a single DE pass (it would take three passes with a DE to reach the same level of smoothness)?

I'm kind of torn on why this happens. Had some mostly private discussions about it where the question was more why does a DE cause heavier looking growth the next day. My guess is the DE shave is more consistent relative to the skin, so the growth comes back at a consistent level, while the straight shave is less consistent, so some growth comes back earlier than the rest and some later, giving the impression that the growth is thinner, but possibly coming back sooner if you'd look closely and only for a few hairs. The other part of this question is whether or not the safety bar prevents the blade from pushing back the skin at the hair line, allowing a straight razor to actually cut closer.

Well, I'm mostly going by feel, not how it looks, but you could still be right I guess.

I think it's simply because a straight is a superior tool for shaving.

holli4pirating said:

I think it's simply because a straight is a superior tool for shaving.

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Yes, but why?

There is nothing but blade and face. You can control every aspect of the shave and the razor that you have the skill to control. IMO, anything else adds extraneous "stuff" at the expense of that control, and therefore the quality of the shave.

holli4pirating said:

I think it's simply because a straight is a superior tool for shaving.

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Exactly!

I'm jealous now. I'm a 3 or 4 pass person.

Once you get your technique down, the straight is the ultimate adjustable.

My guess is that it is in part related to your ability to stretch your skin more effectively with the str8.


(or not...)

mikromicke said:

I'm kind of amazed by the fact that when I use a straight I get a close shave that lasts me 1.5 days with only one pass!

Why do the straight cut so much closer that what I managed to achieve with a single DE pass (it would take three passes with a DE to reach the same level of smoothness)?

Click to expand...

How old are you? Seriously though, I think a bare blade can comes closer to the hair root due to it being able to "dig" deeper. But I´m a noobie, so I can´t really tell.

Woodash said:

My guess is that it is in part related to your ability to stretch your skin more effectively with the str8.


(or not...)

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I would venture a guess that it has to do with stretching skin in general. If you used the same stretching technique with a DE, would that make a difference? Has anyone tested it?

I'm still a straight newb and my straight shaves don't last as long as my DE shaves for obvious reasons (because they don't get as close). But I had great success with my DE before starting in on straights, and I started to get very good shaves with my DE when I started to combine my knowledge of my grain pattern with knowing (through experimentation) where on my face and how much skin streching was required to get certain hard-to-get areas where the whiskers were tough, layed very flat against the skin, and the terain wasn't flat. That's when I really started to get irritation-free, BBS DE shaves every time. So, yeah. Skin streching works, and IME is very helpful, even with a DE.

So, that being said, I don't know that skin streching is responsible for straight shaving giving a closer shave (for those with the experience or good fortune to achieve this) when it also can be done with and produces good results using a DE.

- Jason

yeah i think the skin stretching helps a bunch- other than that, they're both blades!

Sounds reasonable

I'm really at the very beginning of my straight shaving, a couple of weeks in, but I'm already noticing this and started thinking (always a bad thing).

I seem to have read that you generally don't recommend people to do skin stretching with the DE though. Is that because you're risking too close of a shave and ingrowns?

mikromicke said:

I'm kind of amazed by the fact that when I use a straight I get a close shave that lasts me 1.5 days with only one pass!

Why do the straight cut so much closer that what I managed to achieve with a single DE pass (it would take three passes with a DE to reach the same level of smoothness)?

Click to expand...

Why when I drive a Ferrari do I pass every single other car on the road, light up smokeshows at every traffic light, and look good doing it, whereas when I drive my Ford Escort station wagon it just gets me from point A to B without anybody even noticing?

Because Ferraris and straights both kick ***.




Simple as that.

Seraphim said:

Why when I drive a Ferrari do I pass every single other car on the road, light up smokeshows at every traffic light, and look good doing it, whereas when I drive my Ford Escort station wagon it just gets me from point A to B without anybody even noticing?

Because Ferraris and straights both kick ***.




Simple as that.

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