Why is a str8 razor called str8?

This may seem like a naive question, and I do apologize in advance for it. But, I have been wondering (for awhile now) about the choice of nomenclature for a str8 razor.

*Why is the straight razor called just that...a straight razor??*

Many definitions (Googling it) abound, like:

1. A razor consisting of a blade hinged to a handle into which it slips when not in use.

2. a razor with a long, unguarded blade that can be folded into the handle

3. A straight razor is a razor with a blade that can fold into its handle.

etc, etc...

However, no singular definition (that I have found, at least) satisfies the question .


Anyone?

Cheers,
Robert

I suspect it wasn't always known as that. Probably came about after safety razors to differentiate between the two. I guess it could have been called a folding razor too, but I think they are just talking about the blade. What are they known as in other parts of the worls I wonder?

My favorite striaght is indeed a straight though... darn Japanese razor is such a joy to use!

The razor itself is straight. The razor folds into the a handle but the razor itself is the metal part.

W_B_K said:

I suspect it wasn't always known as that. Probably came about after safety razors to differentiate between the two. I guess it could have been called a folding razor too, but I think they are just talking about the blade. What are they known as in other parts of the worls I wonder?

My favorite striaght is indeed a straight though... darn Japanese razor is such a joy to use!

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I hear ya...and my suspicions are the same, but why did someone call them straights? The nomenclature for DE and multi-blades are right on, but straights??

Thanks,
Robert

In Italian, a straight razor is "un rasoio a mano libera", which means a "free-hand" razor.

They were just "razors" before the safety razor was invented.

With a safety razor, the blade edge is displaced from the handle. Edge and handle do not line up. With a straight razor, the blade is in line with the tang, and when the razor is open the entire blade is in line with the handle. So, it is "straight".

That is one possible explanation. Another is that a safety razor is a guarded razor. The straight razor has no guard, and it is "straight" in the sense that no guard is added to the blade.

johnmrson said:

The razor itself is straight. The razor folds into the a handle but the razor itself is the metal part.

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I'm going with this. Occam's Razor...so to speak.

Probably started as "straight edge" razor and got shortened from there.

I vote with the guys who say that the term "straight" was coined after other razor types were introduced. Up to then, they were the only "razors". The first alternatives would have been single edge "safety razors".

Similarly, landscape paintings only got that title after people started living in cities (at least people who came up with names for types of painting).

Slash McCoy said:

Another is that a safety razor is a guarded razor. The straight razor has no guard, and it is "straight" in the sense that no guard is added to the blade.

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Hmm, interesting and simple. There is more than one definition of "straight". "Straight" razor as in "Straight" whiskey. A razor and nothing else, no comb or safety bar.

Slash McCoy said:

They were just "razors" before the safety razor was invented.

With a safety razor, the blade edge is displaced from the handle. Edge and handle do not line up. With a straight razor, the blade is in line with the tang, and when the razor is open the entire blade is in line with the handle. So, it is "straight".

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Interesting

Slash McCoy said:

That is one possible explanation. Another is that a safety razor is a guarded razor. The straight razor has no guard, and it is "straight" in the sense that no guard is added to the blade.

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But the edge on both is exposed...When the str8 is not used, it is guarded by the scales. Why have scales at all then?

I don't know, I just don't know

Cheers,
Robert

If someone has the Oxford English Dictionary you can look it up and get an idea of how old the term is.

i like the whiskey analogy. i was going to suggest the same. just as we now say "DE/SE razor" to distinguish them from modern cartridge razors, which are also technically called "safety razors."(leading many to lose blades to the TSA)

also, open your razor and look at it from the top; there's your 'straight' line. whereas a safety razor might be called a "T razor."

A while back, I was talking to an Asian man at work about shaving and he referred to a straight razor as a shaving knife.

Excellent question. I am going with the intuitive answer given above that they only became known as straights after the DE or safety razor was introduced. That would be my vote but it is only from intuition.

I too like the whisky analogy as many straight razors are curved, smiles. I'd guess too that they were just called razors up until there were other types of razors.

BladeRunner001 said:

Interesting



But the edge on both is exposed...When the str8 is not used, it is guarded by the scales. Why have scales at all then?

I don't know, I just don't know

Cheers,
Robert

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Not necessarily. Japanese straight razors often are not folders, but instead are one piece, handle and blade forged from a single piece of steel. That's kind of aside, though. But the scales on a conventional straight razor are not guarding the blade while it is in use. They don't protect your face... they protect the blade when it is not in use.

According to the Oxford, "straight razor" is the US English term for a "cut-throat razor". I know that this doesn't really answer the question (ie straight razor as opposed to what - a skew razor?), but at least it narrows it down some.

Go West Young Man said:

Probably started as "straight edge" razor and got shortened from there.

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Bingo.

yeahbit, the edge on ANY kinda razor is straight!