Trying again

I've been shaving DE off and on for many years, and every day for a few months. I've also played with straight shaving for the past six years. I bought a disposable blade straight (a Danyco) at a knife shop in a mall somewhere as an inexpensive way to start.

I know, I know. I've been told here that this is not the best to learn with but I figured it was better than buying a straight, a strop, etc. etc. and only learning I'm just a hazard to myself. Also was (and still am) unsure I have the time, patience and skill to hone my own. This is all of course before B&B.

Previously I would only try the 'straight' on the odd Saturday. That way I had time required to spend shaving and time to heal before work Monday.

FFWD to today. I've decided that I will give it another, better attempt. Every second or third day, I will do my first pass WTG with the straight then do any required follow-up and clean-up with the DE. I figure after a month or two I should start getting the hand of the mechanics of straight shaving and be able to do full shaves whenever desired.

Journey begins with one step...

Good luck to ya. I too have just started with straights.

Ya know, whatever works is good!

I mix it up a bit. Most work days, I shave with a vintage DE. Weekends allow me more time, so I use the straights. I do find, though, that nothing beats a straight razor for trimming sideburns. The cheeks are also the easiest areas for most of us to to a WTG pass. My sideburns are as crisp as glass when I trim them with a straight. That is worth a lot for grooming excellence.

Start where you wish. If you can master the disposable blade straights, traditional straights will not be much of a challenge for you.

Do whatever works best for you, and take your time. Just do the easy area's of your face, the sideburn area and your cheeks. Move to other area's as your technique improves and you feel more confident.

I only use disposable blade straights. I have both the Feather RG, and the DX, and also the Kai folding and Japanese style. Also the Parker SRW, or SRB, same razor just different color scales, is a very nice straight.

dpmtherrien said:

Do whatever works best for you, and take your time. Just do the easy area's of your face, the sideburn area and your cheeks. Move to other area's as your technique improves and you feel more confident.

I only use disposable blade straights. I have both the Feather RG, and the DX, and also the Kai folding and Japanese style. Also the Parker SRW, or SRB, same razor just different color scales, is a very nice straight.

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I dabbled into disposable blade straights and found that if I used them all the time they were fine. But I couldn't use them on an occasional basis (e.g. when out of town) and expect to be successful.

Good luck!

Don't worry too much about honing, you would probably just need a barber hone to keep the edge sharp and won't have any need to have a full set of stones.

The disposable straight razor isn't a bad tool by itself, it's all right. I think you have less control on the angle as your blade isn't sticking out much, with the sleeve to hold it, etc, it's a bit bulky...

A shave ready straight and strop is all you need if you want to go down that path.

The hardest part is when you start, again, good luck!