Well, I made the plunge and wanted to see how I'd be with a straight razor, but since I didn't want to jump into the work of honing, sharpening, etc., I decided to try going the disposable blade version, with a Parker 33R Black.
I ordered it, and received it last week.
It felt to be a quality built, and once I figured how the holder opened, the blade slipped in perfectly.
So this weekend, with my beard having much more than usual growth and wanting to let my skin get a "breather" (as I've been wearing an anchor style for most of ten years, only shaving it off once every few years) and as I'm fighting a flu, I didn't have it in me to do the trimming, etc.
I figured that this would be a good time to give this new "toy" a try as there was no way that I'd get through the beard using my DE razor, as the whiskers were a good 1/2+ inch long.
I started with a shower and then a good lather that I left on for a few minutes, longer than usual as I wanted to be sure that I did all I could to prepare myself for this. It was the first time that I'd be working on my face with a blade with nothing else to "protect" myself.
The fact that the beard was fairly thick and coarse made it difficult at certain areas, but overall, taking my time, working on small areas at a time, aiming for the skin under the hairs while doing my best to keep the blade at a decent angle actually worked, and bit my bit, my face was being uncovered.
I must have re-lathered my face a good dozen times, but as the thicker parts were done, I went to work on the short areas and found myself finding it quite natural and straightforward to work the blade.
After a good half-hour, I was beardless, not a single cut either. I found myself with a few rough patches and took my DE for the final touch-ups, and got to see the real difference between the two type of shaving.
The final damage was a tugged hair that resulted in a chopped needlepoint sized dot and a tiny bit of weeping in parts of the non-regularly shaved areas. My alum stick toke quick care of that (bought the stick as a safeguard of using this straight razor, as I expected worse).
So I must admit, I was worried a bit at first, nervous even, but the moment I felt the blade moving across my skin, it felt simple and my fear was instantly gone. I knew that I had to be extremely careful, but as I saw how the blade was sliding down the skin, I was amazed how I could see the way a DE razor worked, and by comparison, I was able to mimic the angle and mentality that I was simply doing the same without the rest of a razor being in the way to block my view. Doing the difficult areas, such as under the nose, the sideburns, around the lips, I found that it was so much simpler without the extra gear/metal in the way.
With that said, I'm not saying that I'll put the DE razors away, not at all, but I can see how handy this tool is, and that I'm quite glad I decided to give it a try.
I can see me using it for touch-ups and when I need precision.
I ordered it, and received it last week.
It felt to be a quality built, and once I figured how the holder opened, the blade slipped in perfectly.
So this weekend, with my beard having much more than usual growth and wanting to let my skin get a "breather" (as I've been wearing an anchor style for most of ten years, only shaving it off once every few years) and as I'm fighting a flu, I didn't have it in me to do the trimming, etc.
I figured that this would be a good time to give this new "toy" a try as there was no way that I'd get through the beard using my DE razor, as the whiskers were a good 1/2+ inch long.
I started with a shower and then a good lather that I left on for a few minutes, longer than usual as I wanted to be sure that I did all I could to prepare myself for this. It was the first time that I'd be working on my face with a blade with nothing else to "protect" myself.
The fact that the beard was fairly thick and coarse made it difficult at certain areas, but overall, taking my time, working on small areas at a time, aiming for the skin under the hairs while doing my best to keep the blade at a decent angle actually worked, and bit my bit, my face was being uncovered.
I must have re-lathered my face a good dozen times, but as the thicker parts were done, I went to work on the short areas and found myself finding it quite natural and straightforward to work the blade.
After a good half-hour, I was beardless, not a single cut either. I found myself with a few rough patches and took my DE for the final touch-ups, and got to see the real difference between the two type of shaving.
The final damage was a tugged hair that resulted in a chopped needlepoint sized dot and a tiny bit of weeping in parts of the non-regularly shaved areas. My alum stick toke quick care of that (bought the stick as a safeguard of using this straight razor, as I expected worse).
So I must admit, I was worried a bit at first, nervous even, but the moment I felt the blade moving across my skin, it felt simple and my fear was instantly gone. I knew that I had to be extremely careful, but as I saw how the blade was sliding down the skin, I was amazed how I could see the way a DE razor worked, and by comparison, I was able to mimic the angle and mentality that I was simply doing the same without the rest of a razor being in the way to block my view. Doing the difficult areas, such as under the nose, the sideburns, around the lips, I found that it was so much simpler without the extra gear/metal in the way.
With that said, I'm not saying that I'll put the DE razors away, not at all, but I can see how handy this tool is, and that I'm quite glad I decided to give it a try.
I can see me using it for touch-ups and when I need precision.
