What's new

Close shave dilemma

I recently started straight razor shaving with a "sight unseen deal" from whipped dog. After almost a week of using my straight I am REALLY liking it. So far, I have only been doing one WTG pass with my straight and doing my XTG and ATG passes with my DE loaded with my beloved Feather blades. As I learn how to use my straight, my plan is to use it more and my DE less until I am doing all three passes with my straight razor.

The problem is that I have become very fond of DFS/BBS shaves and I recently read a thread on this forum in which several posters affirmed that the only way to effectively perform an ATG shave was to do so with an extremely sharp razor, and the only way to do that was to hone the razor yourself.


I carry a pretty busy schedule and travel A LOT. Because of this I am very hesitant to get into honing. Also, my plan is to get a TI once I really learn how to use a straight razor well, and I have heard they are very hard to hone.


Is there any solution for someone who wants to use a straight razor, is addicted to very close shaves and doesn't have the time to invest in honing (let alone learning how to hone)?
 

Legion

Staff member
Put some CrOx on Balsa, and strop it on that fairly regularly (like, around once a week). That should keep the edge tip-top for a long time, as long as you don't hurt it with you stropping, or bang it into a tap.

proxy.php
 
Last edited:
That's great. My "sight unseen" deal from whippeddog came with a balsa wood strop and CrOx, so I'm set up for that. I've hear that TIs (I seriously hope to get a TI, once I know what I'm doing) are hard to hone. Would the balsa and CrOx be sufficient to maintain the edge of a TI?
 
Have you thought of getting a Feather disposable straight razor? They're high quality, nice looking and is very close to a straight. The replacement blades are extremely sharp and may be a bit easier if you're a traveler.
 
Basically you're asking too much. You are just not going to get as close a shave with a straight as with your de until you've got considerable experience. Using a de to polish off a straight shave is not going to help either - use just the straight and accept that it's going to take time.
 
Keep practicing. You won't get as good a shave out of a straight without some practice. It is worth it. In time, the results will be much better than what a DE can do.

I prefer diamond paste to CrOx. .25 will get your razor sharper and, if used judiciously, smoother than CrOx. IMNSHO...
 
Last edited:
Have you thought of getting a Feather disposable straight razor? They're high quality, nice looking and is very close to a straight. The replacement blades are extremely sharp and may be a bit easier if you're a traveler.

+1 on that.
The Feather AC blades are reaaaaaally sharp
 
Don't get me wrong. I am not expecting to get great shaves right away. I realize that shaving with a straight is an art that takes a long time to acquire. All I was asking is whether or not it is possible to maintain a razor sharp enough to give extremmely close shaves without getting into honing. I am tempted not to expend all the time and effort to learn how to shave well with a straight if, in the long run, I will not be able to maintain my equipment properly.

As far as the Feather disposable straight, I have thought a lot about it, especially because I LOVE the Feather DE blades. However, at this point, maybe it's just noob snottery, much of the attraction I feel towards straight razor shaving is the traditional mystique of a single blade that you keep your entire life and even pass on to your children etc. I haven't taken the Feather disposables off the table, but would like to give the non-disposables a serious effort first.
 
I don't think that's straight snobbery - that's why alot of people get into it.

The suggestions above will keep you going for quite a while. From my limited experience, the diamond pastes get it really sharp, moreso than the CrOx. You can get a balsa hone that is light in the luggage with CrOx or a diamond paste on it. Also, you can paste the back of your travel strop with either of those, and even put a progression if you have a travel strop with a canvas strop attached. With pastes, you can keep the razor going for a long time without needing a full hone job.
 
Basically you're asking too much. You are just not going to get as close a shave with a straight as with your de until you've got considerable experience. Using a de to polish off a straight shave is not going to help either - use just the straight and accept that it's going to take time.

+1 Took the words out of my mouth...
 

Legion

Staff member
Keep practicing. You won't get as good a shave out of a straight without some practice. It is worth it. In time, the results will be much better than what a DE can do.

I prefer diamond paste to CrOx. .25 will get your razor sharper and, if used judiciously, smoother than CrOx. IMNSHO...

CrOx or diamond, different paths to the same end (IMNSHO. I love that.)

Diamond cuts more efficiently, IMNSHO CrOx is a bit smoother, but the big win for CrOx is that it is as cheap as chips. Either one will work, though. And they are both cheaper and easier to use than a hone when you are beginning.

And since you have CrOx from Larry, I'd say you have all you need for now.
 

Kentos

B&B's Dr. Doolittle.
Staff member
I will say if you learn to properly shave, and get a really good honing, and use a good strop with a linen component, AND learn how to maintain that edge (I use CBN and diamond on hanging leather), it could be done. Learning to hone would be easier and "funner", but having a rotation of 2-3 shavers and sending them out periodically for a touch up would work-but after all is said and done, those honing fees could have paid for a nice set of coticules and Jnats, and your edges would be sharper. Honing isn't that hard, despite what some would have you believe.
 
That is a good point about applying the honing costs to a set of coticules and Jnats. Honestly, I am most concerned about the time involved in learning how to hone and then doing so. Maybe it wouldn't take as much time as I fear. Whippeddog has a deal on his site in which he teaches you how to hone. He sends you three razors which you then hone and send back to him. He critiques the edges you put on the razors and then sends you three more. Once you have put a decent edge on all three razors, he stops sending them along.

Has anyone tried this? It sounds pretty tempting, I just wonder what kind of time investment would be involved???

Thanks again for all the great information!
 
Honing with pastes is both inexpensive and easy to learn, with stones it's harder to master and more expensive. However, stones are more traditional and fun (collect them all!) so lots of guys start with pastes and gradually move to stones as time/finances/swmbo allows.
 

Kentos

B&B's Dr. Doolittle.
Staff member
If you are the type who is detail oriented and can learn from his mistakes, I think you could get a razor up and running is a few tries, although you may cosmetically ruin a razor in the process. If you easily get frustrated and tend to gloss over things then it may take a little while longer. In the end, you are just laying the razor flat on the rock and moving it back and forth. The hard part is when the razors aren't perfectly flat, or knowing when to move on to the next part of the process. If you read a bit and post back on your problems I think you could learn to get really nice edges in a month or two or even within weeks or days. To get really sharp and smooth edges that are pull free on the ATG may take longer, but half the fun is figuring out how to get to that point. If it was easy everyone one would be doing it. :)

In any event getting a nice shave off a straight should be your first concern, after which you will know the kind of edges you prefer.
 
I tend to pick up things pretty quickly, but not as quickly as some. I am certainly not adverse to the challenge of slowly learning an art that I will be able to stick to throughout the years and slowly improve upon. In fact, I find that type of thing really rewarding. I am most concerned with my current occupation that keeps me very busy and on the move (I've already flown 9,000 miles this year :scared:) and whether I will have the time to devote to properly maintaining blades. You are certainly right Kent that I am putting the cart before the horse here and should be more concerned with learning my way around a SR before I worry about all the details. I am just a really excited noob I suppose. (BTW I notice that you are from Honolulu, most of the travelling I do is to Oahu! I think I am one of the few people on the planet who travels regularly to Hawaii on business. You live in one of the most beautiful places on earth!!!)

Anyway I consider myself very lucky. If you had told me three months ago that the day would come when I would no longer hate shaving, I would have said you were crazy. Now it is something the really helps me get out of bed in the morning!
 

Kentos

B&B's Dr. Doolittle.
Staff member
Cool! Are you in the solar industry? You could also consider using a shavette for traveling.
 
Top Bottom