I'd like to take the plunge.just need a push

Hi all,

DE shaver since 7 months, wet shaver since a lifetime.
I shave daily almost BBS, got a very sensitive skin...but the temptation is becoming too strong. I want a straight and a beautiful one.

I am encline to believe one can't shave daily with a straight razor (is it so ?). I would use it on Sundays, leaving my face unshaved on Saturdays...to get some relief ...and some stubble to cut !

Should I go ?

-My concerns are: Stropping....Honing....is it needed on a frequent basis for a shave per week ...? Could I use it daily ? in such a case what about the blade maintenance ?

Thank you in advance for the time you will dedicate to this (probably) boring thread.

Disclaimer - I am no expert!

I think you can shave daily - depending on the face and so on. There are "7 day sets" of razors, one for each day of the week, as the razor should have a rest between uses of about 24 hours. Because of the way the blades are made they get a bit..........well, warped might be a good word. Resting them gives them time to return to the natural state before being used again.

So if you want to daily shave, you'll need at least two beatiful ones - not that buying more razors is ever a problem.

Stropping will need to be done before and after each shave - the stropping after is not so much as the stropping before. It's not a massive pain to do, though.

Personally, I keep SR shaving to the weekends, too. Just don't have the time in the week considering how much I need to go slowly due to my noob-skillz. I started out just DE shaving on the weekends, too, until I realised I could do it quickly enough and got the results that allow me to do it before work (sat here stroking my irritation-free, almost bbs face!)

Maybe test the waters - get a decent blade that might not look great but shaves well. A fairly decent strop and see how you like it.

Most guys here use a straight every day. No problem.

Stropping is actually an enjoyable part of the process, in my opinion.

Honing may not be something you want to tackle right off the bat, but is not required very frequently.

Get a razor from the BST, the Hobbyist/Vendor classified, or from Whipped Dog and get started!

Seraphim said:

Most guys here use a straight every day. No problem.

Stropping is actually an enjoyable part of the process, in my opinion.

Honing may not be something you want to tackle right off the bat, but is not required very frequently.

Get a razor from the BST, the Hobbyist/Vendor classified, or from Whipped Dog and get started!

Click to expand...

+1 on all of this.

When my weekly schedule allows I use a straight every day. During the school year I alternate between a straight and DE, using the straight four days a week.

Stropping is VERY therapeutic.

Homing is something that you seem to just gravitate towards because you love your razor and stropping so much!

My first straight razor was purchased from a fellow B&B member. It was an Ed Wusthof and it is a fantastic blade. Take the plunge and enjoy!!

Welcome Mango: I shave everyday with a S.R. Take the plunge and learn S.R. shaving. You won't regret it.

I am a couple weeks into SR shaving, and I am hooked. On days off from work, I try to SR shave only. On work days, I SR shave WTG over the entire face using both hands, then do an ATG with the DE.

After a couple weeks in, I cannot get a BBS shave by SR shaving yet, but I can get a DFS with it. It just takes me a lot of time to do ATG or XTG. I am also into honing, and I have set the bevel on my new Dovo and put a very good and comfortable edge on it, much better than the factory edge. Most days my shave is one of my biggest pleasures for the day, and I get to have it every day of the week.

Take the plunge and don't look back!

Welcome to the dark side! I use a straight everyday. Haven't touched a DE in 3 months. Correct stropping on a decent strop is more important than your razor type/age/appearance, by far, as long as the razor is well honed. It will take you about 40-100 shaves to get as good or better results than you do with a DE, but it is well worth the effort. I get less razor irritation and smoother skin with my straights now. After shave no longer burns.

I have been shaving with a straight every day for the past 3 months. Once I learned how to use it I get less irritation then with a Double Edge.

Stropping is just another part of my morning.

Straight shaving daily is no problem. At first you will probably not want to but as time and experience kicks in it becomes easier and easier. In time your shaves will become closer and more irritation free than DE so every day straight is preferred. The needing more than one razor to "rest" the edge is an old wives tail, but we don't tell our wives this so we have a ready excuse to buy more razors. So far about 15 seems to be the right sized collection for me so the blades can rest, but I may need a few more

You need a push? Here: http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/293254

You guys are great. Thank you indeed.

McVeyMac said:

I am a couple weeks into SR shaving, and I am hooked. On days off from work, I try to SR shave only. On work days, I SR shave WTG over the entire face using both hands, then do an ATG with the DE.

After a couple weeks in, I cannot get a BBS shave by SR shaving yet, but I can get a DFS with it. It just takes me a lot of time to do ATG or XTG. I am also into honing, and I have set the bevel on my new Dovo and put a very good and comfortable edge on it, much better than the factory edge. Most days my shave is one of my biggest pleasures for the day, and I get to have it every day of the week.

Take the plunge and don't look back!

Click to expand...

Search for the ten minute straight razor shave on youtube. This gent is on a mission

Plenty if good advice above. More available here whenever you need it.

Go for it. Straight shaving is a skill I am learning, but it's fun.

A lot of good advice above. Except for the razor needing to rest for 24 hrs after use to reset the edge alignment...

I won't say anything else about that except that it is completely and utterly not true.

Jump in and read all you can (from reputable sources.) There is a lot of information to absorb. But you will be rewarded with in my opinion the most comfortable and fun shaves of your life. Notice I didn't say that you will get closer shaves? You won't, but there are other rewards to the art of straight razor use.

Here's some "encouragement".

If you can't shave with a straight why bother? It is rare that I miss a day of shaving with a straight. You have to start somewhere. Get a razor and a strop and start by shaving your side burns down to your jaw line. Do that a few times to get use to it. Light pressure is the key and know exactly what angle and where that blade is all the time. Soon you'll wonder why you didn't start out with straights. It is a joyful experience and cannot be matched by any other method, unless you have peach fuzz for whiskers.

Regards

Chasmo

If I have less than 15 minutes to shave I won't roll with the straights I have. Otherwise I do it every day. I love it. Stropping is easy. From what I understand if you have some good cloth and leather you will have to hone every 6 months or so?

I have sent a mail to Portland ...Just need to see if they can ship a nice one on week 50 to my subsidiary in South Carolina....I live in Italy but will be visiting my team that week and could collect the "toy". Let's see what they will reply.
Tust a Portland to be a good starter for a newbie.

Many thanks to you all for the push...!

It looks like you didn't need a push at all.

Where was it suggested that you should NOT shave daily with a straight?
Time to cancel your subscription to that website.

In fact, if you are serious about shaving with a straight you should either do it daily, or not at all.
Getting a truly good shave with a straight will take up to 100 shaves and watering this learning process down every week with 5-6 DE shaves in between doesn't strike me as a smart proposition.

Granted, you will need to make a generous time allowance for straight shaves that is almost double the allowance that it takes for a similar DE shave.

Straight shaving can never be explained as a matter of convenience. as it will always be less convenient than DE shaving.
But once you are a convert, you may realize that the satisfaction of a straight shave far surpasses that of a DE shave.

But this all comes at a price and the initial learning curve may want you to throw in the towel and give up a few times.
Straight shaving is not for easy quitters, it takes tenacity and perseverance.

But once you are a convert, there is little that will dissuade you.



Good luck.




B.