Have you ever thought about trying a straight?

Ever thought about trying a straight, but just find the start-up cost for a bit of steel out of your "Let me try that" budget range?

There's been a few straight PIFs over in the straights forum and subforums recently, with one going on now by Devonmoonshire which has two winners to be selected. Nothing to lose (well, expect maybe an ear ) and you might just discover a new deep, dark rabbit hole to fall into.

Thank you for the information. I actually have been interested. I'm getting my first straight shave in 2 weeks!

and I see you found the PIF. That wasn't too difficult now, was it?

We can always use some new blood... I've donated to Dracula. Have you?

Yes, straight razor shaving looks like a worthy endeavor toward the rich traditions of manhood. However, I figure there would be not only the razor, but the strop and some arrangement for honing. There is also supposed to be a considerable learning curve to the shaving, stropping, and possibly honing. The general advice is not to go high-budget on the strop, since as a beginner you're likely to damage it anyway. On top of all that, a straight razor shave is supposed to be time-consuming if doing it as safely as possible.
For the time and budget that I have, sticking with DE will suffice for now. Besides, something I do not have is room to put more gear.

I have no interest in straight razor shaving I would be scared what I would do to my face with that razor sharp piece of steel. I am happy with the results I get with DE shaving any way.

I used a straight razor back in the late 70s, but the maintenance was a drag and took too much time. It was interesting, though, and I have been half-seriously thinking about starting with the Feather Artist Club razors because of their lack of required maintenance.

I'm actually hugely interested in it (already registered in the PIF), I'm just biding my time as I'll end up going whole hog with the entire rig

WooHoo!!! Thanks Sam

Yes some things can get expensive if you decide to go "All In" for the top of the line Gear. I can say this though, my Favorite Straight Razor I own only cost me $21.50 on the bay. A Genco Geneva Cutlery CO. Master Cutler 5/8 Straight razor. I have a Strop that work Excellent on all of my Straights and it too was under 40 bucks, AND it came with the 3 Razors including the two razors in the PIF, a Pair of Barbers Shears and some other little scissors.

Honing is another story all together but I did have all but 2 of the stones I have now prior to getting into straight razors as I have been sharpening knives for over 30 years. Now Honing a razor is a whole different ball of wax than throwing a quick edge on a knife. It is not at all hard to learn though and even if you send them out it is not needed all that often with proper care and maintenance on your razor such as stropping, not banging it on the sink or anything like that to chip or ding the blade.

I only started about a month or so ago with straight razors and I love em. I was scared to death at first but now that I have gotten used to them they are the closest shave I have had yet

So if you are interest and want some VDH Soap and a ready to go straight come on down to the Straight Razor section and chime in for chance to win one of the two PIF Razors.

Have a great night all and again, Thank you very much for spreading the Word Sam
Sincerely;
Nate

I tried a shavette got a crazy close shave and also found new respect for straight users but only shaved once with it. I never shave with it out of fear haha.

I shaved with a straight 100% for 1 1/2 yrs. to see if I liked it. You can get wonderful shaves and it's very rewarding but allot of maintainance and allot of time. I get very very close to the same shave with a DE without all the work. It's not a bad skill to learn and the result is quite rewarding.

Thanks for the heads up.

No appeal at all to me. I love my DE razors and enjoy the ritual immensely, but the straight is of no interest at all. Way too much work in maintenance of the edge, etc.

I have tried a straight, my skin cuts before my beard. For me, it's a useful tool for removing chunks of my face. I'm much happier with a DE.

I haven't tried one but I really want to. For now budget is the issue. But I'm thinking of getting a shavette for now it's a bit more affordable

I've always wanted to and get one, but:

1) I just don't have the patience for the honing and sharpening
2) If I did get one, I'd want something really fancy and special, like the Sweeney Todd type with fancy scales.
3) Decent ones that caught my interest were outside my price range.

So I settled for a shavette instead.

The funny part is while I was bit afraid to use my DE the first time, with the shavette, I simply went with it from the very first time without hesitation.

I'm quite fine with one side of my face, but since/due to my surgery, I no longer can do my other side easily... so now I use it when I leave my beard grow too long for the DE, so to trim it down and then finish the shave with my DE.

Sure. I actually used a straight for a few years. Simply took me too much time. Perhaps again after I retire?

While I do always enjoy a new obsession, and it seems the more expensive the obsession the better I like it, I'm afraid of shaving with a straight.

I do shave at night, so I'm not thinking that I'd be too rushed and butcher my face.

But I do think that, for me, the learning curve would be too slick to climb from all the blood and styptic...

surlyduck said:

I haven't tried one but I really want to. For now budget is the issue. But I'm thinking of getting a shavette for now it's a bit more affordable

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I'd bet if you took a good look around you could have a good serviceable straight for the same money you'd put into a shavette plus blades. I just recently picked up a nice mid-1800's straight for $25.

I'm not sure why a lot of you guys think it's too time consuming. I can complete a 3 pass straight shave in the same amount of time as a DE and usually in less time. The upkeep isn't a hassle, but actually as enjoyable as the shave itself. I can remember thinking the same thing a couple of years ago, but now 1 1/2 years with nothing but straights I can assure you it's well worth the effort to learn. If you're anything like I was; you can wield a DE with your eyes closed and BBS shaves are a easy daily ritual, then SR's are for you.