Got totally bored with everyday safety razor shaving, started it because I've never tried it, came to like it, continued to this day.
What Made you start straight razor shaving? Let's hear your story.
- Thread starter bman40
- Start date
Pure Curiosity and the Love of the Elegant and Amazing Looking Razors that these often are. I also enjoy honing and I have to say, I have never before has a shave that was not only nearly Sub Dermal close but also so very comfortable at the same time as I get with a Straight Razor. They are just simply the very best shave to be had in every way once you get past the hiccup stages and get it down with some consistency and practice.
I got an inkling watching "How It's Made" when they toured the Dovo factory. I was intrigued and jumped on the Internet, only to be frightened off by the maintenance and high start ups costs(no Whippeddog or GDs etc). I wimped out and went to DE's and found B&B as a result. Later on I saw an article on Whippeddog and the circle was complete and the journey started.
At the time the Norton 4/8 was the go to stone, and some crazy guy figured out a way to sharpen razors on a yellow garnet stones from Belgium.
In hindsight there was a AWFUL lot of mumble jumbo and voodoo mystique around razor honing. No one believed you could get a good edge off lapping films, JNats could only be found if you flew to Japan and met the guy who mines the stone. And some guys were revered as "Honemeisters". Oh yeah, and Gold Dollar razors could NEVER be made shave ready.
At the time the Norton 4/8 was the go to stone, and some crazy guy figured out a way to sharpen razors on a yellow garnet stones from Belgium.
In hindsight there was a AWFUL lot of mumble jumbo and voodoo mystique around razor honing. No one believed you could get a good edge off lapping films, JNats could only be found if you flew to Japan and met the guy who mines the stone. And some guys were revered as "Honemeisters". Oh yeah, and Gold Dollar razors could NEVER be made shave ready.
For me there was no reason.
I was browsing thebay and suddenly decided that shaving with straight would be very cool.
Then googled what I needed and then bought cheap chinese stuff. Now almost a year after I have 15 vintage straights (all in rotation), brushes, soaps, few strops and few hones. Chinese strop canvas side is covered with chromeoxide and the cheap synthetic brush is still in use others went with the trash. Lately I've been trying to resist buying more straights.
I was browsing thebay and suddenly decided that shaving with straight would be very cool.
Then googled what I needed and then bought cheap chinese stuff. Now almost a year after I have 15 vintage straights (all in rotation), brushes, soaps, few strops and few hones. Chinese strop canvas side is covered with chromeoxide and the cheap synthetic brush is still in use others went with the trash. Lately I've been trying to resist buying more straights.
I wasn't around in those days, but I kind of wonder how more than a century of knowledge about how to hone razors disappeared in the span of thirty years or so. The old barber manuals use slightly different terminology than we do but without fail they discuss cotis, thuris, and barber hones when they discuss honing. Some of them mention jnats. They discuss which stones to use with water, which to use with oil, which to use with slurry and which to use with lather. Old barbers that were still using straights to trim hairlines had this knowledge and had these stones in their shops. And when people formed a newsgroup and eventually a forum about using straight razors they started off by ignoring all of those things?
The honing techniques popular today are a bit different than what Barbers did. Have you ever tried shaving off a barbers' hone? I admit to not putting a lot of effort into mastering the barbers hone.
I wasn't around in the forum's infancy...maybe some old timers can chime in about the information being lost.
Thought it must be a really cool way to shave.....and I was totally right!
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