Time to throw in the towel?

[HeavyD]

Good evening all,

I’d like to thank everyone for all the great tips and encouragement.

I feel I’ve given it a fair shake. Over a year of straight razor shaving and I’m left underwhelmed. It takes twice as long as a DE, is far less comfortable, and I get a crappy shave.

You all must have some magic hands or something. I heard of the extremely comfortable and close shave of a straight razor and had to give it a try. Nope. Never experienced it. Yep, it is cool to shave with an open blade, but I’m done.

I just need to scrape the hair off my face and look presentable for work. I can spend less than half the time, use generic foam in a can, get a shave that’s 5x better and way more comfortable with a DE.

I may give it another shot some weekend in the future. If no magic, time to unload all the crap I shouldn’t have bought. On the plus side, a few straight razors sold ought to buy 10 lifetimes worth of DE blades.

Have a good weekend!

 

[silverlifter]

is far less comfortable, and I get a crappy shave.

This sounds like someone shaving, or trying to, with a dull razor.

Sorry it didn't work out for you.

 

[HeavyD]

This sounds like someone shaving, or trying to, with a dull razor.

Sorry it didn't work out for you.

I appreciate the thought. I really wanted it to work out. It may be as simple as “a lack of talent”. LOL.

 

[Koop]

I think only you can decide which is the way to go for yourself. I can understand the time constraint - if I were still in the corporate world, showering and shaving in the early morning to dash off to my desk, I probably never would've considered a straight razor. I'm retired now and my straight razor shaves are "me time." I don't care how long it takes, it's time where my focus is solely in the present trying to achieve the best results I can muster and avoiding nick/cuts. Maybe some day in the furure it will be something you want to give another shot at - I wouldn't be too quick to liquidate gear that you may want in the future.

 

[HeavyD]

I think only you can decide which is the way to go for yourself. I can understand the time constraint - if I were still in the corporate world, showering and shaving in the early morning to dash off to my desk, I probably never would've considered a straight razor. I'm retired now and my straight razor shaves are "me time." I don't care how long it takes, it's time where my focus is solely in the present trying to achieve the best results I can muster and avoiding nick/cuts. Maybe some day in the furure it will be something you want to give another shot at - I wouldn't be too quick to liquidate gear that you may want in the future.

Thanks for the sage advice!

 

[Saloogie]

I think only you can decide which is the way to go for yourself. I can understand the time constraint - if I were still in the corporate world, showering and shaving in the early morning to dash off to my desk, I probably never would've considered a straight razor. I'm retired now and my straight razor shaves are "me time." I don't care how long it takes, it's time where my focus is solely in the present trying to achieve the best results I can muster and avoiding nick/cuts. Maybe some day in the furure it will be something you want to give another shot at - I wouldn't be too quick to liquidate gear that you may want in the future.

Agree with all of that.

If I were still working, I wouldn't use an SE. It takes time and you have to be more careful than a DE/SE.

I guess I'm about 10 months into this now, and there are times I still doubt my decision to go SE. My honing skills are still lacking and I do occasionally still cut myself, and then I have to hear it from my wife. It does take time as well. But when I do get a great edge and I hit on a good shave, it's unbeatable. Super close and zero irritation. It feels very cool to keep this art alive to. Most of my friends think it's cool, but crazy to!

So I'll keep going. I will get better at honing and my shave technique will continue to improve as well. I will get more consistent. But everyone has to make their own decisions. There is certainly nothing wrong with a great DE shave! Good luck.

 

[Jamolay]

Interesting. I am using a Feather “Shavette” style AC razor the DX, so supposedly a little similar to a straight (I don’t see myself honing for a while).

I shave my head and am starting to get good results as I learn, but already the whole process is only taking 5 or so more minutes of my morning than DE shaving. I was worried it would take a lot longer, so only be a weekend option, but it is proving not to be the case, for me at least.

 

[Saloogie]

Interesting. I am using a Feather “Shavette” style AC razor the DX, so supposedly a little similar to a straight (I don’t see myself honing for a while).

I shave my head and am starting to get good results as I learn, but already the whole process is only taking 5 or so more minutes of my morning than DE shaving. I was worried it would take a lot longer, so only be a weekend option, but it is proving not to be the case, for me at least.

As far as the shave itself goes, I don't think a SE or shavette takes much more time, so I agree. But the care and maintenance of a SE does take a lot more time. Honing and stropping and getting it right is time consuming.

 

[Jamolay]

As far as the shave itself goes, I don't think a SE or shavette takes much more time, so I agree. But the care and maintenance of a SE does take a lot more time. Honing and stropping and getting it right is time consuming.

That is partly why I went with a shavette first. I would like to eventually use a straight, but one new skill at a time, I guess and I don’t want to struggle with the uncertainty and time cost of my own blade maintenance.

Couldn’t you hone in the evening or on a weekend? Even stropping could be done the night before, right? Shave in the morning, strop in the evening to reduce how much needs to be done on a work morning?

 

[HeavyD]

Excellent points from everyone. Perhaps I’ve over reacted out of frustration. I was expecting comfortable and at least passable shaves for work after 15 months. It is very rare that I get a nick or even a weeper with the straight which I cannot say about the DE. They seem to magically appear for no reason every now and again with the DE.

time wise, the shave itself isn’t much longer, I agree. Where my frustration came in is that with tons of care, beard prep, using expensive soaps and creams, and carefully building the most incredible lather on my face with a good brush, I get a very poor quality shave that’s not very comfortable with a straight. If I just wash, squirt Walmart foam in a can on my face and whip out the DE, it’s a decent and comfortable shave. No prep, no fancy soaps/creams, no brush, and a great shave results. I think another part of the frustration is finally admitting that I’ve been deluding myself.

@silverlifter had an excellent point on sharpness. I’ll pull out the stones and run some experiments today. I do have a cheap shavette somewhere I could also play with.

 

[Onimaho]

Excellent points from everyone. Perhaps I’ve over reacted out of frustration. I was expecting comfortable and at least passable shaves for work after 15 months. It is very rare that I get a nick or even a weeper with the straight which I cannot say about the DE. They seem to magically appear for no reason every now and again with the DE.

time wise, the shave itself isn’t much longer, I agree. Where my frustration came in is that with tons of care, beard prep, using expensive soaps and creams, and carefully building the most incredible lather on my face with a good brush, I get a very poor quality shave that’s not very comfortable with a straight. If I just wash, squirt Walmart foam in a can on my face and whip out the DE, it’s a decent and comfortable shave. No prep, no fancy soaps/creams, no brush, and a great shave results. I think another part of the frustration is finally admitting that I’ve been deluding myself.

@silverlifter had an excellent point on sharpness. I’ll pull out the stones and run some experiments today. I do have a cheap shavette somewhere I could also play with.

Have you tried using the canned stuff with your SR? If it gives a good result with your de then maybe it will also give a good result with your SR?

I don't have a SR but I have read that it is a good idea to have your SR be honed by a meister so you recognise a good edge. Might also be an avenue to explore.

 

[h3hound]

I tried straight razor shaving a long time ago (like decades ago) but then stuck with DE. recently i decided to try again and picked up a 5/8 Dovo for a great price. the first 'shaves' were not anywhere acceptable and i wondered if this was going to be worth it - a bit disappointing. nonetheless, i pressed on. these forums have been invaluable for info and advice.

i have learned and am learning a few things (some are obvious):
- 'shave ready' is sharp but maybe not polished sharp
- i had to figure out how to hone and strop properly
- sharp for me is when i can 'treetop' hairs off my arm
- i have to use good soap, cheap glycerin soaps dont work for me (i am a proraso green fan boy)
- i had to map out the shave path that worked for me and get my hands and arms to cooperate
- my shave angle is not as steep as i thought - its a shave not a scrape! (this was game changing after getting my blade correctly sharpened)
- i didnt give up

It took >20 shaves before many factors aligned - blade hone, strop, soap, coordination, blade angle, technique, map, grip...
But one morning, all of the sudden, I got a good first pass and decided to do a second pass xtg, and boom! i was almost stunned that it worked, finally! Again, it wasn't just one thing that made it happen.

I hope to keep improving and eventually get faster but i am not going for speed as much as i am quality. I want to make it look easy .
I still use the DE (fatboy) for the routine shave and reach for the straight when i am not time crunched.

 

[gpjoe]

Good evening all,

I’d like to thank everyone for all the great tips and encouragement.

I feel I’ve given it a fair shake. Over a year of straight razor shaving and I’m left underwhelmed. It takes twice as long as a DE, is far less comfortable, and I get a crappy shave.

You all must have some magic hands or something. I heard of the extremely comfortable and close shave of a straight razor and had to give it a try. Nope. Never experienced it. Yep, it is cool to shave with an open blade, but I’m done.

I just need to scrape the hair off my face and look presentable for work. I can spend less than half the time, use generic foam in a can, get a shave that’s 5x better and way more comfortable with a DE.

I may give it another shot some weekend in the future. If no magic, time to unload all the crap I shouldn’t have bought. On the plus side, a few straight razors sold ought to buy 10 lifetimes worth of DE blades.

Have a good weekend!

You gotta do what works for you...and I am 100% solid in your camp.

I've got a pile of straight razors, some Ebay razors that I've "honed" myself, and at least a half dozen that were sharpened by various known "honemeisters", and not a single one of those will give as close a shave as any of my DE razors or AC blade shavettes. Not remotely close.

I'm retired and have nothing but time, and when I want a leisurely open-blade shave, I grab one of my AC shavettes and get the closest shaves I have ever gotten vs any other method/razor. The shavette literally wipes the whiskers from my face, which I have never achieved with a straight razor.

I still dabble, and get my SR out every so often, encouraged by the success (and suggestions) of the fine gentlemen on this forum, though it usually ends in frustration and disappointment. Is it me?...or are my expectations unrealistic? I suspect both.

I know EXACTLY how you feel...I could have written your post.

 

[HeavyD]

You gotta do what works for you...and I am 100% solid in your camp.

I've got a pile of straight razors, some Ebay razors that I've "honed" myself, and at least a half dozen that were sharpened by various known "honemeisters", and not a single one of those will give as close a shave as any of my DE razors or AC blade shavettes. Not remotely close.

I'm retired and have nothing but time, and when I want a leisurely open-blade shave, I grab one of my AC shavettes and get the closest shaves I have ever gotten vs any other method/razor. The shavette literally wipes the whiskers from my face, which I have never achieved with a straight razor.

I still dabble, and get my SR out every so often, encouraged by the success (and suggestions) of the fine gentlemen on this forum, though it usually ends in frustration and disappointment. Is it me?...or are my expectations unrealistic? I suspect both.

I know EXACTLY how you feel...I could have written your post.

Thank goodness I’m not the only one! I also have a pile of straight razors. I was wondering about different grinds, etc. none of that made a difference.

The kind folks here have convinced me to try a bit longer on the weekends.

i also suspect unrealistic expectations to be a problem of mine, so I’ll toss a question to the pros.

1. Comfort level. If we assume a DE is a 5 on a ten scale of comfort, where does a straight fall in your opinion? I’d say 2.5 to 3. Assume 0 is ripping them out with a machine and 10 is “I looked in the mirror and all the whiskeys were gone.

2. Quality of shave. My quality of shave with a straight is slightly better than what I guess a cave man achieved with a piece of flint minus cuts.

 

[Koop]

Thank goodness I’m not the only one! I also have a pile of straight razors. I was wondering about different grinds, etc. none of that made a difference.

The kind folks here have convinced me to try a bit longer on the weekends.

i also suspect unrealistic expectations to be a problem of mine, so I’ll toss a question to the pros.

1. Comfort level. If we assume a DE is a 5 on a ten scale of comfort, where does a straight fall in your opinion? I’d say 2.5 to 3. Assume 0 is ripping them out with a machine and 10 is “I looked in the mirror and all the whiskeys were gone.

2. Quality of shave. My quality of shave with a straight is slightly better than what I guess a cave man achieved with a piece of flint minus cuts.

This all depends on the quality of the straight razor edge. When I started I had trouble and I had to learn to hone a razor, coming from a knife sharpening background. Once I got that down:

1. Comfort is equal or better than DE.

2. Quality of shave is very good - 80%+ BBS. I have a problem area due to scaring from neck dissection surgery and a straight razor doesn't work well there without a very light a delicate touch, so I go over that area with a DE at the end of my shave and all is good.

Satisfaction with the shave experience using a SR cannot be beat.

Edit: I also adhere to Iron Chef Morimoto's admonishment - "cutting yourself with a kitchen knife comes down to one of two reasons - you are trying to go too fast or you're not focused on the task at hand." I apply this to SR shaving, I never try to go fast and I'm totally focused on the shave.

 

[Mr Bedlington]

It's much simpler than that, it's not for everyone, using a straight razor is never going to catch on, and most people will never have the practical skills or ability to master using a straight razor, it's very much become a niche part of men's daily routine and distant skill that's not going to catch on, if you get it you get it.

 

[HeavyD]

This all depends on the quality of the straight razor edge. When I started I had trouble and I had to learn to hone a razor, coming from a knife sharpening background. Once I got that down:

1. Comfort is equal or better than DE.

2. Quality of shave is very good - 80%+ BBS. I have a problem area due to scaring from neck dissection surgery and a straight razor doesn't work well there without a very light a delicate touch, so I go over that area with a DE at the end of my shave and all is good.

Satisfaction with the shave experience using a SR cannot be beat.

Edit: I also adhere to Iron Chef Morimoto's admonishment - "cutting yourself with a kitchen knife comes down to one of two reasons - you are trying to go too fast or you're not focused on the task at hand." I apply this to SR shaving, I never try to go fast and I'm totally focused on the shave.

You give me hope. Thanks.

 

[Stapelfeld]

Will you be selling some of the gear you won't be using anymore? Interested to see what you got

 

[Koop]

Will you be selling some of the gear you won't be using anymore? Interested to see what you got

The vultures are circling! - just kidding Sean.

 

[Blade_Runner37C]

Good evening all,

I’d like to thank everyone for all the great tips and encouragement.

I feel I’ve given it a fair shake. Over a year of straight razor shaving and I’m left underwhelmed. It takes twice as long as a DE, is far less comfortable, and I get a crappy shave.

You all must have some magic hands or something. I heard of the extremely comfortable and close shave of a straight razor and had to give it a try. Nope. Never experienced it. Yep, it is cool to shave with an open blade, but I’m done.

I just need to scrape the hair off my face and look presentable for work. I can spend less than half the time, use generic foam in a can, get a shave that’s 5x better and way more comfortable with a DE.

I may give it another shot some weekend in the future. If no magic, time to unload all the crap I shouldn’t have bought. On the plus side, a few straight razors sold ought to buy 10 lifetimes worth of DE blades.

Have a good weekend!

sorry to hear, NOW WHAT HONING STONES, RAZORS AND STROPS DO YOU HAVE FOR SALE???? LOL

J/K (well not if you have a good deal) but sorry to hear that. i am awaiting my first straight razor shave. I am a DE razor guy myself.