Anybody actually use a straight razor?!?!

wyrm

wyrm

Gold Member
Joined
Jan 16, 2001
Messages
730
I bought one, more or less to add a unique piece to my collection.
It's handmade from BG-42 steel and a micarta handle and some fancy file work.

I've considered trying to shave with it, but if I slipped I don't think they carry band-aids at the local drug store that would be big enough. :eek:

I may just stick with the Mach3, I kinda like my face they way it is. :)

Dale.
 
I did it for a while. Much as I liked the concept, it just isn't a good way to shave compared to modern alternatives.
 
I use them and find them to be the best solution for me. I get a better shave than with modern razors in about the same time (To get close to the same shave I'd have to go over my face repeatedly with a modern razor). That plus I actualy enjoy shaving now. Before it was just an annoying chore.

Leo
 
I'm just a little dyslexic... I dont think looking at a mirror while attempting to shave the whiskers off my neck is a wise move... Probably filet myself! :eek:
 
My barber cuts my hair completely using a straight razor. And the following shave is complimentary. I can't do it myself, though, I'd cut myself for sure. .
 
I wear a fairly close beard (not Don Johnson close, but a far remove from grizzly Adams) I shave my neck, and trim above the beard with a straight razor once or twice a week, and find it does a fine job. I also find that dragging a straight razor across my adams apple to be a very focusing endeavor. My razor is an old one inherited from my grandfather, but stropped regularly it is stll amazingly sharp. I don't know if I'd still do it if I had to shave my whole face daily, but I liek the ritual of it, and it is a fine, close shave. You should at least give it a shot, to the point of being able to do it, then go back to the mach III. Perhaps it's a bit atavistic, but so is making a fire sans matches, and that's fun too.
 
WYRM,
Where did you get your razor? How much was it? Could you post a picture?
You won't cut yourself. Try it, you'll like it. You have to lather your face and the razor will just glide over. I have 30-50 razors, and been shaving with them for about six or seven months. No serious cuts, just minor nicks. Just don't move the razor in a cutting bread motion. You push it straight, like a draw knife in reverse.
If you do get nicked, you get to say you shave with a straight razor.
Check out straightrazorplace.com at yahoo groups.
Try it and you will be hooked. Buy a 150 year old, Wade & butcher straight razor, hone it and shave. There is nothing like it.
Mike Morris
 
Hi All-

It's not the hardware that is the deciding factor, it is the preparation of either the legs or face...depending on your gender. Click on the link to see what I'm talking about. One simply cannot underestimate the criticality of pre-shave oil and a warmed badger hair brush for this procedure...

Your skin will feel like a baby's bottom if you follow their instructions precisely.

~ Blue Jays ~
 
I tried them for a while, but they just made my problems worse.
Then, thank God, I finally discovered the real answer -- a regular razor with a thin spacer between razor and skin. Gives a close shave but doesn't leave the hairs to grow back in on themselves!
 
wyrm said:
I bought one, more or less to add a unique piece to my collection.
It's handmade from BG-42 steel and a micarta handle and some fancy file work.
Click to expand...


Gay razors here only, sorry. :D
 
i tried them and didnt think them worth the hassle for me, i did start using a brush and soap in a bowl at the same time and do like that, the brush is 100% better than anything outta a can imho, i do very much like that, just got 3 bars of soap (1 burts bees almond and 2 bay rum) will prob last about 2 years, the stuff really goes a loooong way, really smooths out the process, less nicks/scrapes/irritation, for me anyway. also like the burtsbees stuff, have tried some other stuff from the drug store and its just not as good imho.
 
I might give it a whirl after I get some supplies, like a brush and soap. If I like it I'll pop in over in the BFC Razor forum or at SRP.

Here's a pic:
razorBG42.jpg


Pic off makers website who is Corey Smith

Mine is the red one, the other one I think is sold too.

Merry 2 feet of snow in my driveway Christmas,
Dale.
 
You really should shave after showering. This softens the hair and engorges it with water. That is about all the shave prep that I use. I use generic shave gel out of the can, from Walmart. I have a badger brush and a bristle brush from the drug store. I use these, but find it time consuming, so I just use the gel.
I used to hate shaving, now I really enjoy it. Your razor has to be verrrrry sharp though.
You can also pick up spectacular 100 year old razors from ebay, for 20$ or less. Fun to collect.
Mike Morris
 
ive use one, it reallt sucked! i was too afraid to shave my neck, but i did my side burns with it fine. my barber uses one instead of a saftey razor!
 
You can't be timid!!!!! The razor has to be sharp. Sharper than a sharp knife. It shoud pop hair if you glide it ABOVE your arm! Really lather your face. Push the razor. It's easy. The razor will just glide over your skin!!!!!! If it doesn't you haven't sharpened it well enough!!!!! When people have problems or give up in frustration it is because they haven't mastered honing yet!! It has to be razor sharp, not sharp as in shaving sharp in knife lingo. Any junk steel can get to shave hair on your arm and still not give a satisfactory shave. You need special hones. Mine go up to about 15000 grit. Go to straightrazorplace. com and lurk. You will learn all you need to know. I am honing a 100 plus year old Wade & Butcher razor right now.
Mike Morris
 
vetkaw63 said:
You can't be timid!!!!! The razor has to be sharp. Sharper than a sharp knife. It shoud pop hair if you glide it ABOVE your arm! Really lather your face. Push the razor. It's easy. The razor will just glide over your skin!!!!!! If it doesn't you haven't sharpened it well enough!!!!! When people have problems or give up in frustration it is because they haven't mastered honing yet!! It has to be razor sharp, not sharp as in shaving sharp in knife lingo. Any junk steel can get to shave hair on your arm and still not give a satisfactory shave. You need special hones. Mine go up to about 15000 grit. Go to straightrazorplace. com and lurk. You will learn all you need to know. I am honing a 100 plus year old Wade & Butcher razor right now.
Mike Morris
Click to expand...


So, has anyone ever tried a Shapton purple 30,000 grit stone? Can't imagine anyone spending over $600 bucks on a stone but the thing has me curious as hell and I've searched all over the net for any comments by anyone who has tried one but haven't found a thing (gee, for that price, they ought to give out free samples!)

Don't really have a use for razors but I presume leather and wood carving tools etc. would sharpen in a similar manner so I thought I'd ask...

I've got a 5,000 pink Global (similar to Shapton's M5 series in that half of it is a ceramic substrate) that I really like (hard ceramic, very smooth and flat. Seems to work great on stainless kitchen knives) and a 15,000 Shapton that seems to do a nice job on my little camp knife and various whittling knives (seems about like stropping with green honing compound, though it seems to load a little... not so as to affect cutting action, but it is beginning to look a bit grungy).

I think my favorite is a 2-3k grit natural blue stone though... just like the way it makes its own mud , which seems to get smoother and smoother (works well, and it is just fun playing in the mud ^-^), so it has gotten me curious about natural stones in the 10k-20k grit range, (as well as the Belgian blue and yellow garnet stones). Anyone try Uchigumori or other polishing stones on razors, plane blades, scalpels, micrtome blades or what-have-you? And, would they really be better than the Shapton?

Seems like buying sharpening stones is such a hit or miss thing (i.e. I've got two artificial stones of the same grit, but one is softer than the other and they each work better on different kinds of steel) that it would be great if someone created a site or forum just to collect user reviews of various stones along with notes on how well they work with various tools / steels.
 
A properly sharpened straight razor with a good lather ( I agree, Burt's Bees is great) will give a really smooth shave. Work up to it, use the straight razor when you have time and the regular when you are in a hurry. But always use the brush and soap. I think knifecenter.com has a good articale on the straigt razor.
 
After a while its no more intimidating than shaving the hair off your forearm. You know you are not going to cut yourself, so you dont. Getting over the mirror image is a problem at first but after a short time you just use the mirror as a quick referance.

As mentiond above you really need to shower first to get the bristles as soft as possible. But man, do you feel clean after a good shave.
 
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