Straight Razor shaving?

errlloyd

No hats guys, sorry. In fact no beard and almost no ability to grow one, however I do have a question..

So I'm not the most rugged man in the world in terms of facial hair, in fact far from it. I'm 18 and haven't been shaving for all that long. Even still I'm kinda interested in straight blades. I figure I may as well learn now while the going is easy.

The question I have is simple. Is this gonna be a disaster. I'm pretty notoriously sketchy when it comes to holding ****, I wouldn't ever be a surgeon.

KTRIC

Do you like your face ?

Try a safety razor instead

errlloyd

You reckon?

Tbh I have no real issue with Fusion disposables in terms of the quality of the shave, I just think the straight blade is a skill I'd like to have. I'm kinda weird like that.

KTRIC

errlloyd wrote: »

You reckon?

Tbh I have no real issue with Fusion disposables in terms of the quality of the shave, I just think the straight blade is a skill I'd like to have. I'm kinda weird like that.

No, not cartridge razors (Fusion, Excell etc) safety razors or Double edge razors. They're the biz and safer than a straight razor without the risk of cutting your face off.

errlloyd

Yeah I get that, but I'm correct in saying the actual technique for shaving using safeties cartridge and disposables is the same right?

oscarBravo

Not really, no. Learning to shave properly with a safety razor will teach you the habit of getting the angle of the blade right. There's also the skin prep, lathering, all the routine that goes with safety razors, which seems to have been forgotten in the plastic disposable era.

Cabaal

oscarBravo wrote: »

Not really, no. Learning to shave properly with a safety razor will teach you the habit of getting the angle of the blade right. There's also the skin prep, lathering, all the routine that goes with safety razors, which seems to have been forgotten in the plastic disposable era.

Fully agree with this, learn to shave with a safety razor and then move to a straight if you want. You need to learn how to shave properly first....

You think you know how to shave from using a Mach3 or Fusion but you actually don't know how to shave properly at all

source

There's a lot involved in DE shaving, and even more in straight shaving, that you don't have to think about with cartridge razors. Check out mantic59s videos on you tube, he has great tutorials on his channel, it'll give you a feel for DE and straight shaving, you'll see whats involved in it.

Sean Quagmire

Straight shaving is not that difficult but Id agree with the others that you should begin with a safety razor and learn the prep work.

If you do decide to pick up a straight, respect it. My barber told me if you cut yourself with a bic or a mach 3, you'l have a nick. If you cut yourself with a straight you could need stitches.

Uriel.

Is there a huge difference in a straight or safety shave compared to using a Mach 3/Fusion?

Is it a better/Closer shave? It seems like a lot of work to go into shaving and just wondering what the benefit is.

Thinking of getting into this myself having gotten rid of my 5 year old beard.

Any recommendations on a good safety?

Cheers.

Dord

Uriel. wrote: »

Is there a huge difference in a straight or safety shave compared to using a Mach 3/Fusion?

I switched from a cartridge razor to a safety razor (aka DE or double edge) a few months ago. There is a bit more prep required but I don't find that a hassle. The actual shaving technique is quite different in that you need to be aware of the angle of the blade more.

Uriel. wrote: »

Is it a better/Closer shave? It seems like a lot of work to go into shaving and just wondering what the benefit is.

I find it much closer. There is less grabbing of the hairs and more just a smooth slice through them. A big part of that would be that I use a shaving cream and work up a lather with it rather than a gel or oil that you might use with a cartridge razor.

Uriel. wrote: »

Thinking of getting into this myself having gotten rid of my 5 year old beard.

Any recommendations on a good safety?

Cheers.

It's worth a try. Even if you grow the beard back you'll still have a nice razor that will last for years and the blades won't disappear from shop shelves. That happened to me earlier in the year with my choice of cartridge razor.

I use a Merkur 34C which is also know as the HD. It took a couple of shaves to get used to it but now I'm quite comfortable and quicker at shaving with it.

Certainly check out the videos of Mantic59 on youtube. I found those invaluable.