Are a straights that hard to master?

B

BlkKnight

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I'm tempted to make the move onto straights for my weekend shave, but to be honest the thought scares the crap out of me & my missus!

Being a fairly accident prone guy (who fell off a bike getting on to it and grazed his face two days before his wedding), I'm a little apprehensive.

I've been using DE's for 6 months and think I'm pretty competent. Is the Straight much of a transition?

I've a Turkish barber near where I work, what do you think the chances of them offering lessons?

Or am I simply worrying about nothing . . .
 
Re: Is a staright that hard to master?

There's only one way to find out but if you are accident prone and the thought of it scares you?

Lessons are a good idea though, go and have a few shaves with the guy and see if he's up for it.
 
Re: Is a staright that hard to master?

I've found he transition to DE from cartridges reasonably easy however I found the transition to straights a much steeper learning curve, I've been at it for several months (a couple of times a week) and only now am I getting a consistently good shave but still a little way off the BBS which I can quite easily achieve with a DE.

I think my improvement has possibly been a little slower than average and some people seem to take to it very easily, however its quite satisfying mastering all the facets not only shaving but stropping and currently what I'm working on honing!
 
Re: Is a staright that hard to master?

When you think about how long straight shaving was the norm, it shouldn't be too difficult to master. But it is harder than the way most of us have shaved for years. I've given it my best shot. But I've decided DE shaving is more relaxing for me. So I only very occasionally use my straights. And that doesn't help to improve my technique.
 
Re: Is a staright that hard to master?

I've used a straight for the last three shaves, and I'm finding it pretty hard. Having said that, in those three shaves my technique and the quality of my shave (whilst still terrible...) has improved no end. I'm going to have a few days off now, but I think you'd pick it up to an acceptable level in maybe a couple of weeks?

I find them scary to use, but I think thats a good thing! I'll probably only draw blood when i become complacent :roll:

It's far too early for me to comment on whether I'll keep it up, I can quite understand why Fido didn't continue with it, it's quite a palava in comparison to a DE shave, when I've touched up with my Fatboy over the weekend it was amazing quick and simple! But then the stropping process etc is all part of the appeal.

I'll be going back to Turkey next year so will have another barbers shave there then and pay more attention to technique this time. A lesson would be great if you've got the opportunity.
 
Re: Is a staright that hard to master?

A few observations:

Cutting yourself. Let's get that one out of the way: you will. Severing major blood vessels? No, never heard of anyone doing that by accident. You get better at avoiding them with practice, but to start with you'd better expect a few nicks.

Being competent with a DE should help, because you'll have developed some relevant shaving wisdom, consciously or otherwise.

Practice makes all the difference, as Fido suggests. To start with, handling a cut throat is a bit of a conundrum, what with the contortions and the shaking hands. It gets a lot better after a while.

Finishing off with a DE is no dishonour! If anyone has managed to get their chin properly shaved first time with a straight, it would be very surprising indeed.

Shaving isn't the only thing you need to learn: getting good at stropping is a must, and you need to learn that quickly. It's not so difficult, but there's a knack to it.

Finally, there's plenty of scope for developing a raging acquisition disorder if the bug bites: you have been warned!

I'd suggest you go and get shaved at the Turkish barbers, and have a chat.
 
Re: Is a staright that hard to master?

What Andy said, I can´t think of anything more. Maybe to buy a cheapo strop to start out with (or use a leather piece lying flat on a table end). When you´ve approx. 20 shaves under the belt it´ll feel better, for some a little faster and some a couple of more.
 
Re: Is a staright that hard to master?

Actually the worst thing for me when I started was how awkward it felt handling the blade with both right and left hands however as I've gone along I built up muscle memory and even the left handed stuff feels pretty much natural now.
 
Re: Is a staright that hard to master?

It takes on average 1 year to really figure everything and which angles to go and which ones not to!...straights are not as maneuverable as DE/SE handles but if you can figure out how to "wield" them in the directions safely you will get I would say 20% closer than anything else
:mrgreen:
Blades
 
you just need to find out how to stretch the skin and which way your hair grows ans just take your time the chin area and top lip are the hardest then the neck is too but its practice and you will cut yourself :lol:

but its a nice shave i have had a few that have been spot on and feels awsome
plus a good shave with a straight does last me a bit longer than a de
 
Straight razors are more fussy, more demanding, and a hell of a lot of fun to shave with. But I wonder how many of us really "master" them. Become very good, yes.

As Arrowhead mentioned, you will get some nicks, but serious cuts are unlikely. I've often said that the safest straight razor can be is when it is on your face. You would be surprised how many people cut their fingers!

As also pointed out, just learning how to hold one can feel awkward, and at first you will have trouble seeing what you are doing.

But after a few weeks all will begin to come together. Much longer if used only on the weekends.

Of course you will need to learn how to strop the razor, and later on how to hone it.

Sounds daunting, but you learn all these things in stages, gradually. All it really takes is stubborn persistence and willingness to rise to the challenge.
 
I had my first two major cuts with a straight razor during my first 2 shaves- and it was due the fact that I wasn't paying attention. Since then, I can count on 1 hand how many nicks/cuts I've had since. There is something very "analog" about shaving with a straight razor that lends to less cuts, since you are holding the very blade that's cutting.

Is it hard to master? There's just a lot of technique to master, much like learning to drive stick shift or tie a necktie. Can you do it? YES! :cool:
 
Neil Miller said:
jimmyman said:
... the chin area and top lip are the hardest then the neck is too :lol:
Click to expand...

I love that post Jimmy!

You have just ruled out everything except the cheeks, lol!

Regards,
Neil
Click to expand...


its true mate at the mo cheeks are easy always like a babys bottom rest need more work that will come from practice
 
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