Just saying Hi

H

heroblob

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814
Hi all from a new member.
Been spending a lot of time over the last week browsing these pages and those of other sites after reading a thread on an unrelated forum discussing straight razors.
Spent the last 20 something years going from cheap disposables to expensive cartridges and now a Philips wet electric. None have really given me what i want and i have become a very lazy shaver. for the last 10 years or so i have been in the shave a couple of time a week brigade.
A couple of years ago a friend bought a straight which he brought into work to show me ans ask my opinion on polishing out some water marks on it. When i opened it i nearly had a fit. i had never seen one up close let alone hand a straight. i can tell you it terrified me, the thought of putting that against my face made me wince. Two years later and here i am seriously considering buying and trying my first straight razor. I like the idea of buying a restored vintage model From someone like Neil at the strop shop. Just don't know as yet what to get.
Any way that's where I'm at, spending hours looking at, reading about and contemplating straight razor shaving.
I have considered trying to find a good traditional barber where i can have a hot towel straight razor shave to see how it feels and try and learn as much as i can before embarking on the trip myself. Can anybody recommend somewhere in the Southend on Sea area of Essex< and do they all use shavettes now or are there still some traditionalist who use a proper straight. I have heard that the traditional straight razor gives a better result than the shavette or do they have to use them for hygiene reasons.
Many thanks in advance for any replies you may give to this thread and others i will post in the future.
 
Hi heroblob, welcome to the Shaving Room!

I tried using a shavette a few times. Didn't go too well. But there are plenty of proper straight users here to help you on your way. Good luck.
 
Welcome herobob,

The jump from electric to straight is a large one, have you considered using a traditional safety razor rather than a shavette as an intermediate step? I only suggest this because it is considered that shavette's are quite difficult to use compared to a real straight and that may well put you off wet shaving altogether.

At least with a safety razor you still have to master all the basics of beard and lather preparation, developing touch and technique as well as all your post shave requirements which will greatly help in the transition. I personally found it very useful to have that experience when learning to use a straight and there are many vintage safety razors out there to choose from should you go down that route.
 
antdad said:
Welcome herobob,

The jump from electric to straight is a large one, have you considered using a traditional safety razor rather than a shavette as an intermediate step? I only suggest this because I think the general consensus is that shavette's are really quite difficult to use compared to a real straight and that may well put you off.

At least with a D.E razor you still have to master all the basics of beard and lather preparation, developing touch and technique as well as all your post shave requirements and this will greatly help in the transition. I personally found it very useful to have that experience when learning to use a straight razor and there are also many vintage D.E razors out there to choose from should you go down that route.
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Hi antdad,
I had been intending to go straight to a Straight razor, not a shavette. I had mentioned them because i understand they don't give as good results as a true straight but believe that they are used by barbers. I was trying to find out if there where any barbers in my area that use traditional straights, but have now been informed that they have to use disposables.
Having read vast amounts on forum pages recently there appeared to be a consensus that the techniques for DE and straight are different and if the intention was to eventually go to straight there was no mileage in going DE first. Correct lather and blade control can be learnt equally well whichever way you choose to go. Do you not agree.
 
Hi HeroBob,

Just to further confuddle the issue, my own thought would be to get a secondhand Single Edge razor, which I find is more akin to an open razor than a DE, but still not liable to inspire the same feelings of apprehension when you approach your dermal layers with a piece of steel of a quality and sharpness which may well be the most extreme you will ever handle, short of a scalpel. As regards the shavette compared to a conventional straight edge open razor, for myself I doubt that you would learn very much with a shavette (especially when used by another person) which would benefit you with a straight. What you most probably would pick up if the barber is skilled and experienced would be the careful skin prep & the work & consistency of the lather. Also how well the lather is applied & worked in.

There are many guys (& at least one lady gentlemens' barber) on the forum who will, I'm sure be able to give valuable pointers to you about any points which crop up as you go along. Nice to meet you & say hello.

JohnnyO. :D /
 
heroblob said:
Having read vast amounts on forum pages recently there appeared to be a consensus that the techniques for DE and straight are different and if the intention was to eventually go to straight there was no mileage in going DE first. Correct lather and blade control can be learnt equally well whichever way you choose to go. Do you not agree.
Click to expand...

I don't know...all I can say is that this forum wouldn't exist if it were just a case of correct lather and angle. We endlessly discuss the intangibles that surround wet shaving. It's true that technically both involve holding a razors edge to ones skin, I'm just glad that when it came to learning to use a straight I knew that the correct grip, angle and pressure was all I had to worry about.
 
Hello and welcome to TSR, HeroBlob.

I second what AntDad said, I'm afraid. DE shaving teaches you about pressure, cutting angles and the direction of beard growth, and you tend to develop techniques like scything to deal with awkward patches without really thinking about it. All this knowledge does translate to shaving with an open razor. Don't let us put you off, though, but a spell of using a double or single edge razor (or a Rolls, maybe) should make the learning curve a little easier to negotiate.
 
Just my 2p on the matter of whether it's a good idea to start with DE then move on to straight. From what I've heard shaving with a straight is more challenging than using a DE. If you intend also to master lather-making and choose the right brush(s) for you then why not start with the easier option to allow you time to enjoy these other aspects of shaving? I don't think that being a DE user would impair your ability to use a straight. Also, it sounds to me like many straight users have a DE that they use to finish off the shave with or when they are in a hurry.
 
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