Shaving with a safety razor.

[lxskllr]

Heh, just decided to switch to using a straight razor instead of my Mach 3. Blades for that thing are still damned expensive and just don't last. I got lucky, I managed to find all my grandfather's shaving gear. Strop, straight razors, brush & mug. The straight razors need a good bit of work to bring them back to working condition unfortunately. The scales on one are falling apart and the blade is duller than dirt and the other blade has a chunk taken out of it making it unusable, but the scales are good. So in the mean time I picked up this: http://www.amazon.com/Parker-SRW-Sta...3165154&sr=8-1 to use while I repair the razors. Probably going to have to get a new strop though as his is looking rather worn, but I'll try reconditioning first before giving up on it. Haven't yet received the Parker so no comment on how the shave is but I'm fully expecting to massacre my face the few times.

There's a guy on another forum I belong to that rehabs straight razors. I don't know how much he charges, but he does some beautiful work. If you're interested, let me know, and I'll get some information to you.

 

[waggy]

I shave exclusively with the Derby's now and last time I bought them I got a 100 pack for $8 from Amazon. The first few months, buy sampler packs. You cost will be a bit higher, but it will allow you to find the blade(s) that work best for you.

i get sample packs from http://www.westcoastshaving.com/ it had 5 blades from a bunch of diffrent makers.

best i had were some personna blades

 

[alkemyst]

There is no need to spend a fortune on a designer straight razor. A real shaving shop/barber supply store will have the normal man's blade.

Switching to the straight/safety razor shave is usually not done for economy by most making it a hobby.

 

[lxskllr]

There is no need to spend a fortune on a designer straight razor. A real shaving shop/barber supply store will have the normal man's blade.

Switching to the straight/safety razor shave is usually not done for economy by most making it a hobby.

I switched because it's a more artful way to shave, and less wasteful of resources. Antique shops are good places to find straights. If you stay away from the trendy antique areas, you can get them at great prices.

 

[TheVrolok]

Switching to the straight/safety razor shave is usually not done for economy by most making it a hobby.

Maybe often true, but my switch to DE/method shaving is way cheaper than cartridges for a much better shave.

 

[Born2bwire]

holy shit. Got mine today
If you don't hold your skin tight you will bleed Is this just because Im using the cheap packaged blades?

Light pressure. I cannot stress this enough. I do not tighten my skin much myself because I find that it helps reduce razor burn. You really need to be very light with the razor and be mindful of the angle that you are using. You want the safety bar, head, and blade to all make contact with the skin.

 

[TheVrolok]

Light pressure. I cannot stress this enough. I do not tighten my skin much myself because I find that it helps reduce razor burn. You really need to be very light with the razor and be mindful of the angle that you are using. You want the safety bar, head, and blade to all make contact with the skin.

This. One should not be "tightening skin" as it increases incidence of razor burn/folliculitis because by pulling the skin taut you are exposing more of the hair shaft and then cutting it, once you loosen tension on the skin the hair will recede to a deeper level below skin and has a much greater chance of becoming ingrown (esp with curly/thick hair). Shaving with a DE/straight razor is all about pressure (least amount necessary), angle (blade as parallel to skin as possible), and reduction (do not try to cut all hair on a single pass; instead, rinse, re-lather, and do a second (third, fourth, fifth, etc.) pass as necessary).

 

[SViper]

Thanks for the help! Also should I be using some besides barbasol shaving cream?

I personally use a shaving soap using my fingertips for application. Before I started what is called "method shaving," I would apply a soap with a badger hair brush. My aftershave consisted of noxema as well before I went with method shaving.

I don't see a problem with the shaving cream as long as it works well for you. You want to have a soap/cream that allows you to perform multiple passes with the razor without getting razor burn. As TheVrolok said, your focus is hair reduction. I personally make 3-4 passes on each shave, re-applying my soap before each pass.

I personally follow this shaving chart: http://www.enchanteonline.com/pages/faqs/cuttingforms.pdf

Form 1 is cutting with the grain. I do this 1 time if I shaved the day before, twice if I shaved 2 days before, and 3 times if it's any longer than that.

Form 2 is cutting down and towards the center line of your face at about a 45 degree angle in regard to the grain of your hair for quadrants 2 and 3. I do this once.

Form 3 is cutting upwards toward the center line of your face at a 45 degree angle in regard to your hair grain for quadrants 2 and 3. I do this once.

What I described above is method shaving. It may not work for you with your hair/skin type, but it works for me. You should experiment to find the best combination of pre-shave, shaving, and post-shave techniques that work for you.

 

[Born2bwire]

Thanks for the help! Also should I be using some besides barbasol shaving cream?

You don't have to. The main point is you don't need to spend a lot of money on this. You should be able to get a good shave using canned foam, a moderately priced non-adjustable DE like the Merkur Classic or Edwin Jagger D89 and some basic DE blade. The biggest factor is your technique. Using light pressure, the proper angle, and gradually reducing the beard using multiple passes (but try not to shave over an area again without reapplying lather or wetting).

Everything beyond that is for personal preference and comfort. I will say that a shaving soap is still going to be pretty cheap despite the cost of a puck since they last for many months (some report 6 months, I have yet to use up a puck since I have several different ones that I use). So you can get something like a Tweezerman badger brush and get a soap like Cella, Valobra, DR Harris or Trumpers are ones that I find work well. The brush won't cost much unless you go to a high end so as long as you use up the soap or cream then you won't be spending too much.

Creams will be easier than a soap to lather but I do not think that they are as cost effective. The Taylor of Old Bond Street are moderately priced and give decent results.

So I guess if you want you can try a tub of Taylor's and maybe a thing of Cella or DR Harris. That should give you an idea of what they offer. I feel that they perform much better than anything out of a can but the downside is the added time it takes to use them.

 

[Eli]

I haven't shaved with a razor in years... too much fuss over something that will only last a few hours.

 

[mvbighead]

Thanks for the help! Also should I be using some besides barbasol shaving cream?

Yep, like the guy above said, a lot of people use a shaving soap, and many tend to be pretty cheap. I simply use Barbasol like you have, and find it to work quite well. For me, it's more about the razor and less about the cream. While barbasol isn't fancy, it isn't so slick that the blade slides on my face, but smooth enough that it gets me to do a good job shaving.

 

[waggy]

Yep, like the guy above said, a lot of people use a shaving soap, and many tend to be pretty cheap. I simply use Barbasol like you have, and find it to work quite well. For me, it's more about the razor and less about the cream. While barbasol isn't fancy, it isn't so slick that the blade slides on my face, but smooth enough that it gets me to do a good job shaving.

you can get pretty good soap for less then a buck. when i ordered blades (got a 100 pack sample pack!) it came with 2 different soaps (each was a buck or so). 1 bar last a long time.

 

[Sho'Nuff]

Glad they work for you OP. Personally, I will always spring for the Gillete Mach 5. they cost a fortune, but I NEVER cut my face, and each cartridge lasts ~3 weeks (meaning I have to buy only one package of refills per year).

One of the few benefits of having a babyface.

 

[alfa147x]

I'll have to buy bar of soap. Sounds like an interesting concept.

I think after a week or two I an see my self not cutting myself

 

[waggy]

I'll have to buy bar of soap. Sounds like an interesting concept.

I think after a week or two I an see my self not cutting myself

I have pretty bad arthritis. My hands shake all the time (my handwriting is very very bad heh). I RARELY cut myself anymore. you just have to remember to use a light short stroke.

 

[alfa147x]

I have pretty bad arthritis. My hands shake all the time (my handwriting is very very bad heh). I RARELY cut myself anymore. you just have to remember to use a light short stroke.

That was my first mistake. If you look at my picture you see the long "gash" on the side of face that's from me trying to go from my side burns down my neck :\

 

[Zargon]

Glad they work for you OP. Personally, I will always spring for the Gillete Mach 5. they cost a fortune, but I NEVER cut my face, and each cartridge lasts ~3 weeks (meaning I have to buy only one package of refills per year).

One of the few benefits of having a babyface.

I get like 3 shaves out of a mach 3 or fusion, if I do it every other day.

thats alot of $$$, you could probably get a safety razor blade to last you for a few months

 

[alfa147x]

Just shaved again. No cuts! Still having a bit of trouble but this last try was a lot more enjoyable.
Used Barbasol shaving cream

Thanks everyone!

 

[SZLiao214]

Have any of you guys had experience shaving your head with one of these razors?

I shave my head about twice a week to keep cool at work and fusion razors have been fantastic.

I bought one of those de razors with some feathers but couldn't get anything close to a smooth shave. My skull has a small bump in the scalp that i forgot about and i took out a think flap of skin out of my head O_O.