Why don't you shave with a straight razor?

Gargravarr said:
Yes. Most people find a real straight a lot more forgiving than the ½-DE kind of shavette. I don't know about the AC shavettes, I never heard of them while I was into straights (1990s, early noughties)...
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I feel like the feather ProGuard blades are quite safe and easy to use for even a beginner whilst achieving a very good shave however anything above definitely needs some sort of skill. I have never tried the feather Super blades but I feel like if one takes the incremental steps upwards they will be fine if however you have great muscle memory with a straight you probably don't need to take all the blade steps mind you I have the AC SS which is designed to be much more forgiving with its design which encourages skin stretching. I did buy a DX from ebay at one point but the seller ripped me off and I had to claim a refund. I was so excited for it to arrive and remember being completely deflated after that and I never looked back at a DX but it's definitely a good choice when it comes to shavettes for someone with a bit more experience.
Kai makes similar ones for slightly cheaper and there is now a feather SR which looks very interesting but I still feel like the DX with the wooden handle is the best though.

I imagine a ½-DE could be okay too if they get the balance and design right and will probably buy one at some point to get some extra enjoyment out of some DE blade types but definitely feel like the straight razor is the way to go and a different kind of beast that everyone should give try at least once and or own at least one especially when they are so inexpensive.

I love DE razors so much though and can't see myself becoming a straight razor person only though. I feel like leading into it as a DE shaver I should probably try practice using both hands as it will only help using any kind of shavette or straight.

It's amazing how skilled people are here, using all kinds of razors and yet there are still people out there using cart razors. DE razors should be for absolutely everybody. I feel like Gillette is aware of this and are following the trend resulting in them buying up DE blade factories to keep their hand firm on the monopoly which I hear is why PolSilvers are no longer being made because Gillette owns the name PolSilver now which explains why the Wizamet name is back in fashion now and in circulation again but that's another discussion for another thread and I may be wrong about it all but Gillette didn't get where they are now by slouching and not taking advantage of people and things. lol
 
rbscebu said:
Traditional straight razor -v- shavette style (my take and I shave with both):

My SR's are honed up to about the equivalent of sharp DE blades but I find the SR's more "forgiving" in the shave. Shaving with a shavette is similar but different to shaving with a traditional SR.​
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I enjoy shaving with either but prefer the traditional SR as I know that I produced the edge.​
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Most shavettes are lighter in mass overall than traditional SR's but there are a few with stainless steel scales that are about equivalent in mass and balance to some SR's.​

I found that the smile on the Gold Dollar W59 to be excessive for my liking. I bread-knife the smile out and reset the bevel. Here are three of mine. The top is as received, middle after bread-knifing and the bottom after bevel reset.

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As you will notice, I keep the toe pointy and sharp. Helps to shave inside the nostrils and ear canals 😊. Some mute the toe.

I have never dealt with a W56 so cannot comment.
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Man! That is impressive. I like the cut of your jib!
Definitely a much higher level of skill and investment.

Wow! The more I look at it the more impressed I am. You can absolutely tell how much better that edge is on both of the ones you worked on, in fact the factory set one looks downright awful by comparison. For one thing the heel and the toe look really bad on the stock one by comparison
 
One thing I forgot to mention is that you really need a nice slick shaving soap for shavette shaving in my opnion and experience, it was also part of the reason why I cut my chin with my shavette. It was the perfect storm for mistakes. The good news is that the range and availability of quality of soaps has increased significantly these days and its hard to go wrong in that regard. Also I probably didn't hydrate my lather enough either.
 
rbscebu said:
Traditional straight razor -v- shavette style (my take and I shave with both):

My SR's are honed up to about the equivalent of sharp DE blades but I find the SR's more "forgiving" in the shave. Shaving with a shavette is similar but different to shaving with a traditional SR.​
​
I enjoy shaving with either but prefer the traditional SR as I know that I produced the edge.​
​
Most shavettes are lighter in mass overall than traditional SR's but there are a few with stainless steel scales that are about equivalent in mass and balance to some SR's.​

I found that the smile on the Gold Dollar W59 to be excessive for my liking. I bread-knife the smile out and reset the bevel. Here are three of mine. The top is as received, middle after bread-knifing and the bottom after bevel reset.

full

​
As you will notice, I keep the toe pointy and sharp. Helps to shave inside the nostrils and ear canals 😊. Some mute the toe.

I have never dealt with a W56 so cannot comment.
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I never shaved with a Spanish point, but I always liked the look of them. Look like they mean business. (y)
 
Rusty Bridges said:
Man! That is impressive. I like the cut of your jib!
Definitely a much higher level of skill and investment.

Wow! The more I look at it the more impressed I am. You can absolutely tell how much better that edge is on both of the ones you worked on, in fact the factory set one lo
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Rusty Bridges said:
Man! That is impressive. I like the cut of your jib!
Definitely a much higher level of skill and investment.
....
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It's not really a higher level of investment, although that depends on your available budget. You can set yourself up with a traditional SR and all your maintenance needs (strop, lapping films and diamond pasted balsa) for about $150±. That will last you for decades without any further expense, provide you can avoid falling into a rabbit hole.

Gold Dollar are not renowned for their consistent quality control, except the steel in their blades which has been good.
 
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rbscebu said:
It's not really a higher level of investment, although that depends on your available budget. You can set yourself up with a traditional SR and all your maintenance needs (strop, lapping films and diamond pasted balsa) for about $150±. That will last you for decades without any further expense, provide you can avoid falling into a rabbit hole.

Gold Dollar are not renowned for their consistent quality control, except the steel in their blades which has been good.
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I probably should have used the term 'dedication' rather than "investment" as its definitely a whole new skill set to be able to create a blade edge like that not mention modify it that much. Great job!

Yeah I remember reading that the Gold Dollars being pretty terrible out of the box although occasionally you might get something that is actually reasonable. It's hard to argue with that logic when I see your picture above. It's like a before and after shot.
I think we are all prone to fall down the rabbit hole here thats whey we have built a community around it all :LOL: haha
 
rbscebu said:
Here is a matching seven-day set of Gold Dollar W59's that I put together late last year for my personal use.
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They were subsequently sold to an experienced SR shaving gentleman in China (PRC) earlier this year.

If your Chinese is a bit rusty, that is Monday at the back and Sunday at the front.
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That's pretty awesome! I love the case too.
 
Rusty Bridges said:
That's pretty awesome! I love the case too.
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Last year I put together five different matching seven-day sets of straight razors. I gave one set to my little brother in Japan, sold two others and kept the other two of what I consider the best shavers.

I am now down to 2 x M7DS's plus 12 odds and sods with 3 more in transit. About half of my odds and sods are vintage (over 100yo) but all my SR's are in my daily rotation. I am going to try to limit myself to no more than 31 SR's at any one time. Wouldn't want to fall into any rabbit hole.
 
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Rusty Bridges said:
I always wanted to buy a gold dollar.
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A Gold Dollar is not likely to come shave ready and need the bevel set, edge sharpened and polished by a honemeister.
@Substance from DC Blades offers honing services or you might find one of those mobile knife sharpening services down the local market with straight razor experience
Alternatively you could buy a shave ready razor directly from DC Blades or Proserpine Razor Company for the cost of a Gold Dollar plus shipping and honing or post on P&C and you may get lucky as I did with @bald as
 
My Feather AC DX is great with a Pro Super blade. The problem is that I want a BBS every time. If I was only aiming for DFS then one or two WTG passes would be perfect and could be done quicker.

But BBS requires an ATG pass, which requires more care and time, particularly with my chin. On top of the time required to make a good lather etc, it’s just too much for work days with their time pressures. A good DE/blade combo is just a quicker / safer way to get BBS for me.

But the shavette would be a quicker way to DFS because it is closer than a DE when used WTG. I just can’t afford the extra time on stropping and honing a straight over the AC, even if it would be more forgiving, as I’m sure it would.

These days, I occasionally think of going back to canned goo because making lather takes too long. But I have resisted, in favour of soaps that lather up faster with a decent result.
 
For a good quality timber scaled SR, I suggest something like a Titan ACRM-2 T.H.60 for under $30 including shipping. This SR is relatively easy to hone, holds an edge well and is rather forgiving for a newbie. I also have this SR in one of my personal M7DS's.

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It is of very good high carbon Japanese steel and manufactured by an old Japanese company now in Taiwan. They ship from Hong Kong. It comes with an almost useless denim strop (with good hardware) that is good enough to practice your stropping technique and some very fine stropping paste (which I am not a fan of).

Like almost all "mass produced" SR's now, it comes with a factory sharp edge but not really shave-ready. It will need to be honed.

If you are not proficient in honing yourself, get it professionally honed. That should cost you about $30± plus shipping. Do not get it honed by someone who does not regularly SR shave himself!

For a starter strop, I suggest this one for under $20 including shipping.
 
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Chad said:
Sorry I had to laugh at the post that didn't age well..lol

"Post Covid mailday" 🤔😂
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Yeah a bit too soon Hey! I was over the Covid hump in May 2020 :(
From memory that was when the first really hard lock down nation wide (and internationally) got lifted and post started flowing
 
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