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always been curious about shaving with a straight razor...any recommendations and where to start?

I would be scared of that

Never used a straight razor.

Old time barber i went to growing up used one.
Neckline and around the ears.


I do like safety razors for shaving.

Way cheaper than todays disposable razors.
And IMO better shave.

I prefer the expensive brands of frozen OJ and I always run the razor over a strop a few times, every time I shave.

Very carefully.

uh uh . No way.

I hate getting cut from a friggin disposable.
One from one of those wouldn't stop bleeding for a day.

Before you call me a wuss, tell me you manscape with one.

I use a weed whacker for that.

I use a safety razor and thats as dangerous as Im gonna go for a shave.

Sent PM.

lubbockdave;
Good morning to you sir, I hope that your day has been a good one so far and you're well.

With the understanding that I do not still use a straight razor but did shave with a couple a couple times just for science, here goes.

The straight razors I have are antique, one made in the US and one in England.



To sharpen them I go from a white Hard Arkansas stone first and finish with a leather strop laying on the bench. I've found it too easy to wreck the edge when I use either a leather strop wheel or an MDF wheel mounted on a mandrel that I use for knives. The edge we're looking for isn't just "undivided attention" sharp like we want on a good skinning blade, it's "stupid undivided attention" sharp if you know what I mean?

If the edge isn't that crazy sharp the process just doesn't work well at all sir.

My usual shaving routine is to do it in the shower with the water as hot as I can take it.

That seemed to be the best when using the straight razor too, though I did it with a hot damp towel too.

My late father had a shaving brush and he'd use some brand of shaving soap, mix it in a cup and then apply it with that brush, I still have the brush but have never used it. Anyways lots and lots of shaving soap or foam gel.

Then the trick is to stretch the skin with one hand and pull the blade across what's being shaved with the other. For me it was definitely a two hand operation. When I tried to just shave as I do with a safety razor, I paid for it in blood.

Anyways that's more or less how I did it, but as always there's many roads to Mecca though it seems to me that many of those pilgrims eschew all razors altogether, you know?

Somewhere in the caverns of my semi-geezer memory I recall shaving with a Buck 110 once. It was likely to prove it could be done if I know the younger me.....

I don't recall it being a fine idea to repeat somehow, but I must have survived it evidently.

Hopefully that was useful to at least give you a start?

Good luck whichever way you decide and all the best to you this year.

Dwayne

I've used a straight razor and loved them. I'd still be using if it wouldn't have gotten stolen

I prefer melted snow and a bowie knife.

If I were going to purchase one it would either be Solingen or Sheffield steel.

Dwayne is correct, it is a two handed operation, and if you don't have good coordination with your non-dominant hand, it can be a learning process. Be very careful around your earlobes and nose.

In terms of new razors, there are lots of Pakistani junk razors out there that won't hold an edge. Beware. Cheap generally equals junk. Boker makes a nice modern straight razor. Or you can go vintage, but beware, vintage razors with cracks, bad handles, or simply too worn to be usable are out there in abundance.

The razor needs to be, as Dwayne says, Freaking Scary Sharp. If you aren't comfortable sharpening one to that level, there are people on the internet who will hone a straight razor for you, for a reasonable fee. You will need a strop to keep the edge.

I don't fool with it any more because it was simply too time consuming. But your mileage may vary.

Good morning to you as well SIR! I appreciate the detailed reply and I literally laughed out loud shaving with a Buck 110! I might have done that once in my misguided youthful years as well only once though

you too have a great day!

Why would you go backwards, saftey razors were invented for a reason. I can see it now. Little Japanese toilet paper flags all over ones face, 😎.

start? at the sideburns, pulling your cheek skin down. four or five strokes each side. resharpen cause you did not have it sharp endough. if you can feel it scrape it needs more sharpening... then scrunch like you are sticking your nose up like Prince harry, and go across the upper lip. use styptic to control the bleeding then nose up like King Charles and reach for the sky like a nursing calf... and four or five strokes up from neckline to where you are bleeding from the cheek skinning.

lastly, rinse with moistened towel and use styptic and hot steamy towel to coagulate the blood. send in the bloody towel for DNA testing as to why you think you can handle it...

beards were popular and facial hair styles too.
or do it like the American Indian men: use clamshells to pull out each facial hair...

This is joke speaking of shaving…

Q: Why do Italians always wear gold chains?

A: So they know where to stop shaving!

Mornin, still have my Grandfathers straight razor from England. I think a Joseph Rodgers (cutler to her majesty or something??) Still have Dads safety razor & use it regularly. It's better than the new ones as it opens up with a twist of the handle to replace blades, & the gap between the frame & the blade is adjustable. If the gap is to wide you might as well be using a straight razor. Don't ask! Still have Dads shaving mug & brush, use it regularly also! Would like to try the straight razor but just looking at it & ya start to bleed!!! GWP. 🐾👣🐾👣🇨🇦

Nope! Ain't no way I'm gonna commit sideways! 😝

Most barbers now use the razors with the replaceable blades.
I don't shave very often, but when I do, it WILL NOT be with a straight razor. Advances in technology mean I don't have to dig postholes by hand, I don't have to start my tractor with a hand crank, I don't have to bathe in a washtub and I no longer have to shave with a straight razor! (...or crap in a freezing cold outhouse! 😖)

No wonder ever photo Matthew Brady took had bearded men in it! LOL!

Back when the barber shaved my neck, I held still.