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Peg me for a Rennaisaince Man, as I love old stuff and the old ways. Many people are getting fed up with twin, triple, quads and more when it comes to their disposable razor. Have you noted what type of disposable income you need to afford disposable razors they are pitching today? Well you can take a step back in time and go with a non disposable razor, the straight razor also known as a cut-thoat or open razor. Straights take a little time to get to known how to handle with out doing home surgery, but if you are competant at alot of other daily tasks you can conquer the straight. Hey chances are your grandfather used one. The set up takes a bit of investment but you will have these object for a lifetime and probably hand them down to your son. Or have them in your will. If you don't want to go staight try the original safety razor known as the Double edge Merkur is a great brand and the shave does rival a straight.
Some advice on straights:
NEW Versus PRE-OWNED RAZOR: First, if you are looking for a NEW straight razor you must use some caution. Do not be taken in by cheap prices on the web or EBay, they are usually Pakistan razors which will not take or retain a shave sharp edge. The best thing for new is to select either a Dovo or Thiers Issard Brand from a reputable dealer such as www.classicshaving.com or the knifecenter.com. These will be about $50-$60 for the low end razors, but they are well made and will give a lifetime of good service. Currently there are three other razors that are relatively inexpensive: from barber supply houses is Fromm brand, on E-bay do a search for Timor straight razor which is made by Giesen &Forstoff or search for a Hen & Rooster brand razor, all are pretty good stuff. One note is that most new razors are NOT shave sharp, shave ready out of the box! Therefore a good alternative for newbie that is a smart thing to save you $ and much heartache is to ask if anyone on the straight razor groups has a good ?¢‚Ǩ?ìshave ready?¢‚Ǩ? razor for sale. If you can get a vintage shave sharp shave ready razor from the guys, it helps take all guess work out of what a shave sharp razor handles like, the feel, and what to shoot for when it comes time for you to be maintaining the edge. Also on E-bay some sellers are putting shave ready razors up for sale. In the straight razor groups we have several enterprising individuals that have complete starter sets, or are selling fabulous NOS (new old stock) razors, hones and everything else, so ask by posting a message who has what available. In old razors English, German, USA, French and Swedish razors are usually of the higquality steel and better than 9 times out of ten if not abused will restore to a great shaver. Solingen as an origin is Germany and Sheffield steel is a style that was originated with the English but used all over where razors were made.
A razor is only one part of the set of items you?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢ll need to make up your kit and the other parts of the kit are:
STROPS: you will need a strop! A good start is a Jemico or Dovo brand strop; both work well, although other brands can fit the bill. Here you may want an inexpensive strop first since many people destroy their first strop trying to learn the Zen like art of stropping. (One caution on Illinois Brand is while they are good quality; they have many strops that first need a lot of work up to be usable.) I suggest you to look for the longer ones with a cloth side and a leather side. You will need a small tube of Strop Dressing (plain) for the leather side and there is a paste made for the cloth if you care to paste it too. An alternate or additional set up to consider is from a place at www.handamerican.com to get their Flat Bed ?¢‚ǨÀúHone?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢ which is actually a two sided strop but on corrian. Get .5 micron chromium oxide paste for the pink side and plain for the red side. This will sharpen a slightly dull razor that ?¢‚Ǩ?ìpulls?¢‚Ǩ? very quickly. Similarly there are 4 sided paddle strops to use with a variety of pastes that can bring a razor back to shave ready quickly. Here you need to choose for your $ budget and needs.
HONES: the problem is most new razors are NOT shave ready out of the box and need to be sharpened or honed by an expert, as razor sharpening is very unlike knife sharpening. When you use a razor, you need to maintain it and therefore there are other parts to the kit such as hones and strops. You will need a hone which is a sharpening stone. Most of us suggest at minimum to get a Norton 4000/8000 grit combination stone which is used wet with water. Others prefer barber hones but they can get confusing if you don?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t know what brands to get. You?¢‚ǨÀúll be getting into big $ for the Belgians hones and some of the water stones are worth and arm & a leg, but they are of the highest quality and perform to the highest standards,
SOAP: You?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢ll need shave soap or shaving cream for wet shaving, and that means NOT the canned aerosol stuff. For a low cost everyday shave soap I can recommend Burma Shave soap whole heartedly, it lathers very well even with our hard water and gives fine protection to your skin when shaving. I like all of the Col. Conk soaps which have glycerin and they are slick. Some shave soap I find is a bit too aggressive in fragrance or ingredients and will give a burning sensation on my sensitive skin. Shaving Creams can come in either Tubs or Tubes and are a great deal different than soap. They tend to lather up very quickly, they seem to have even more protection for your skin plus many have aromas and fragrances that are out of this world, and a little goes a long way. Usually a drop the size of a large pea is all you need. In the creams the cost can go from fairly inexpensive (but not as low a soaps) to some really high end stuff. Proraso and Musgo Real are two old time barber shop brands that are well liked. I also like Coates, Massey Caswell, Art of Shaving, La Occitan and E-Shave?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s shave creams. Here personal likes and dislikes are key with the fragrance being a lead item.
BRUSH: you need a shave brush to whip up and apply the lather. Again it is a personal like - dislike thing, some enjoy the boar bristle types, and others want only badger. In the badger there are grades and it does make a difference but a pure badger brush from Vulfix or Col. Conk or others will fit the bill nicely. Badger too much money for right now? Get a Burma Shave brush and call it good at least for now.
MUG: if you are lucky, you?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢ll have a hand me down or something that works, also note that the round soaps come in a small and a large size so it is good to get one that fits. The web sites have them and EBay has oodles of them so it is your choice.
HEAD SHAVING: there are two brands of specific head razors that are recommended over the straight razor. They have a form the helps you hold the razor and a guide / guard system to keep you from getting cut. Classic has them and I think Em?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s Place also. Note: the problem with shaving the head with a straight is that there are areas you can?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t see or see well and that leads to cuts, and a head cut is dangerous.
FINAL ADVICE: At classicshaving.com there is a section for ?¢‚Ǩ?ìHow & Why?¢‚Ǩ? and youshould read those articles, also in the straight razor groups files are tons of stuff to answer and help with these types of questions. My caution is, if you go too cheap with new stuff, you will almost certainly get poor quality, which will frustrate beyond belief. Eventually if you stick with this forum you?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢ll learn a lot and be able to pick and choose with confidence in either new or the old time stuff.
ADD TO KIT: Don?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t forget to pick up a good aftershave; it really helps condition the face. Many favor the Clubman ?¢‚Ǩ‚Äú Pinaud line, and Bay Rum is my personal favorite. If there is sensitive reaction, try an aftershave balm.
John in Covina
Some advice on straights:
NEW Versus PRE-OWNED RAZOR: First, if you are looking for a NEW straight razor you must use some caution. Do not be taken in by cheap prices on the web or EBay, they are usually Pakistan razors which will not take or retain a shave sharp edge. The best thing for new is to select either a Dovo or Thiers Issard Brand from a reputable dealer such as www.classicshaving.com or the knifecenter.com. These will be about $50-$60 for the low end razors, but they are well made and will give a lifetime of good service. Currently there are three other razors that are relatively inexpensive: from barber supply houses is Fromm brand, on E-bay do a search for Timor straight razor which is made by Giesen &Forstoff or search for a Hen & Rooster brand razor, all are pretty good stuff. One note is that most new razors are NOT shave sharp, shave ready out of the box! Therefore a good alternative for newbie that is a smart thing to save you $ and much heartache is to ask if anyone on the straight razor groups has a good ?¢‚Ǩ?ìshave ready?¢‚Ǩ? razor for sale. If you can get a vintage shave sharp shave ready razor from the guys, it helps take all guess work out of what a shave sharp razor handles like, the feel, and what to shoot for when it comes time for you to be maintaining the edge. Also on E-bay some sellers are putting shave ready razors up for sale. In the straight razor groups we have several enterprising individuals that have complete starter sets, or are selling fabulous NOS (new old stock) razors, hones and everything else, so ask by posting a message who has what available. In old razors English, German, USA, French and Swedish razors are usually of the higquality steel and better than 9 times out of ten if not abused will restore to a great shaver. Solingen as an origin is Germany and Sheffield steel is a style that was originated with the English but used all over where razors were made.
A razor is only one part of the set of items you?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢ll need to make up your kit and the other parts of the kit are:
STROPS: you will need a strop! A good start is a Jemico or Dovo brand strop; both work well, although other brands can fit the bill. Here you may want an inexpensive strop first since many people destroy their first strop trying to learn the Zen like art of stropping. (One caution on Illinois Brand is while they are good quality; they have many strops that first need a lot of work up to be usable.) I suggest you to look for the longer ones with a cloth side and a leather side. You will need a small tube of Strop Dressing (plain) for the leather side and there is a paste made for the cloth if you care to paste it too. An alternate or additional set up to consider is from a place at www.handamerican.com to get their Flat Bed ?¢‚ǨÀúHone?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢ which is actually a two sided strop but on corrian. Get .5 micron chromium oxide paste for the pink side and plain for the red side. This will sharpen a slightly dull razor that ?¢‚Ǩ?ìpulls?¢‚Ǩ? very quickly. Similarly there are 4 sided paddle strops to use with a variety of pastes that can bring a razor back to shave ready quickly. Here you need to choose for your $ budget and needs.
HONES: the problem is most new razors are NOT shave ready out of the box and need to be sharpened or honed by an expert, as razor sharpening is very unlike knife sharpening. When you use a razor, you need to maintain it and therefore there are other parts to the kit such as hones and strops. You will need a hone which is a sharpening stone. Most of us suggest at minimum to get a Norton 4000/8000 grit combination stone which is used wet with water. Others prefer barber hones but they can get confusing if you don?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t know what brands to get. You?¢‚ǨÀúll be getting into big $ for the Belgians hones and some of the water stones are worth and arm & a leg, but they are of the highest quality and perform to the highest standards,
SOAP: You?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢ll need shave soap or shaving cream for wet shaving, and that means NOT the canned aerosol stuff. For a low cost everyday shave soap I can recommend Burma Shave soap whole heartedly, it lathers very well even with our hard water and gives fine protection to your skin when shaving. I like all of the Col. Conk soaps which have glycerin and they are slick. Some shave soap I find is a bit too aggressive in fragrance or ingredients and will give a burning sensation on my sensitive skin. Shaving Creams can come in either Tubs or Tubes and are a great deal different than soap. They tend to lather up very quickly, they seem to have even more protection for your skin plus many have aromas and fragrances that are out of this world, and a little goes a long way. Usually a drop the size of a large pea is all you need. In the creams the cost can go from fairly inexpensive (but not as low a soaps) to some really high end stuff. Proraso and Musgo Real are two old time barber shop brands that are well liked. I also like Coates, Massey Caswell, Art of Shaving, La Occitan and E-Shave?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s shave creams. Here personal likes and dislikes are key with the fragrance being a lead item.
BRUSH: you need a shave brush to whip up and apply the lather. Again it is a personal like - dislike thing, some enjoy the boar bristle types, and others want only badger. In the badger there are grades and it does make a difference but a pure badger brush from Vulfix or Col. Conk or others will fit the bill nicely. Badger too much money for right now? Get a Burma Shave brush and call it good at least for now.
MUG: if you are lucky, you?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢ll have a hand me down or something that works, also note that the round soaps come in a small and a large size so it is good to get one that fits. The web sites have them and EBay has oodles of them so it is your choice.
HEAD SHAVING: there are two brands of specific head razors that are recommended over the straight razor. They have a form the helps you hold the razor and a guide / guard system to keep you from getting cut. Classic has them and I think Em?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s Place also. Note: the problem with shaving the head with a straight is that there are areas you can?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t see or see well and that leads to cuts, and a head cut is dangerous.
FINAL ADVICE: At classicshaving.com there is a section for ?¢‚Ǩ?ìHow & Why?¢‚Ǩ? and youshould read those articles, also in the straight razor groups files are tons of stuff to answer and help with these types of questions. My caution is, if you go too cheap with new stuff, you will almost certainly get poor quality, which will frustrate beyond belief. Eventually if you stick with this forum you?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢ll learn a lot and be able to pick and choose with confidence in either new or the old time stuff.
ADD TO KIT: Don?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t forget to pick up a good aftershave; it really helps condition the face. Many favor the Clubman ?¢‚Ǩ‚Äú Pinaud line, and Bay Rum is my personal favorite. If there is sensitive reaction, try an aftershave balm.
John in Covina
