Sharpologist.com Article and My Current Thinking on Straight Razors

A few days ago, I wrote a comment to an article on Sharpologist.com. The article extolled the virtues of a straight-razor shave. I thought it was a bit over the top, and shared my comments, which are printed below.

To read the sharpologist.com article and all comments, here's the link:

https://sharpologist.com/2017/11/5-reasons-afraid-shaving-straight-razor.html

Below is my comment in its entirety. I'm printing this because I never followed up in this blog with my ultimate feelings about a straight-razor shave, and I have decided that that was an unfortunate omission on my part. So here are my current thoughts on straights as I posted them in the sharpologist.com comment:

I’m a long-time DE user, who has been also using straights for about a year or so. I was reluctant to comment on this article, but finally chose to do so because I found some of its suggestions to be bothersome — that is, not necessarily true. I wanted to paint a more balanced picture of an average guy who was interested in using a straight razor.

I did enjoy learning to use a straight razor — both my traditional 5/8ths and my replaceable-blade barbers’ straight. It’s a skill I’m kind of proud to have acquired. That said, these days I use my DEs most often, and generally get a better shave. I think straights are oversold in many cases. For years I’ve heard some (including barbers) assert that straights give a better shave. I am certain that this claim is utter nonsense. Getting a straight shave from a barber may be an occasion of pampering and fussing, but a better shave? — only if one doesn’t normally get a good shave to begin with. After all, a DE uses a single, straight blade; properly used, it shaves as close as any straight and with an infinitely greater safety margin.

Ultimately I found that straights are really not less irritating on the skin than a DE. That is, of course, unless you only make a single with-grain pass with a straight skillfully used — as compared to more passes with the DE or having problematic shaves with a cartridge-style razor. (Duh.)

Most straight razors are forgiving??? Nonsense unless you are comparing them to a Bowie knife, box cutter, chain saw, or other non-shaving, sharp implement. Please…. this assertion is ridiculous. Yes, properly wielded, a straight can give a good, wound free shave. To characterize them as forgiving should probably be classified as simply untrue.

It is very true that straights should be used with care. That they eventually become easy to use is arguable, and certainly not universally true. I wrote fondly about my learning experiences with straight razors, but ultimately tired of the unending risk and occasional nicks or cuts especially after the first largely-with-grain pass. I never fully mastered shaving against grain with a backhand grip because of this nick-and-cut fatigue.

I would agree that straights may be enjoyably used; I certainly enjoyed them in those giddy early days — and wrote about it. However, the truth is that I now mostly stick to my DEs because I get closer, safer shaves. I occasionally do a one-pass shave with a straight just for a minor proficiency run to maintain my existing skills, and I shave the back of my neck with a straight as well because straights (and open-comb DEs) are ideally suited for shaving longer hair.

And yes, generations have use straights. However, that’s only half the story. The safety razor was conceived and evolved because most men found the straight razor to be an imperfect, inconvenient tool for regular grooming.

I apologize for my comments if they seem at all harsh. My intention is merely to give what I believe to be more realistic counterpoint to what struck me as misleading information about straight-razor shaving. I would encourage anyone that is interested to give straights a try, but with realistic expectations going into the endeavor. If you find the process to be as practical and enjoyable as the author of this article, well, great! After all, opinions and experiences do vary. However, it’s best to keep in mind that for nearly a hundred years, straight razors completely disappeared from the mainstream of self-shaving men — and are arguably still absent except for the minority of us who are shaving hobbyists. This decline in the use of straights happened for valid reasons as I’ve suggested above.

Happy shaving!