Considering switching to the straight razor.

T

Twiggy95

Joined
Jan 28, 2024
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I will be turning 29 at the end of February. For the past 15 or so years, I have been shaving with safety cartridge razors.

However, now days I can no longer "Steal" razor cartridges from my father, so I will need to buy my own. I was just at costco recently and their packs of razors costed something like $64.99 CAD, and another $69.99 CAD, etc. Those are of course bulk packs, but, bulk is cheaper per unit which I understand.

Would it be possible to find a decent straight razor for that price? Can anyone recommend one, or recommend a manufacturer?

I do have a worksharp ken onion version sharpener that I got for my knives and my swords, but I probably would only need to use the fine or extra-fine belts on that to sharpen, and most of the time just run it down a leather strop before use?

Am I right in thinking that a straight razor is more economical in the long run?

What else should I know before deciding to switch?
 
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Have you used a straight razor before?

And No, you don't sharpen it on a grinding belt.

Here's how this is going to go. You're going to get a straight razor and the first time using it. You're going to bleed.

Working through it. The second week won't be much better.

Third week, having to spend an extra 30 minutes carefully scraping your face. Getting sick of the razor nicks.

Finally ending with the idea. Straight razors suck if you're using it yourself. It's better when a trained barber uses it.

Oh and don't use it in the shower and definitely don't drop it. Such an event sucks. Trust me on that.


So if you want to go hard-core. Buy one. Add to your experience. But keep the safety razor handy.
 
Oh don't worry about me, I own guns, swords, and I recently bought a whip amongst other things. I'm no sissy. I expect to accidently hit myself with the whip sometimes for the first a few days at least.


I do have a trick for safety razors though, I use a nail brush to brush out hair from it, while running it under cold water whenever a lot of shaving cream builds up. It works, and that way I have extended the life of some razors by a considerable amount.
 
It seems I shouldn't bother trying to buy one off amazon, because from the looks of it they seem to all use razor inserts as well, and while they may be cheaper than safety razor inserts, I am trying to avoid having to buy "refills" anymore.

I assume proper more classic style straight razors still exist?
 
I went through that phase, and it lasted for 2-3 months. I got tired of cutting myself. Also, if you're going to maintain a straight razor yourself, you're going to need to spend much more on sharpening stones than you will on the razor itself. IMO, you need, at minimum, a 1000 grit, 4000 grit, and 8,000 grit stones, as well as something to flatten them. Belts are completely out of the question. The edge on a straight razor is way too delicate for that.
 
Luckily, I already have those stones, as well.

I just don't use them for swords, as swords are way too long to fit on a standard stone, and it'd just become tiring, and I may as well sharpen my kitchen and sport knives with the worksharp as well, because it's simply easier.
 
You can always try the happy middle ground between modern cartridge/throw away plastic, and full-on straight razors: the double edge safety razor. $100 for a razor and a few hundred blades, and you're set for life. Google or search the forum here for Henson AL13 as a starting point. You can always move to the straight razor later at your own pace, if desired.
 
Twiggy95 said:
I will be turning 29 at the end of February. For the past 15 or so years, I have been shaving with safety razors.

However, now days I can no longer "Steal" razors from my father, so I will need to buy my own. I was just at costco recently and their packs of razors costed something like $64.99 CAD, and another $69.99 CAD, etc. Those are of course bulk packs, but, bulk is cheaper per unit which I understand.

Would it be possible to find a decent straight razor for that price? Can anyone recommend one, or recommend a manufacturer?

I do have a worksharp ken onion version sharpener that I got for my knives and my swords, but I probably would only need to use the fine or extra-fine belts on that to sharpen, and most of the time just run it down a leather strop before use?

Am I right in thinking that a straight razor is more economical in the long run?

What else should I know before deciding to switch?
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Thats exactly how it started with me, a save money thing. It doesn't end that way though.

You will need a hanging strop, and with stones you already have a Dan's black would set you up pretty well. A vintage straight without hone wear or corrosion is the cheapest way to go. Don't be scared off of learning to hone it's not rocket science and if you are an experienced sharpener, you will figure it out sooner rather than later.
 
Culprit99 said:
You can always try the happy middle ground between modern cartridge/throw away plastic, and full-on straight razors: the double edge safety razor. $100 for a razor and a few hundred blades, and you're set for life. Google or search the forum here for Henson AL13 as a starting point. You can always move to the straight razor later at your own pace, if desired.
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I could consider a double blades safety razor, I assume they're less risky than straight razors?
 
I just stopped shaving and trim my stubble once a week with the Microtouch Solo rechargeable trimmer ($30ish) and you can buy the blade part if it becomes dull, which is once a year or so.
 
If you have the determination to stick with the straight razor, and get past the awkward phases, you will get the best shaves of your life. For me, it turned something that was a chore into a pleasure, and a bit of an obsession, because I really like honing them, and experiencing the effect of different finishing stones on the shave.

The price you mention is a little light for a straight razor. Oh, it can be done, rehabilitating carefully-selected vintage razors, or buying a few cheap Chinese Gold Dollar razors and identifying the one that came out good, but it requires skills you won't have yet. Only a little of knife sharpening skill is transferrable to razor honing, which is an art in itself, and is certainly not done with any sort of power tool.

Best way to dip your toe in is probably a shavette-style razor, that takes a blade. I don't use them, but people who do seem to like the Feather Artists Club one. If you do go this way, I'd be very cautious about choosing another type, without some serious recommendations.
 
Twiggy95 said:
I could consider a double blades safety razor, I assume they're less risky than straight razors?
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Going from a cartridge razor to double edge, you're still going to draw blood the first few times. The trick is to not apply pressure like you usually do with the disposable cartridge razors & let the weight of the razor do the work. Those blades are sharp, and you'll need to go easy until you get the hang of it.
 
Twiggy95 said:
I could consider a double blades safety razor, I assume they're less risky than straight razors?
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Far less risky and a lot less learning curve. Blades are super cheap compared to cartridges too. Plus you can remove it, strop it on some leather or denim or even a towel and get another shave out of them one or two times plus if you're really frugal you can sharpen the blade too although it's never gonna be like new. I get about1 great shave, 1 or 2 good shaves, one or two passable ones and then generally change the blade. I buy about 100 blades a year or so. Like any mass produced item some are better than others and will hold an edge a bit more or less.
 
With my cartridge razors, I get a lot of use out of a single one. I don't even remember how long I had the current one on., I did find that wetting my face and neck helps a lot, as well as mixing my shaving foam with a little bit of cold water, and like I mentioned before, cleaning off the cartridge with running water and a nail brush once hair and cream builds up. I usually have to clean it off like 10 times a shave, but it's a 2 second process.

Maybe a safety razor would last an extremely long time for me then.

My general approach of when to shave, is when it starts feeling "pokey" and starts to bother me. Of course in warmer weather I shaved more often, because the sweat build up sucked.
 
If $ is your issue get a double edge safety razor. Dovo has a new one out and people like it. It’s like 50$.
I just got into straight razors 2 months ago. I have new and vintage razors, strops, 1000, 3000, 8000, 120000 grit stones, different shave soaps, even shavettes, brush, and shave bowl. Not cheap. Sure, I learned to hone razors to mirrors and pop hairs and I can usually shave without cutting myself now….but I did it for the challenge and coolness. The double edge razor would be much less effort and $.
Next shave I will try a filarmonica! Did I mention not a cheap hobby!
 
Twiggy95 said:
I was just at costco recently and their packs of razors costed something like $64.99 CAD, and another $69.99 CAD, etc.
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Sounds like you are in Canada. The last time I got a 100 pack of Rockwell razors from Blades Canada they only costed $22.99 plus tax and shipping. I am not bad at sharpening, and it is part of what I do for a living. But I am definitely not about to start straight razor shaving, nor do I expect to ever start doing so.
 
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