Nothing says "I love you" like a sharp knife. For any of you thinking of getting your father, or husband, or even your wife, a straight razor for Christmas, I want to share my limited experience with them.
I'm the kind of person who uses cast iron cookware, Linux, and straight razors, not because its cheap or easy, but because its the best I can find (and I enjoy growing attached to things). My first straight razor was purchased at a knife store. It was the only straight razor they had in stock. It was dull, but its really hard to tell that a razor is dull by using your thumb. I'm not going to mention the brand because I don't blame the manufacturer. I blame the employees of the store demonstrating how to strop a straight razor to customers using a very wrong technique they learned from watching movies. I also believe they, and their customers, slid their thumb over the blade's edge many times during demonstrations and rounded off the edge. I ended up returning it and exchanging it for a "hair shaper" straight razor with replacable blades, and since then decided this is the ideal way to get started. After a year of using the "hair shaper", and being quite happy with it, I upgraded to a damascus steel razor, and am also very happy with it. I ordered the new razor online because I knew this way it would be brand new and unmolested. I still keep the "hair shaper" for a backup if I found I missed a spot and the damascus razor is resetting (see below). Disposable "safety" razors were invented for two reasons: so soldiers could shave without a mirror, and to make money with a disposable product everyone uses. After a bit of experience with a safety razor you could shave while drunk, blindfolded, with one hand tied behind your back, standing on one foot, while someone was shooting at you. This morning I saw a box-of-4 Mach3 razor blades at the grocery store for $12.99. I'm not a cheap guy, but the price of these things is ridiculous, and I wouldn't mind so much if they were the best solution, but they aren't. My main problems with disposable blades is that they clog, they don't get under the nose well, and of course the price (1 blade per week comes to $169 per year, plus sales tax). My father used 1 new blade per day, believe it or not. I've read quite a bit about straight razors, and its usually authored by people trying to sell straight razors, or people trying to spend less than $1 on a straight razor. For the first timer I suggest going to the pharmacy and buying a "hair shaper" straight razor. These are intended to be used by barbers to do touchups. A unit is about $5 and includes 5 disposable blades. A box of 5 new blades is like $2. The advantage here is that you don't have to sharpen them. The experience gained can be used later with a real straight razor, if desired. Expect to cut yourself, often. It takes 20-50 shaves to stop cutting yourself. I usually cut myself because I push too hard, so I suggest you don't. The angle you hold the blade is another factor in cuts. These disposable blades are sharp, but not really scary sharp like a surgeon's knife. It's extremely rare for someone to cut deeper than the skin because of the flinch reflex. Being afraid of it makes cuts more likely. One of the most noticeable things about using these, for me, is that they never clog... you can shave your entire face (or legs) without rinsing off the razor. At first its fun, after 200 times its less fun. After a few months a strop can be added. There's a technique to using these, and its best to learn with the disposable blades. If you lift the back of the blade and slide on the blade's edge alone it will round off the cutting edge and make it more dull. The back of the blade and cutting edge both need to be on the strop simultaneously to get the correct angle, and at the end of the stroke the blade is rolled on its back so the cutting edge is never on the strop alone. Performing this efficiently takes practice. If you try learning this with a real straight razor it will almost certainly need honing several times to fix improper stropping, and that's bad. Strops also need abrasive paste by the way. 9 out of 10 brand new straight razors are not sharp enough to shave with. Hand sharpening/stropping each razor at the factory would increase the cost and make the company less competitive, so they do it minimally. The 1 out of 10 which is sharp enough to shave with will feel like a 4 week old Mach3 and will be very irritating. Some will only need stropping, some will need honing. If after a 6-12 month probation period is complete and the open blade is preferred, then get a real one. The real ones are a lot of maintenance, like cast iron cookware, but you get used to it. If you shave every day you will need at least two straight razors. The edge changes shape microscopically after being used, because of the temperature change caused by the water, and needs a day or two to reset. This change is microscopic, you can't see it with the naked eye, but you can feel it on your face. If you strop a razor before the edge has reset it can create microscopic chips on the edge. This is minimized with good metal. Don't get a $10 stainless steel razor which will drive you nuts to maintain and end up in a garage sale only to drive someone else nuts. Stainless steel is too soft and gets dull quickly. Get the best metal you can afford. High-carbon steel razors start at about $60, and top end damascus steel (these are illegal to make in most countries due to lead pollution) can go up to $1200 with a fancy handle. Used razors are fine, if it doesn't say "Stainless Steel", but do not get a blade with any damage, or cracks (from being dropped), or you will regret it. No one who knows how to hone off a half millimeter chip from a razor's edge would ever intentionally buy a razor with a half millimeter chip. So anyway, all I really wanted to say is to start with the disposable straight razors before investing in a good one. A lot of people will preffer the safety razors, just like a lot of people preffer Teflon cookware, and the straight razor Christmas present will get rusty under the sink. The disposable "hair shaper" is the ideal way to get started with straight razors. Lastly, despite having two very mature 14 and 15 year old nephews I wouldn't give someone under the age of 18 one of these, as much as I want to. Mainly because these are the last things I want flying through the air during a tantrum. robert -- http://linuxfromscratch.org/mailman/listinfo/lfs-chat FAQ: http://www.linuxfromscratch.org/faq/ Unsubscribe: See the above information page
