Posted on September 30, 2009 | Category:
Straight razors are the new-old kid on the block in men’s shaving – but how can they measure up to the modern safety razor? These are some facts. Looked after correctly, a straight razor will literally last an entire life, providing as good a shave when you are 80 as when you were eighteen. A modern safety razor – the body, not the blades – might last a couple of years if you are fortunate.
Simplicity of use : Winner by TKO, the safety razor.
little practice is wanted to produce a good result, while the straight razor demands a fixed level of talent before you’ll get a respectable shave. It is a patience thing – no patience equals a coarse shave and perhaps some nicks also.
Convenience : Split call – though perhaps the win goes to the safety razor as no preparation of the razor is required before shaving. Just pick it up and use it – not something that you can do with a straight razor, which desires whetting on a strop before each use. Though some straight razors can cost tons of bucks, a good, workmanlike model ( no elaborate handles or costly engraving ) will most likely set you back about 80 greenbacks.
A superbly good vintage model for half that cost will still last years. Total how many blade cartridges you chuck in the bin in a year. Multiply it by how many more years you believe you will be shaving. There is a limit to how smooth your skin can be and both sorts of razor achieve this level of slickness. A disadvantage for the safety razor is that the multi-blade cartridge can pull the beard hair out from the skin before cutting it.
though this gives a fairly smooth finish, the end of the hair can retreat underneath the skin surface, leading to ingrowing hairs. The single blade of the straight razor cannot do this. It makes you wonder how many more blades can be fitted into a safety razor cartridge as a selling novelty, doesn’t it? If scraping off your stubble with three inches of frighteningly pointy, unguarded, highly-polished steel isn’t macho, I am not sure what is. So it looks like the straight razor wins the championship. No matter what the reason, more and more men appear to be taking up this almost-forgotten ability as a part of their daily schedule.
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