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Straight Razors
May 11, 2009
Calling All Straight Razor Enthusiasts
The world is awash with cartridge razors and disposables, which have taken the lion's share of the market from safety razors and straight razors over the last 50 years or so. But it's not the only way men are shaving.
There is a growing movement of straight razor enthusiasts, and a site called Straight Razor Place has a great forum filled with advice on methods and purchasing tips for both the newbie and the seasoned shaver. It looks like there are thousands of registered users over there, and I just signed up so that I can glean the wisdom of those straight razor 'pros'.
I have to admit that I've used either an electric razor or cartridge razor for the 25 years of my shaving 'career', but I just ordered a Merkur safety razor for myself. I can foresee buying a straight razor in the near future as well (mostly because I really like rituals, and I think the old school methods of shaving are a great 'manly' thing to bring back).
My questions for all of you readers:
Do you use either a safety razor or straight razor? What converted you?
Please leave a comment, and if you Twitter, follow @ShavingStuff and take our Poll!
A couple month ago I received the Dad's Old Time Razor Set from the Nashville Knife Shop. At first I was psyched to try this set, which includes a badger brush, brush and razor stand, Muehle-Pinsel Shaving Soap with Aloe, and a safety razor and razor blade. As time went by I realized this set was going to expose me as a fraud. I have no experience shaving with a real razor. My life has been confined to cartridges and electronics. And any straight razor which has touched my face has been in the able hands of a trained professional.
Alas, I have not used the safety razor. But I have used everything else.
First off - badgers rule. Do yourself a favor and get a badger-hair brush. The one included in the set is awesome. The Nashville Knife Shop has several individual shaving brushes for you to choose from, ranging in price from $29.99 to $395.00. The low-end badger hair ones will work just fine for you.
Second, you're going to need a stand. Don't skimp out here and ignore this. You want your brush to dry upside down so that the water can fall out. The Nashville Knife Shop has brush stands from $3.95 to $24.95. Personal preference as to what you want. The $3.95 one looks, well, like it costs $3.95. I like the simplicity of this $19.95 one or this (pictured) $24.95 one which also has a slot for your razor.
Now, if you're a Gillette/Schick razor man, you can stop right here. But if you're old-school straight or "safety" razor, click on over the Nashville Knife Shop's razor selection and feast you eyes on these beauties. My advice if you're looking for a recommendation on a straight-razor or shaving soap is to head on over to LeisureGuy's guide to the gourmet shaving experience and see what he has to say. The man is a review machine. He puts me to shame.
On top of all of this, the Nashville Knife Shop also has knives. Who knew? Cutlery, sporting, hunting, even Swiss Army knives. If it needs cutting, you're sure to find a blade for the job.
Trying to figure out the perfect gift for a loved one this year? You've come to the right place. It's the 2006 ShavingStuff Holiday Guide, and it's jam-packed with home runs from the shaving world. Hey Santa - I've been good. Real good.
Accessories
Sometimes you have to dress your shave up. Accessorize! For that old-school barbershop shave experience right in the comfort of your own home, we recommend the Conair Hot Lather Machine. For those ingrown nasties which verge on requiring surgery, we recommend the Tweezerman. And for hair growing in places it shouldn't, we recommend the Remington Nose & Ear Trimmer. ConAir Chrome Hot Lather Machine - $29.99 Tweezerman Stainless Steel Ingrown Hair Splintertweeze - $8.97 Remington Nose & Ear Trimmer - $5.99
Back Shaving
You may think you're bringing sexy back, but if you're bringing hairy back, you're bringing lonely back. Luckily there's a solution, aside from being mistaken for Azamat from the Borat movie. MANGROOMER Back Hair Shaver - $39.95
Pubic Shaving
Last, but certainly not least, we have the category of pubic shaving. Men just love that extra optical inch provided by the BodyGroom, and women (and men) just love that smooth, clean... well... you know. Philips Norelco BG2020 Men's Bodygroom - $34.99 Seiko Cleancut - $53.25
Hand-Crafted Straight Razors from Knife Maker Frank Warner
Knife Maker Frank Warner recently started making straight razors, and they are a thing of beauty. "... spring steel, anodized titanium and presentation grade gold lip mother of pearl handles." Check out this page of straight razors to see what I'm talking about. They aren't cheap. The Gold Lip Straight Razor, which is the only one currently available, is $400. But here's why:
Frank performs nearly all production phases of his knives himself, from design to profiling, drilling, shaping, heat-treating, polishing and final sharpening. Occasionally he will engage the services of a jeweler or another knifemaker for assistance with tasks for which he lacks the proper tools or confident expertise. All of his knives come with a certificate of authenticity guaranteeing that they are one-of-a-kind custom handcrafted knives and a full 90-day warrantee against defects in materials and workmanship.
Shaving. It's everywhere now. Even on YouTube. Mantic59 has started regular broadcasts on old-school shaving. So far he's got three videos on traditional wet-shaving, a quickie on Internet resources, and part one of an introduction to single-blade shaving (which is the one above).
This stuff isn't Mentos in Diet Coke, or high-school cheerleaders imitating OK Go, but it's not the driest stuff I've seen either. Plenty of 50s cartoons and black and white home-ec films interspliced with razors, blades, and demonstrations. View Mantic59's entire playlist here.
Attention old-school shaving fans! There's an MSN group out there that's perfect for you. It's called the Wet Shavers Group, and it's a happenin' place. Tons of discussion, advice, and all-around bonding over shaving. They've got four main posting areas:
General: for wet shaving techniques, equipment, supplies, and suppliers. This is our largest, most active forum. Grooming: soaps, cleansers, lotion, toothpaste, hair products, and related topics. Sale and Trade: wet shaving related items for sale, trade, or want-to-buys. Off-topic: clothing, dining, relationships, and other "good life" matters.
If you're anti Microsoft you can still browse all the forums without signing in. To post you'll probably have to sell your soul to the evil empire, or at least an email address. The group is current, active, and full of quality information. All but the "off topic" forums have recent posts, and there's very little spam. Have fun over there, but please come back.
Just got word of a new website which sells shaving products - Grooming-Health.com. For those of you in the US these products may seem a little unfamiliar - Grooming-Health.com specialized in more of the high-end European brands, (but they'll ship to the US.) Tons of shaving creams from Geo F. Trumper (which you may remember from a recent New York Times article), toners and moisturizers from Bullie, straight-razors from Dovo, and brushes from Kent. And, according to our contact there,
to my knowledge we sell the cheapest cut throat razors and Merkur double edge safety razors in Europe
"Cut throat", for all of you state-side, is British for "straight".
Grooming-Health.com also has a great FAQ with specific sections on shaving, skin care, and more. Here's my favorite entry under the "Why We Shave" section:
Psychological studies have found 'women find male faces most attractive when they are masculine-looking but not ultra-masculine.' Women want dominant males, but ones friendly enough to care for offspring, they tend to see these traits in clean-shaven faces.
Isn't that what we all strive to be? Dominant yet friendly? Click on over to Grooming-Health.com and learn the perfect balance of masculinity.
Here's another one that caught my eye - the WellShaven Embroidery Scissors by Dovo (pictured left), now in stork form. A little gaudy? Yes. But again, classy, and only $30.95. Imagine trimming your whiskers with these feathers every day.
The knifecenter.com has this great reprint of instructions and tips from DOVO, a large European manufacturer of straight razors. The page offers information such as the anatomy of a straight razor, care and sharpening techniques, and as well as some "personal observations" by Arthur Boone, who runs RazorCentral.
Speaking of RazorCentral - this site is by far the most thorough treatment of straight razors I have ever seen. Arthur has a big ol' warning on the homepage of his site which expressly prohibits the use of any contents without his prior permission, so I'll refrain from my normal habit of posting a preview snippet before sending you over there. But please visit RazorCentral if you have any interest in straight razors at all. You'll be overwhelmed (in a good way) with all the information.
Absolutely nothing is more masculine than a shave tool that can take your head clean off. Straight razors practically drip testosterone from their unprotected blades.
and
...sharpen your razor with a leather strop. [...] To strop the blade, fix one end of the strop to some immovable object like a bedpost or mother-in-law...
you'll feel an uncontrollable urge to master the one blade. Engarde!
Think you know all there is to know about caring for your straight razor? $10 says you didn't know the best place to store your blade is in your underwear drawer. According to uniclectica.com, dedicated to the care of antiques and collectibles,
the best environment in which to store straight razorsis[sp] well-ventilated, dark, room temperature (72F or 20C), and neithertoo[sp] dry, nor too damp.
Guess they haven't seen my friend Denis's dresser. (Guess they also haven't seen my friend the spacebar.) Read more here.
I have to admit, I FEAR THE STRAIGHT RAZOR. I sometimes go to La Flame in Harvard Square (Cambridge, MA) and get a straight razor shave - but to own your own straight razor? Wouldn't that lead to some weird pyscho killer shaving style?
"A RARE IMITATION STAG HANDLED STRAIGHT RAZOR. THESE STRAIGHT RAZORS WERE MADE TO BE MORE INEXPENSIVE TO BUY, BUT LOOK LIKE THE MORE EXPENSIVE STAG HANDLED STRAIGHT RAZORS. THESE RAZORS ARE VERY RARE AS THE IDEA DIDN'T GO OVER WITH THE PUBLIC AND THEREFORE FEW WERE MADE. THE HANDLES HAVE NO CRACKS, WARPING OR ANY DAMAGE"
Calling All Straight Razor Enthusiasts
Trying to figure out the perfect gift for a loved one this year? You've come to the right place. It's the 2006 ShavingStuff Holiday Guide, and it's jam-packed with home runs from the shaving world. Hey Santa - I've been good. Real good.
The 
Think you know all there is to know about caring for your straight razor? $10 says you didn't know the best place to store your blade is in your underwear drawer. According to 
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