{"id":371,"date":"2009-08-16T21:29:55","date_gmt":"2009-08-17T02:29:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/vgable.com\/blog\/?p=371"},"modified":"2009-08-16T21:30:00","modified_gmt":"2009-08-17T02:30:00","slug":"best-first-straight-razor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vgable.com\/blog\/2009\/08\/16\/best-first-straight-razor\/","title":{"rendered":"Best First Straight Razor"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>As <a href=\"http:\/\/vgable.com\/blog\/2009\/02\/19\/sustainable-design\/\">I&#8217;ve said before<\/a>, I sometimes shave with a straight razor. Honestly, straight razors are worse than safety razors by just about any metric you pick<sup>1<\/sup> &#8212; except the most important one: <em>fun<\/em>. <\/p>\n<p>They turn a 40 second routine into a 40 minute <em>ritual<\/em>. It takes more work, to get a slightly coarser cut, but when I&#8217;m done I feel pampered yet accomplished. Kind of like if I went to an invigorating spa, but actually <em>made<\/em> something instead of relaxing.<\/p>\n<p>If you are thinking about trying straight razor shaving, here&#8217;s my advice on what razor to try first.<\/p>\n<h3>The Good<\/h3>\n<p><iframe src=\"http:\/\/rcm.amazon.com\/e\/cm?lt1=_blank&#038;bc1=000000&#038;IS2=1&#038;bg1=FFFFFF&#038;fc1=000000&#038;lc1=0000FF&#038;t=vincgabl-20&#038;o=1&#038;p=8&#038;l=as1&#038;m=amazon&#038;f=ifr&#038;md=10FE9736YVPPT7A0FBG2&#038;asins=B0002WRKWW\" style=\"width:120px;height:240px;\" scrolling=\"no\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/B0002WRKWW?ie=UTF8&#038;tag=vincgabl-20&#038;linkCode=as2&#038;camp=1789&#038;creative=390957&#038;creativeASIN=B0002WRKWW\">Hess EZY Shave Razor<\/a> is the best all-around razor to see if straight-razor shaving is for you.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s <strong>easy to maintain<\/strong>, because it takes <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/B000Q7DYUK?ie=UTF8&#038;tag=vincgabl-20&#038;linkCode=as2&#038;camp=1789&#038;creative=390957&#038;creativeASIN=B000Q7DYUK\">disposable blades<\/a>. No sharpening or stropping required.<\/p>\n<p>It has <strong>exactly the same size and ergonomics as a real straight razor<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, the blade is different. But the long and stiff <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/B000Q7DYUK?ie=UTF8&#038;tag=vincgabl-20&#038;linkCode=as2&#038;camp=1789&#038;creative=390957&#038;creativeASIN=B000Q7DYUK\">hair shaper blades<\/a> it takes aren&#8217;t too far off.<\/p>\n<p><strong>It&#8217;s affordable<\/strong>, and not just the sticker price. Because, it takes <strong>easy-to-find <a href=\"\">&#8220;injector&#8221; blades<\/a><\/strong> <em>as well<\/em> as <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/B000Q7DYUK?ie=UTF8&#038;tag=vincgabl-20&#038;linkCode=as2&#038;camp=1789&#038;creative=390957&#038;creativeASIN=B000Q7DYUK\">hair shaper blades<\/a>, it&#8217;s affordable to keep using. (Tip: to find cheap injector blades, look for &#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.texasbeautysupplies.com\/sku001522.html\">mini shaper blades<\/a>&#8220;, they are the same thing, but without the &#8220;key&#8221; for loading into an injector razor).<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;ve been throughly satisfied with my <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/B0002WRKWW?ie=UTF8&#038;tag=vincgabl-20&#038;linkCode=as2&#038;camp=1789&#038;creative=390957&#038;creativeASIN=B0002WRKWW\">EZY Shave<\/a>, and I still use it today. It&#8217;s handy for trimming places like the upper lip, that are difficult to reach with a safety razor.<\/p>\n<h3>The Bad<\/h3>\n<p>Actually, this is <strong>the cheap<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><iframe src=\"http:\/\/rcm.amazon.com\/e\/cm?lt1=_blank&#038;bc1=000000&#038;IS2=1&#038;bg1=FFFFFF&#038;fc1=000000&#038;lc1=0000FF&#038;t=vincgabl-20&#038;o=1&#038;p=8&#038;l=as1&#038;m=amazon&#038;f=ifr&#038;md=10FE9736YVPPT7A0FBG2&#038;asins=B0020J7KSO\" style=\"width:120px;height:240px;\" scrolling=\"no\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/B0020J7KSO?ie=UTF8&#038;tag=vincgabl-20&#038;linkCode=as2&#038;camp=1789&#038;creative=390957&#038;creativeASIN=B0020J7KSO\">FROMM Hair Shapers<\/a> can be had for $3 to $7. <strong>Check your local beauty supply store first<\/strong>, so you don&#8217;t pay more in shipping than the razor itself costs!<\/p>\n<p>LIke the  <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/B0002WRKWW?ie=UTF8&#038;tag=vincgabl-20&#038;linkCode=as2&#038;camp=1789&#038;creative=390957&#038;creativeASIN=B0002WRKWW\">EZY Shave<\/a>, it uses <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/B000Q7DYUK?ie=UTF8&#038;tag=vincgabl-20&#038;linkCode=as2&#038;camp=1789&#038;creative=390957&#038;creativeASIN=B000Q7DYUK\">disposable hair shaper blades<\/a>, so it&#8217;s <strong>easy to maintain<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>This little fellow isn&#8217;t made for shaving, and it feels cheap, but when you take the guard off, it works \u2026 well enough. I&#8217;ve gotten descent shaves from one. The ergonomics aren&#8217;t exactly like a real straight razor, but they are close enough to give you a feel for what using one is like.<\/p>\n<p>The bottom line is that it&#8217;s such a <strong>small investment<\/strong> that there&#8217;s very little risk in trying the FROMM. If all else fails, <strong>it&#8217;s still a perfectly good hair shaper<\/strong>. I still use mine to trim my sideburns.<\/p>\n<h3>The Ugly<\/h3>\n<p>Another good option is to ask around on forums like <a href=\"http:\/\/www.straightrazorplace.com\/\">Straight Razor Place<\/a>, and see if an old-timer will sell you a no-frills shave-ready razor on the cheap ($10-$30).<\/p>\n<p>The disadvantage of starting with the real thing, is that it adds more variables, and you&#8217;ll need to get a <a href=\"http:\/\/badgerandblade.com\/vb\/forumdisplay.php?f=81\">strop<\/a> to prepare the razor for each shave. (Sorry, I don&#8217;t know any good deals on strops, try a local knife shop.) <\/p>\n<p>In other words, you&#8217;ll have to learn how to shave <em>and maintain<\/em> a straight razor. Bad stropping technique will dull a blade, or make it uncomfortable to use. That means more to go wrong. It also means one more thing to rule out as the cause of a bad shave, making it harder to evaluate the experience.<\/p>\n<p>This is how I learned to use a straight razor. In retrospect, I don&#8217;t think it was the wisest way to go. But for many people, you haven&#8217;t tried something, unless you&#8217;ve really tried <em>it<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><sup>1<\/sup><small><a href=\"http:\/\/www.straightrazorplace.com\/\">Some folks<\/a> really believe a straight razor gives the closest (and yes, most nick free) shaves of their lives. I&#8217;m not one of them. I don&#8217;t think most people who&#8217;ve tried a straight razor are. That&#8217;s not to say true believers are wrong &#8212; preparing and using a bare blade give you ultimate control of <em>every<\/em> aspect of the shave. But machines still make sharper blades, while people inevitably make mistakes. And in my experience, some nooks and curves (eg. bottom of chin) can be reached <em>better<\/em> with a safety razor.<br \/>\n<\/small><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As I&#8217;ve said before, I sometimes shave with a straight razor. Honestly, straight razors are worse than safety razors by just about any metric you pick1 &#8212; except the most important one: fun. They turn a 40 second routine into a 40 minute ritual. It takes more work, to get a slightly coarser cut, but [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53,10],"tags":[129,472,474,473],"class_list":["post-371","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-announcement","category-tips","tag-advice","tag-shaving","tag-straight-razor","tag-wet-shaving"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vgable.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vgable.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vgable.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vgable.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vgable.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=371"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/vgable.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":372,"href":"https:\/\/vgable.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371\/revisions\/372"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vgable.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=371"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vgable.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=371"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vgable.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=371"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}