I own both DEs and straights. Until now it has been wonderful to go into the bathroom and choose which one I use. I absolutely love the feel of a straight against my face, and the difference in technique, the beauty of the razor itself, etc. With the DE it is familiar territory, since it's what I started on in the '70s. I also like to try different blades, and have been playing around with that for the last few days, and having loads of fun and learning a lot, too. But I miss the straight. But I really want to continue with the DE, the blades, etc. Hence my dilemma. If I choose the DE, I'll be jonesing to use the straight. If I choose the straight, I'll be itching to go scrounging around in my cabinet, choosing DE blades and razor. Oh the humanity! I need a twin growing out of the side of my neck or something.
I would go one week DE one week Straight. Or go DE five days a week and Straights on the weekends. That is what I would do if I were in your predicament.
I alternate. Currently, I use a straight for 3-5 days, then switch out to a DE for a day or so, then back to the straight. This is intentional in order to expedite my skills with a straight. The learning curve for a straight razor is MUCH steeper than learning the proper and efficient technique of a DE razor. Plus I enjoy the challenge.
I do the same thing, more or less. This is just the first day where no matter which razor I choose, I would be wishing I used the other one, lol. I found the solution, though. Just did a 4 pass shave. WTG with the straight, XTG with the DE, ATG with the straight, touch up anything else with the DE. No more irritation than I would normally get, and a nice, smooth shave that hit all of my buttons.
Yeah, I wouldn't want to make it a regular thing, but it got me through the moment. J man, I was a bit worried the first time I put the straight to my face, but in the end I managed a full shave, with the grain, chin and all on the first go. Had a couple of nicks and a few weepers, but after that first shave I was hooked hard. Watching all the straight shaving videos on youtube gave me the courage. I figured if all those guys, and the many more down through the centuries, managed it with no problem, I was at least as smart and capable as the dumbest one of those, so I went for it.
Yeah I think it's time for me to look for a straight and give it a try. If in the future I make a post saying I just got my first straight razor, and I am never heard from again ~you can just assume that it didn't go very well.
