Klaus, Let's not let it get out that I'm "considering" buying a STR8. Not until I get the DE's. I do after all have a reputation to uphold. But buy one I will. Only thing...there are SOOOOOO many from which to choose and the decision is a hard one to make. I would love to learn how to sharpen and maintain a STR8. IMHO that would be the ultimate "Fidelity" or "Nirvana" if you prefer. One Str8, One Soap or Cream, and One A/S Balm. Easy, simple, and a lot more room in my bathroom (under the bed, in the attic and in the closet) if you know what I mean. Oh well...maybe some day.
I see your point, Oscar. Actually, I was thinking somewhat in the same direction. One srt8, one soap, a.s.o. I tried the same with wrist watches, camera lenses, DEs, now with Str8s. Everybody thinks I am a collector. Wrong! I'm looking for the ideal item to stick with. Found my ideal wrist watch last week ( I hope!). Stopped buying camera lenses, since I realized I have already more than I need. No such thing as one ideal here. With DEs I found myself going the wrong way. It's certainly better than what I had before (cartridge junk), but ultimately didn't lead me to "Shaving Nirvana". I honestly don't know what to do with my DE collection. Looking back, I invested quite a bit of money. Seeing it collecting dust in the cabinet is kind of sad. Maybe I should sell them. As a bundle or rather each separately? I'm open for (reasonable) suggestions/offers. Now to Str8s. Using str8s, I'm down to one soap. Probably I'm doing something wrong, but I found that only Tabac really works. With any other soap I try, the razor tries to jump. So, I stick with Tabac for now. It's OK. Only one favorite razor? That's a tough one. Just imagine, God forbid, something happens to your razor. You drop it, hit it against the water tap, ..., accidents happen. See, you need more than one Str8, no matter how you cut the pie. IMHO, a set of seven, one for every day of the week, would be sufficient. I'm pretty much down to about 2-3 aftershave products. No, I'm not right at "Shaving Nirvana" yet, but I've got a general Idea where to find it. Oops! That was way more than I intended to write. Sorry for rambling! :ashamed001
Klaus, I don't consider it rambling as I feel most of us have travelled this road once or twice ourselves. I'm steadily going to sell most of the razors I don't use (except my German made ones). I'm going to keep a few "unique" ones even though I may not use them much. I'm down to about 30 +/- now and slowly selling them to good homes. I try to keep the price low and never make any money on the sale. I normally break even or lose money most of the time. I am, however, intrigued with the idea of shaving with a STR8. My (German) grandfather gave me one when I was very young. I used it a couple of times and when I nearly sliced my throat with it, out it went. Boy was I young and stupid. I had no idea how good that razor was until many years later. But now I have this tugging (for lack of a better word) towards getting one and learning how to use it. But as I indicated in my earlier post, the sheer number out there is more confusing to me than the DE's. And I want to buy one (or 2, I'm familiar with RAD) and be able to maintain it myself without having to send it to a pro for sharpening. I'll just have to do a lot of research. Now I've rambled long enough... Have a good one...
I think I'll sell most of my DEs, except the gold slant and one Weishi maybe. I'd like to keep those for sentimental reasons: "That's how it all started ...". Everything else will go for about 25-30% below new price, I think. I'm not sure if it's allowed to say this here, but Lynn's forum at straightrazorplace.com would be a good starting point for your research. People sell decent shave ready Str8s there almost every day. Trust me, you want a shave ready one to start with! Do you still have your grandfather's razor? If so, you may want to sent it out for honing? Then you need just a strop and you're ready to go. Honing yourself won't save you any money for a long time since hones are not cheap, but if you're really interested, by all means, go for it. Its fun! As far as cutting one's throat goes, I don't think this is even possible to do accidentally. You cut into your skin, hit the first small blood vessels and blood starts running over your wet face, which makes it look much worse than it actually is. You'll be surprised how easy it is to stop the breeding caused by a Str8 compared to bleeding from a cut by a DE. IMO a Slant is more dangerous than a Str8. As they say in the Old Country: "If it doesn't kill you right away, it probably makes you stronger!". Take care ...
Here you go: Now you're asking yourself: Why in the world would this be considered the ideal watch? Here are my reasons, in no particular order: It is very precise. The digits are big enough for me to read at a glance. It is light and very comfortable to wear. It has alarm and count down function. It is water resistant (330 ft!). BTW, I'll never understand why most lady's watches are not water resistant. Aren't they the ones working with their hands under water most of the time? Oh right, that was before we invented the dishwasher for them! Oops!?! Did I say for them? Sorry! I meant to say, men invented the dishwasher so that we don't need to help with the dishes any longer, right? I like the color red. The price was acceptable. $17.99 (Wal-mart)
Based of your list of straight razors in you Armory, sounds like you now have a case of SRAD to me...
I once knew a man who refused to buy his wife a watch because he said and I quote 'why should I buy my wife a watch when there is a clock on the cooker' Well I was shocked. I would like at this point to take off my Marigold gloves and put in a small disclaimer just in case the good lady indoors reads this ' This is a quote from another person my darling and loveliness and has no resemblance to my opinion on the subject and if you want that Rolex it’s yours.
I would like to comment on about shaving around a goatee. I originally got in to straight shaving because of my goatee and handle bar mustache. I found that I could do more precision trimming with a straight because I could cut a hair at a time if I wanted. Then I loved straight shaving so much after a while that I shaved my entire face, off went the mustache and beard.
Really? Some people spend the same amount of money on only one razor. Mine were rather inexpensive, ..., so far, ..., please don't tempt me!!!
Klauss, That is actually a very nice looking watch even if you did buy it from Wal-Mart. I particularly like the "big" numbers so they can be seen (Trifocals here). I enjoy wearing a good watch and have a sizable collection. What is the acronym for Watch Acquistion Disorder. Any way I think you have a keeper (for the price you can buy several) and at least you can tell the time. Enjoy your watch...(chuckel) :rofl
Klaus, Klaus, Klaus. You have much to learn, Grasshopper. While the DE RAD may have abated, the Straight RAD is just beginning. Woe to he who enters the badlands of the straight razor. You ain't seen nothin' yet. You discount expensive razors, yet the razor that has made me forsake all others is a Maestro Livi regrind. Wow, what a shave There may be some fine DEs for sale in the not to distant future.
Maestro Livi regrind?? I couldn't find those at Wal-mart! Which isle are they? rofl:rofl Seriously, I intend not to participate in the >$100 league, until I know what I'm doing in regards to shaving and honing. This, I expect, may take quite a while.
The cheapest razor RAD is probably Single Edge (SE RAD), unless you get into the rarer 19th century ones with wedge blades you hone like a straight. If you're into rare SE RAD, check out some of Themba's writing over at shavemyface.com.
Hey, it's a quality item! I still like it, and have not rotated since almost a month now. Amazing! Will see how long the battery lasts ...
