I know most men look at shaving as a necessary evil to get done as quickly as possible. And of course Monday-Friday, I do try to get it out of the way quickly and use a DE razor. But when I have the time, I enjoy selecting from my array of straight razors, brushes made of various creatures, and whatever latest exotic shave soap I ordered up, and taking my time shaving. It's just a simple pleasure for me. Now to jump on the "I hate cartridges" bandwagon, I have a slightly different reason to abandon them. (Lord knows I'm spent so much on my exotic straights, I can NEVER claim it's about money). When I was in the military and had to be clean shaven, cartridges seemed fine. But now I have a partial beard and handlebar mustache. Those giant 4-5 blade cartridges are terrible for the precision and consistency shaving around the facial hair you want to keep. DE's are much better, but of course for precise lines, nothing beats a straight edge.
I started shaving in 1970, I used my fathers de an old beaten brush and a soap stick...cannot remember what one though. This was my shaving setup for many years, but as carts became the in thing I followed that route adding a can of shaving foam, this again carried on for many many years even though I was totally unsatisfied with the shaves, I recently thought about going back to the de shave and bought the cheapest razor I could find...added the cheapest wilko sword brush ans same brand shave soap in a container, I more or less picked it back up no problem apart from a couple of small nicks, I decided it was the razor or the blade, changed both and after a couple of blade changes got it all good, I really was now enjoying my shave...and laughed at the amount of cash I had saved...unfortunatley this laughter waned as I obviously needed better soap..brushes..razors, coming back to the items i bought, I was very happy with them...the brush?? Ppffft!! What difference can that make...well with a prorasso soap it simply blew away what I thot was a good shve had turned into a great shave, I read and read and continued to read more, there was fantastic help out there (here). Couriosity killed the cat and I kept going over SR's, now remember. My intention was to cut the cart costs and get better shaves...this has gone ever sooo slightly wrong...I have shave related Items arriving every week, sometimes two a week, but as it is now my Hobby I dont care, I have loads of fishing gear to sell so that will ofset some expense, and some knives I will sell too. Currently thinking about getting 4 sr's...keep my de's and unless something really catches my eye then these ones will do (im lying)
LOL! I was once where you are and now I have close to a hundred sr's. Hee Hee, it's like a dope addiction!
He used carts..now uses a expensive electric razor, thinks I am mental, and he is 43 now...too late to get him started... He is a man...tho my wife sees h
I have three grown sons. They ALL sport beards (as do 98.7% of young men between 25-35 these days! ) They view my SR and wet-shaving 'hobby' with respectful amusement...
Never too late. I didnt start using DE razors, until I was mid-late 40's. But, if he doesnt have any issues with Carts or Electrics, then he is one of the few, and you probably will never change his mind. .
Very true but seems to be a growing community of passionate shavers and vendors which is great. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
My foray into straights was a natural evolution from vintage DE and SE razors. Never having used modern systems, I was delighted to find that I could obtain my first DE, a Schick Krona, on eBay. This led me to wanting to experience shaving as far back as I could. After discovering GEM razors, I was led to wanting to use a straight. I went from a wonderful Feather folding SS to my first straight, a Fremont, Ohio Demascara 5/8.
We've got some interns working with us who all sport the '3-day's growth' look, not a trimmed beard. Frankly IMHO they just look a mess. Herm
Dad always told me to look presentable when I left the house. A big pet peeve of his was leaving the house without a belt. I thought it was cool to not wear one but now I understand.
I don't disrespect others now and didn't care for it when it was levied at me as a teen and young man. Just because some older person has a definition of presentable, it's just an opinion and not something to judge others by. I wore a beard for most of my adult life. Grizzly Adam was a name I was often called, but in a friendly manner. The primary reason I shave today is because facial hair it ages me significantly. Otherwise, I would
I understand your point but society has certain standards and society seems to be slipping. Go to Walmart and see people wearing pajamas out. It is also presentable to not go out in public naked.
I have to agree that you can see some interesting fashion trends at Walmart. Young men with stubble wearing the latest trending fashions for me is not the same, however.
i must admit, while i like having a shave and keeping trimmed up,a day or 2 of growth isn't bad on me..a little more relaxed over all..i had a beard on and off for years, and it was more work to trim it than to shave it off.now i keep a short goatee .with the grey i look years older with a full beard.no under the nose or lip nicks from shaving either. win win..
I agree totally. If I had a goatee and a moustache, shaving would be much easier. The skin just above the chin of a sort that does not like too many passes.