Shave with a Straight Razor

A straight razor is a fixed blade razor, the most common men's razor until the 1950s when safety razors became widely available. Once you master the art of straight razor shaving, you will be able to get a far smoother shave than you can get from any modern method. However, shaving with a straight razor is dangerous and has a long learning curve. While you are climbing up the learning curve, the quality of your shaves may be significantly worse than you can do with a disposable razor. You will also probably cut yourself at least once, despite repeated warnings to go slowly and carefully. Most of the men on the straight razor forums have indeed cut themselves. But once you have mastered the straight (which typically takes around 100 shaves), you will be able to consistently give yourself a shave that's far better than any shave you've ever had before and makes you far better looking.

Steps

  1. Prep your beard, either by taking a hot shower, or by holding a hot towel against your face. If you opt for the hot towel, soak a small towel in hot water and hold it firmly against your face until it is cool. For best results, apply the hot towel twice.
  2. After prepping your beard run the faucet for the hottest water possible. Fill your mug or bowl with the water, and let your brush soak.
  3. Squeeze out the excess water from your brush, and dump the water out that you used to soak the brush. Make a lather with the brush, either in the bowl, or just load the brush and wait to lather up directly on your face.
  4. You'll want to wet your face right before you lather up.
  5. Then use the brush to apply the soap or cream to the hairy area, swirling until the lather has formed stiff peaks.
  6. Apply the lather to your face, with the badger brush, and using a paintbrush motion. Use a hot towel to wipe away any extra lather, removing oil from the skin follicles so that moisture can penetrate.

  7. Finish lathering by using painting strokes to cover your face with a thick layer.
  8. Let sit on for 5 min, or longer if hair is very coarse. Re-lather if the soap has dried out after the 5 minutes. Using a towel, letting it sit, reapplying, and so forth is technically optional. The important thing is having a nice thick lather on your beard to protect the skin and guide the blade.
  9. Stretch your skin as you shave. Pull the area to which you will apply the straight razor until it is tight.
  10. Use a 20° degree angle of the blade to your skin. Remember you are not slicing skin, this is not your intention, you are cutting hair as close to your skin as you can. You can obtain this angle by letting the blade almost "sit" flush on the face, and turning it slightly to get the 20 to 30 degree angle. Remember to use hardly any pressure! This is not a cartridge razor and it is very easy to cut yourself.
  11. You will make three passes for optimal smoothness. If you want to save time and are willing to sacrifice smoothness, you can do a single-pass shave and skip the last two passes. On each pass, you will start with short strokes and finish off with longer strokes.
  12. Make the first pass with the grain (that means in the direction of hair growth).
  13. Lather up again and make the second pass sideways to the grain. You probably won't be able to shave your neck on this pass, just the sides of your face and jawline.
  14. If you have a very heavy beard, you may want change the razor before the third pass. If your beard is not that tough, you can skip this step.
  15. Make a third and final pass against the grain. This pass is the most dangerous and when the most accidents occur. Be aware when trimming side burns that the tip is near your earlobe, and be very careful when shaving the awkward shapes around your neck. Some men prefer to use water only, with no lather, for the third pass, to better see what they are doing. If you have a heavy beard, you may find this irritates your skin too much. In this case, go ahead and use the lather.
  16. Rinse the lather off your face with cold water. Cold water will help close the pores in your skin.
  17. Dry the razor. Run a square of toilet paper between the scales of the handle to remove the droplets of moisture that are trapped there. (Most old razors are high carbon steel and will rust).
  18. Strop the razor with a leather strop. After stropping, apply blade oil to protect the blade from moisture damage and rust.
  19. Rinse the brush, shake out the excess moisture, and hang it upside-down in a brush holder to dry.



Tips

  • Don't store your razors in the bathroom if you can avoid it. Your bathroom is humid, and the razors you're not using may rust, particularly if they are made of carbon steel.
  • Always use a sharp razor. A sharp razor is the safest as it is the most likely to cut the hair rather than get snagged on your skin.
  • Don't try to use any shaving cream or gel that comes out of a can. These products don't lubricate your skin sufficiently for straight razor shaving. Use mug shaving soap.
  • Straight razor shaving can be dangerous, so try this for the first time when you are not distracted.
  • You can use a boar bristle shaving brush if you're on a budget, but a badger hair brush is much better.
  • Getting a good shave using a straight razor requires a certain feel that you will develop over time. Your first few shaves may be worse than the shaves you get from a disposable razor, but with time and practice you will get the kind of baby's-butt smoothness you can only get from a straight. On the other hand, not every woman wants a man with a clean cut face. Some want a man with a little scruff on his face. You can avoid getting such a smooth shave, and also save time, by doing a single-pass shave and skipping the across-the-grain and against-the-grain passes.
  • Be sure to strop your razor before every use, to ensure a very sharp edge.
  • If your razor is pulling or giving you razor burn, it's time to replace it. Men with light beards can maintain their shaving to one razor. Men with heavy beards must change their razors more often.
  • Use styptic powder for cuts. Ask for it with a barber, or at a barber supply store.

Warnings

  • If you do the third pass (against the grain), skip your upper lip area. There is no safe way to shave your mustache area with upward strokes and not risk badly cutting your nose.
  • Never try to catch a dropped razor.
  • Straight razors can be dangerous if the user is distracted or non focused on the practice. Be calm, don't attempt the job if you cannot focus, use a safety razor instead on those days.
  • Close the razor before you walk with it. Never walk with an open razor. Not even one step.
  • Do not use slicing motions, angular shaving sweeps can be very effective with experienced shavers but new straight razor users should keep it down to straight passes.

Things You'll Need

  • A hone
  • A leather strop
  • A straight razor.
  • Shaving cream or soap.
  • A bowl, mug, or scuttle.
  • A shaving brush, preferably badger.
  • A mirror.
  • Styptic powder for cuts.
  • A steady hand.

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Sources and Citations

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