My old barber fought in the Dominican civil war in '65. He said, "Yah, I keeled a guy." While shacing my neck with the straight razor.

Pocket Ninja: A straight razor, properly used, gives a far better shave, lasts far longer, and costs far less than any disposable. But, hey, enjoy those $20 ultra slick gel pack five blade titanium malamutes. Those scream out the essence of man.

I would think that when we're talking about shaving off a beard, we could forgo the gender policing, no?

shaving aficionados

you must have to shave more than once a week to be one...

disposable razors are just too convenient and efficient mainstream.

Hipster shavers. Just what we need.

Got one for xmas a few years ago. I love it. BUT... Its a pain in the ass, to be honest. The stone, the strop, the preparation... Its not for "Oh crap, I'm late for work" kind of shaving. Great shave, though...

Traditional wet shaving got a big boost last year when Cincinnati-based P&G launched a national advertising campaign, Art of Shaving's first since it was founded in 1996, touting the "brotherhood of shaving."

Oh God, just stop. Do we have to turn everything into A Thing? Is there nothing that is immune from being co-opted into some kind of double-ironic totem commentary on What It Means To Be A Man In 2012?

You want to be useful? Invent a pill that freezes all hair growth on my body. Head, face, balls, whatever. I've got enough and I'm pretty much good with the way it looks from here until death.

Yeah but would you use a straight razor on your junk?

Subby sounds like a prepubescent white girl. Us manly men need to shave with a double-edged safety razor to trim those manly bristles.

Seriously, though, all those disposables work like shiat. One stroke, and they've turned into blunt hacksaws. I guess if you have soft girlie fuzz, they're OK.

Sybarite: "For a lot of college-age men, there is an element of being a badass for shaving with a straight razor," Herro said. "The metrosexual thing has run its course."


That is just blindingly stupid.

Yeah. Real men shave with hand knapped obsidian blades.

/Closest shave *EVAR*.

This post was meant to be humorous, of course, but now I just have to try it. I've got a bunch of obsidian downstairs for making arrowheads, and yes, it is so farking sharp it makes even freshly sharpened surgical steel broadheads feel like rounded wood.

Mark Ratner: I've been using a straight razor for years now, but I'm not trying to be "cool." I take pride in my appearance and enjoy grooming myself for the day ahead. Each morning, I prepare my face with a foaming exfoliating cleanser, then use a cucumber shave gel and a straight razor that I've sharpened on a soapstone.I tame my hair's unruly kinks with a dollop of molding paste and a little reparative shine serum. It's important to use the right products, if you want to maintain healthy hair. I sometimes even use hot wax to bring my unruly eyebrows under control, and my nose hairs haven't seen the light of day in years due to my dilligent grooming routine.

/haters gonna hate, but I'll keep on lookin good

Please share with us your thoughts on Genesis and Whitney Houston.

snuff3r: "shaving aficionados"?

Just when i think the world has reached it's maximum asshole level along comes a story alerting me to more of them existing.

Can we kill these people already?

And whaddaya know, they got the perfect weapon for you.

/Uncle Enzo approves.

I refuse to go further than four blades, imo using a five bladed razor is ghey.

I'd scoff at this if I hadn't had several barber shaves in the past. The hot towels. The warm shaving cream. The stories about the war. America.

RexTalionis: I use electric razors and safety razors (i.e. not the cartridge razors), personally. It;'s good enough.

Which the article actually talks about. The very first example is the use of a double-edged safety razor, not a straight. I have a beard but I use a double-edged safety for my neck and cheeks. It gives a far superior and more comfortable shave compared to the "fark it we are gonna have a million blades!" cartridges. And cheaper.

The soap makes a hell of a lot of difference too. Yeah, you're a little more likely to cut yourself even with a safety over a cartridge, and there is a little more technique to learn, and it takes longer. But I find I have way less irritation afterwards. Some guys have a lot of problems with in-grown hairs from cartridges too.

there their theyre: Yeah but would you use a straight razor on your junk?

No, but some would pay good money to have a leather clad Domininatrix do it.

Same people who spend 3 hours and $15 making a $3 burger.

RexTalionis: Kar98: Subby sounds like a prepubescent white girl. Us manly men need to shave with a double-edged safety razor to trim those manly bristles.

Seriously, though, all those disposables work like shiat. One stroke, and they've turned into blunt hacksaws. I guess if you have soft girlie fuzz, they're OK.

I use safety razors over cartridges because, for whatever odd reason, I tend to look less like a murder victim with the safety razor as opposed to the multi-bladed cartridges.

Precisely.

/Also, I get 5 blades for $1.80 at Walmart, which beats 10 catridges for 20 bucks by a mile.

I got a 200 pack of Wilkinsons for like $18 or so a couple of years ago. Still not done with it.

GAT_00: I could really care less if you think you need to judge me for a razor. I'll keep my electrics, thanks.

Yeah, but come the apocalypse, you won't be able to power your electric razor, and those disposable cartridges are worthless for slitting throats...

natazha: Same people who spend 3 hours and $15 making a $3 burger.

See that's the thing. your comparison is wrong. Old school methods of shaving are faster, better and cheaper, too, compared with the disposable crap.

I switched to using an old school double edge safety razor and never looked back. I got a pack of 100 blades off ebay for something like 12 bucks shipped. I love being able to replace any blade that even feels slightly dull without caring about cost. Plus the multi-blade razors just got clogged if I didn't shave for several days.

I've tried a lot of razors and electrics, never tried a straight razor though, and the M3 power is about the best shave I get out of any razor or electric. While the price is high, if I clean and dry the blades after every shave I get about a week out of one cartridge.

Happy Hours: Pocket Ninja: A straight razor, properly used, gives a far better shave, lasts far longer, and costs far less than any disposable. But, hey, enjoy those $20 ultra slick gel pack five blade titanium malamutes. Those scream out the essence of man.

Yes, but if you want to burn your money with disposable razors they work fairly well and it's hard to give yourself a serious injury with one.

My experience with electrics is that they aren't all that great - they always seem to fail to trim a few hairs and that bothers me. OTOH, they're easy and quick to use and if all you want to do is not look unshaven they're okay.

When I think of straight razors I think Alex DeLarge

I keep an electric razor around for what I call the "7:30 trim" - when you want to knock down that five o'clock shadow before heading out for the evening. My beard is rather thick and wiry so I don't like the way electrics tug on normal growth, but if I've shaved for work that morning they're great for a quick clean-up. And also for when I'm traveling, since usually there's a power socket for a shaver in the plane/train bathrooms.

For the before-work morning shave, I'm using the cartridge razors I've always had (though considering a change to a double-edge), but I've lately started using a cake of shave soap and a brush rather than the canned foam shaving cream. So far the difference has been remarkable, though it did take me a little while to get the hang of making up my shaving cream in a bowl. Takes a few extra minutes, but I can't really think of anything that's worse when rushed than shaving, so I don't mind.

dittybopper: Sybarite: "For a lot of college-age men, there is an element of being a badass for shaving with a straight razor," Herro said. "The metrosexual thing has run its course."


That is just blindingly stupid.

Yeah. Real men shave with hand knapped obsidian blades.

/Closest shave *EVAR*.

This post was meant to be humorous, of course, but now I just have to try it. I've got a bunch of obsidian downstairs for making arrowheads, and yes, it is so farking sharp it makes even freshly sharpened surgical steel broadheads feel like rounded wood.

Obsidian shaving (new window)

-
I've been using a straight blade for a few years now and I personally like how it shaves. I definitely take a lot longer shaving since I don't want to cut myself, but it's been a while since I've even nicked myself at this point. For some reason I don't trust a barber to do it even though I'm sure they have far more experience than me.

I believe in taking care of myself and a balanced diet and rigorous exercise routine. In the morning if my face is a little puffy I'll put on an ice pack while doing stomach crunches. I can do 1000 now. After I remove the ice pack I use a deep pore cleanser lotion. In the shower I use a water activated gel cleanser, then a honey almond body scrub, and on the face an exfoliating gel scrub. Then I apply an herb-mint facial mask which I leave on for 10 minutes while I prepare the rest of my routine. I always use an after shave lotion with little or no alcohol, because alcohol dries your face out and makes you look older. Then moisturizer, then an anti-aging eye balm followed by a final moisturizing protective lotion

Mark Ratner: I've been using a straight razor for years now, but I'm not trying to be "cool." I take pride in my appearance and enjoy grooming myself for the day ahead. Each morning, I prepare my face with a foaming exfoliating cleanser, then use a cucumber shave gel and a straight razor that I've sharpened on a soapstone.I tame my hair's unruly kinks with a dollop of molding paste and a little reparative shine serum. It's important to use the right products, if you want to maintain healthy hair. I sometimes even use hot wax to bring my unruly eyebrows under control, and my nose hairs haven't seen the light of day in years due to my dilligent grooming routine.

/haters gonna hate, but I'll keep on lookin good

This is how a real man shaves.



_{/neanderthals are real}

I prefer shaving with Occam's razor. It really is the simplest method.