First folding-straight shave!

After a month of using the Feather Artist Club SS and DX Japanese razors, I decided to get a starter folding straight, just to see what it's like. My 6/8 Gold Dollar 208 arrived today from VintageStraightRazor.com, and I just had my first shave with it tonight. Compared to the Feathers, it was a walk in the park. I had no trouble going in all directions, including south to north on the upper lip. I just took my time, drew no blood, and the result was super (DFS to BBS territory). Very nice!

I just saw: It costs $24.99 plus shipping and taxes.

It's impressive.

How many shaves does one get before needing to be resharpened?

Between hearing yours and BadDad's experiences, it's really making me want to try a str8!

Well done! Straights are a lot more forgiving than shavettes, just dont lose focus or they will bite equally as hard.

As regards honing, its difficult to put a number on how many shaves you can get between hones. YouTubers recently had a 30shave challenge, using nothing but a leather strop and the same razor for 30 days. It didnt seem to bother most of them.

Shaving every day I would say at least 6-8weeks between hones, deoending on your beard density and stropping abilities. A good canvas or linen strop can really help to refresh an edge.

If you really want to try, get a cheap razor like the Gold dollar or a Gold Monkey or a Zy Razor, then go to WhippedDog.com and get a Poor Mans Strop Kit that has a leather hanging strop and a balsa strop with chromium oxide and iron oxide pasted on either side. It does a very decent job of refreshing blades for little money.

It does not have to be an expensive hobby...


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Well done! Straights are a lot more forgiving than shavettes, just dont lose focus or they will bite equally as hard.

Thanks -- and thanks for the good advice!

Between hearing yours and BadDad's experiences, it's really making me want to try a str8!

If you're intrigued, go for it. Just take things slowly at first -- light touch, short strokes, shallow angle (blade almost flat against your face, angled just enough to cut whiskers but not skin). You may want to steer clear of tricky spots, like chin and Adam's apple, at first. Your first few shaves won't be great, but don't get discouraged. Take your time and the shaves definitely get better!  

Thanks for the advice Viseguy!

With regard to how many shaves between honings, like Chris said, there are a number of variables involved, so no one can give an exact number of shaves. One can easily go a couple of months before the razor begins to tug a bit. At that point, one can freshen the edge with some chromium oxide or diamond paste on a linen strop. I've heard of people going up to a year just doing that every couple of months. At some point that won't work anymore and it will be time for having it honed. Note, that's not sharpening, but honing. You sharpen a blade once and then hone forever, assuming you don't actually damage the edge somehow. Hope that helps.

How do you compare the comfort of shaving: amount of irritation, red spots etc between the artist club shavettes and straights? Assuming that one takes the time to master technique, will the regular straight be smoother than Artist club SS?

Personally, I don't think so. If you take your assumption at face value -- you've really mastered the technique -- then I think you can keep irritation to a minimum -- or avoid it altogether -- no matter what the razor. I like the Artist Club blades a lot. They give really smooth shaves in any razor that takes them. That said, going ATG with a Feather SS or DX, or with a regular straight, takes patience and practice. Whatever razor you choose, allow yourself the luxury of time to learn it. It took me six months to get really comfortable with the 2011 Mühle R41. Ditto, the devette (guardless DE). I fully expect to be way better with the Feather AC razors and regular straights six months from now than I am today. What I always say to people starting out is, "Enjoy the learning curve. " It applies just the same to anyone learning a new razor, no matter how experienced.

With regard to how many shaves between honings, like Chris said, there are a number of variables involved, so no one can give an exact number of shaves. One can easily go a couple of months before the razor begins to tug a bit.  At that point, one can freshen the edge with some chromium oxide or diamond paste on a linen strop.  I've heard of people going up to a year just doing that every couple of months. At some point that won't work anymore and it will be time for having it honed.  Note, that's not sharpening, but honing. You sharpen a blade once and then hone forever, assuming you don't actually damage the edge somehow.   Hope that helps.

Great information. Thanks, Uzi!

How do you compare the comfort of shaving: amount of irritation, red spots etc between the artist club shavettes and straights? Assuming that one takes the time to master technique, will the regular straight be smoother than Artist club SS?

Truthfully, I stopped using my shavettes once I got a true straight. Not because of some piety or sense of hierarchy, but because the straight was simply easier to use. With that said, I have never used a feather shavette, and rumour has it that they are somewhere between a standard shavette and a straight.

As far as irritation goes...if I am using a straight with a good edge, I can get a DFS + with absolutely no irritation. With my favorite straight, a 5/8 near wedge, the blade is so smooth that I don't even feel it against the skin. It just mows down the hair, and leaves a clean patch of skin in it's wake. It sometimes feels like the hair is jumping out of the way of the blade to avoid being cut!

Controlling and eliminating irritation is all about technique. As you learn what angles provide the most efficient shave, you will also learn how much pressure, if any, to apply. You will also learn the limitations of your skin, and whether it can handle 3 passes plus touchups or if you need to cut back and take it slower...