Why Straight Razors?

Here lately, people have been asking me why I chose to shave with straight razors instead of the usual double edge safety razor. It's really quite simple. The first reason is that once you buy a straight razor, that's pretty much it in terms of the actual shaving tool itself minus the tools needed for maintaining your razor which can be a one time investment. With a double edge safety razors, you still have to buy replacement blades for it. Even though they're insanely cheap and can be bought in bulk, the straight razor is still more cost effective. The second reason is longevity. I usually average roughly 3+ shaves on a single double edge blade before having to replace it with a fresh blade. I'm getting roughly around 60+ shaves with a straight razor and unlike DE and SE blades, I can take my straight razor to some honing stones and have my straight razor shave ready again in no time. You can't do that with cartridges, single edge or double edge blades. Now all forms of blades including cartridges, can be stropped which does increase longevity. The straight razor is the easiest out of all types of shaving to strop and really doesn't take to long to figure out. However stropping DE blades is a bit of a hassle. You must remove the blade and flip it upside down, and reinstall it in the safety razor and go in the opposite direction that you'd normally would shave in. Then after you've done all of that, you must repeat this process and flip the blade again before shaving. To strop cartridges or disposable razors, just simply find a pair of old blue jeans and simply press them against the denim and go the opposite direction that you would when you shave. This is pretty easy to do as well but with the comfort coating that's placed upon the cartridges, they no longer become comfortable to use and irritation and/or razor burn sets in worse. I don't have a clue how you'd go about stropping an SE or "single edge" blade at all mainly because I really don't like them and I've only shaved with them a couple of times. The final reason that made the decision for was the term "shave ready". If you've ever gotten a double edge, single edge replacement blade or a cartridge that managed to "fall through the cracks" in terms of quality control that wasn't sharp, you would undertsand that this will never happen with a straight razor. Here's why it will never happen. If you get one from a reputable dealer that is well known and has a good reputation for honing, you will know for a fact that the razor is sharp because chances are someone already test shaved with it and sterilized it before it was shipped out to you. I can't say the same thing about DE, SE, cartridges and disposable razors. I've gotten many of those that were duds. So to me, straight razors are much more economical in the long term effect provided you don't get a case of RAD or Razor Aquistion Disorder. In my next post, I will go over what you will need to get started in the straight razor hobby. I will also talk to you about the learning curve that's involved with straight razors.