“Every time you use the razor, you get microscopic bends in the razor,” but the strop “straightens out” those tiny bends, and you can really feel the difference when you shave, he explains. If you want to do it yourself, he says to use a “combination Norton stone with 4,000 grit on one side and 8,000 grit on the other.” Ruscetta adds that while it might seem unnecessary, “stropping” with a leather strop before each shave is essential. Ruscetta gave us some pointers: You should sharpen the blade about once per year, and he recommends sending it out to a specialist (most knife-sharpening services can also handle straight razors). Regarding the maintenance of blades on a traditional straight razor, there is a lot to say. But for those who prefer a traditional straight razor, we’ve included a couple recommendations for those as well. This list is heavy on shavettes because those are the tools our experts use every day and because, as Ruscetta notes, shavettes are a better option for beginners who want to try straight-razor shaving. Though you won’t need to buy refill blades for a traditional straight razor, you will have to get it professionally sharpened (or buy the equipment to do it at home), and you’ll want to buy a leather strop as well. So you can get your taste of nostalgia without the big cost, says Ruscetta. Using a shavette will also be less expensive because the upfront costs are much lower and refills are very cheap. According to the barbers we spoke with, shavettes offer the same quality of shave as a traditional straight razor and are lower maintenance, since the disposable blades don’t need to be sharpened. If you’re getting a “straight-razor shave” at a barbershop today, your barber is probably using a “shavette,” which is basically a blade holder that accommodates a disposable, single-edge metal blade.
#STRAIGHT RAZOR SHAVE VIDEO PROFESSIONAL#
Traditional versus shavette: Thanks to modern health codes that prohibit barbers from using the same blade on multiple clients, professional barbers these days hardly ever use traditional straight razors with a fixed blade.
Click through our table of contents to skip to the razors that interest you most - or read on for all of their recommendations.īest overall shavette | Best (less-expensive) shavette | Best under-$20 shavette | Best made-in-Japan shavette with a straight handle | Best made-in-Japan shavette with a folding handle | Best overall traditional | Best large-blade traditional To find the best straight razors, we talked to Howard, Ruscetta, and four other barbers. That’s your signal to keep practicing until no more balloons are harmed. “If you pop the balloon, you’re probably going to cut yourself,” he says. So if you’re thinking about trying it yourself, you should heed the advice of master barber Julien Howard, who suggests this classic barber-school training exercise before putting the blade to your actual face: Inflate a balloon, cover it with shaving cream, and “shave” the cream off with the razor.
Straight razors are also great for shaping and edging beards, he adds, because “you can see and control exactly where you’re cutting.” However, it does take time and patience to master the technique. Master barber Angelo Ruscetta says that with a straight razor you can adjust the angle of the blade way more than with any other kind of razor to get a more aggressive shave or to go really light. For instance, straight razors give you complete control over a blade, while safety razors offer only partial control, and cartridge razors offer none at all. But the barbers we’ve talked to say that shaving with a straight razor has plenty of practical benefits too.
This romantic vision might even make you curious about using a straight razor at home. When you think of straight-razor shaving, your mind may conjure up an image of an old-timey barber giving a hot-towel shave, sharpening his solid metal blade on a leather strop. Photo-Illustration: courtesy of DreamWorks and Warner Bros. Johnny Depp in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
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