How to Shave with a Straight Razor

Shaving with a straight razor can be a little scary at first, but the results are worth it. Plenty of men swear by their straight razors because they provide a smooth, reliable shave that they can control with the right sharpening techniques.

If you have to shave anyway, whether it’s to hang onto that job, look hot for a date, or do a little touch up on a disaster facial hair regrowth attempt, you should think about how you shave. You probably know if your routine can get better. If you spend a good deal of time swiping at your face and cutting yourself, learning to use a straight razor may be beneficial to slow you down a bit.

Strop the Edge

If the first thing you thought when you saw “strop” was “forget about the straight razor, I don’t even know what the words mean,” hang in there. This isn’t as complicated as it might seem. Case in point: I know how to strop a blade, and I don’t shave my face. Ever. (Because I’m a girl, not because I’m amazingly hairy.)

Stropping the blade is essential before you start shaving, and if you have coarse facial hair, you may have to strop it in the middle of a shave. Get ready to strop by stretching out the leather with the white linen side up. You can pass the blade along the strop 10 times on one side and 10 on the other at a natural angle.

Next, flip over the strop so that you can use the leather side. Some people will tell you that you can use a pair of jeans as a strop, but with both a fabric and leather side to the strop, you really can’t beat it. After the linen, you will stroke the blade along the other, leather side in the opposite direction you stroked it on the linen. Aim for 60 round trips, and all the nicks get ironed out very well with this technique.

Tips for the Shaving Process:

• Take a shower before you shave. You’ll open those pores when everything gets steamy, which means that your facial hair can get cut down much closer to the skin. When you’re ready to start shaving, forgo the shaving cream and go for the real deal. A shaving cream can is more trouble than it’s worth—and expensive—so look for something more traditional.

• To use a brush and cream, you’ll first need to soak your brush in hot water. Once you wait until it has been saturated, allow it to drip a bit and then swirl it around on top of the shave cream or shave soap. Twirl the brush on the soap and you’ll see a bit of lather forming. This is good. You’ll want to apply the lather to your face using just the tip of the brush and using side-to-side strokes.

• Stretch your skin as your shave with a straight razor, and cut facial hair at the 20 degree angle. When you begin shaving, remember that you should never use a “slicing” motion. Um, for obvious reasons. Never hold a straight razor a 90 degree angle to your face and do anything with it, basically.

• Cut upwards at 45 degree angle, using short passes of the razor.

• Begin shaving in the direction of hair growth, making one long stroke after around six short ones.

• Lather your face again and shave it sideways to the grain to ensure smoothness.

• Correct shaving mistakes with styptic pencil.

While stones are common purchases for straight razor aficionados, they aren’t particularly recommended for the novice. When you need to give your straight razor a new edge, you can visit a barber to get firsthand instruction on the whole thing. Better yet, you could visit the best barber you know and solicit a training session with the strop, stone, and the whole shaving thing, too. Why not learn from the best?