Straight Razors, does anyone use them regularly?

[Mark]

Straight razors are a lost art here in the US, it is almost impossible to find a barber even who will use them. I am fortunate that my wifes grandfather (still alive and kicking at 94!) is a barber and after much pestering I was able to get him to talk me through shaving with one. It is not something that I do every day, or even use it once a month, but it is a pretty interesting skill and ability to have.

How common are straight razors in India?

[Shamsher]

Hi Mark,
well, we guys are living on the razors edge!

The barbers in some rural areas use the straight razors.

TenX the guy who quotes "never shave without a blade" would throw more light on this one.

SS

[badshah0522]

TenX the guy who quotes "never shave without a blade" would throw more light on this one.

[Pran]

Cut throat razors with changeable blades are commonly used by barbers here in Bangalore.

I have a cut throat razor with a plastic handle and have cut myself every time I tried to shave with it

Pran

[The Doc]

How common are straight razors in India?

Straight or cut throat razors with changeable blades are commonly used by barbers all over India . There is a good percentage of barbers who sit under a tree and do their job and there are some with proper shops/saloons.

As a kid , I have seen the barber sharpen the fixed straight razor blade on a thick leather strap with one end nailed to the wall and other end free. This was before the razors with changeable blades came out.

Straight razors are also used by petty criminals here !!

best,

RP.

[Goldfinger]

I guess fixed blade razors became less popular with the advent of the safety razor. They remained in use with barbers since they could be sharpened and honed repeatedly and were supposed to give a closer shave. With the identification of HIV in AIDS and its mode of spread, a great health education drive was undertaken by the govt and one of the measures advocated was to avoid sharing razors. This saw the spread of the change blade razors and the end of the fixed blade razors. The once prized German razors have gone back to their card board boxes heavily greased against rust - forever.
Goldfinger

[Yaj]

Always been fascinated by straight razors.On my list of things to do
Regards,
Yaj.

[shooter]

Met an old barber in a small town in south yorkshire. very old school.
We talked about how the barbers in india still using straight razors.
He told me he had always maintained how a barber could always give you a better shave with a straight razor but the new 4 bladed and 5 bladed razers were as good as any barber and said no could rightly claim to be able to give a better shave than a 4-5 bladed razors.

Straight razors were till recently (and most probably still) used in botany experiments to cut cross sections of a stem. (NOT the ones with interchangable blades- only the straight ones will do). Maybe some botany students/bsc students can shed more light on this.

[archer]

My late grandfather used to use a straight blade razor. It was an old stick with a turning mechanism to lock the blade. The was probably over 50 years old. I tried to convince him to use a gillete, but he wouldnt budge.

I keep a straight edge blade with me in my repair kit(the ones that barbers use) along with a surgical blade. very handy tools.

[indian]

my father had one too i beleive they give a better shave then the modern ones

[TenX]

Goldfinger has got it well mentioned.

The Barber tye blade were very much what everyone used long ago. The fixed blade required a foldable peice of material (dont know what it is called) which was part of one's shaving kit. There were, as far as I know, two types of these shaving blades. One had a small curve near the end of the handle, which was for the little finger to wrap around. This was pretty much used by barbers, as it adequately gives support to shave someone else. Another type, which did not have this small tip-curve, was meant for personal use.
As times changed, and more improvement in personal shaving equipment happened, only barbers were using these straight blades. The handles saw some changes. Some even used fixed non-foldable blades.
The one advantage this has is that if and when someone practices the correct hold on the blade, and has learnt the right angles to use it, the shave was very much smooth and neat. It required the user to stretch the skin in one end and start to shave from that point toward the opposite direction. The user or barber waould keenly guage the required angle and speed to cut hair, and was very much an art.
And as health rules required, disposable blades were what came in vogue, but the barbers now had similar razors which could have half a blade fixed to it, instead of the fixed blade. This is still pretty much used in most barber shops in India. Although one 'may' find the old type of fixed blades in remote villages where AIDS awareness is not profound, or where economic status cannot afford new blades for every shave

I have personally used it, when my grand father was alive, about a decade ago. He managed his wrinkled skin with great expertise, and learnt some stuff by just watching him. After seeing this thread, I called up my maternal uncle and have informed him to search for the old blade my grandfather used. It has a brass handle with some basic carving, and was one of the first types of changeable blade razors

[kenhypno]

oops i did not check before starting thread sorry!

http://indiansforguns.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=14361

[savage]

i have 1 and at 18 i shave with it and have not cut myself yet.................

[eljefe]

I started at 18 and after I achieved 4-5 blood transfusions while shaving, I quit.
Fascinating, actually, esp the stropping
Now after seeing thatJonny Depp barber movie-I feel like starting again,naturlich, i have a damascus straight razor...

[Mark]

oops i did not check before starting thread sorry!

http://indiansforguns.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=14361

Hey no problem, especially when a thread has been dead for a few years!

Anyway, back to razors....

Some of the disposables here are bordering on ridiculous with the pricing (for example look up "Gillette Fusion blades 6 pack" They are over $22 for 6 measly blades!)
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1260 ... 850580001P

So for about the last 7 years or so I have been using the old style gillette double-edged safety razor. I get a 10 pack of blades for $1.75 (78 rupees). You do have to be a lot more careful than when using the current style of disposable as you will cut yourself if you do not pay attention, but it does give a very nice shave and at a price you can afford to put a sharp blade in whenever you feel like it.