Originally yielded only by skilled barbers, the straight razor has grown in popularity with wet shavers the world over as easily available information on how to use this shaving tool is easily available over the internet.
The straight razor, when treated correctly is arguably the sharpest type of razor, but this sharpness comes with a trade-off with convenience, as most traditional straight razors must be treated correctly to maintain blade sharpness, and must be yeilded correctly to prevent injury, as the title of 'cut throat' may suggest.
A strop is a strip of canvas or leather, and is used to sharpen the straight razor by re-aligning identations.
Straight razors require stropping after each use in order to maintain optimum blade sharpness.
Alternatively, a whetstone or sharpening stone might be used to sharpen the blade.
The type of blade found in a straight razor can be defined according to the type of point, the type of grinding method used or the degree of curvature.
The key piece of information usually given about a straight razor is the degree of curvature or blade width. This is the number given in units of eighths of an inch and is the distance between the back of the blde and the cutting edge.
Wider blades extend the number of passes which can be made before rinsing, whereas a narrow blade can reach smaller areas but needs to be rinsed more often, which may arguably extend shaving time.
These videos are brilliant for giving the main points on straight razor shaving if you want to know more about it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUK56EqF-B0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLbpe62bubk&feature=channel
No comments:
Post a Comment