Andrew y Gaetano

How to Shave with a Straight Razor

There is nothing more masculine than shaving with an open blade that can lop your head right off. I myself trim the whiskers with nothing less than a 10 inch katana blade. For those men of men looking for a badass way to keep that adam’s apple ungrizzled, follow these steps for shaving with an open straight razor:

Step 1: Lather.

What the fuck is lather? I like my shave how I like my Clint Eastwood quotes: dry and to the point. If you use cream, shut your face.

Step 2: The Straight Razor Shave.

Hold the razor securely by placing the pads of your index and second fingers on the shank, your thumb under the shank and against the shoulder, the handle raised vertically between your middle and ring fingers, and your ring and pinky fingers resting inside the crescent-shaped tang.

Using the fingers of your free hand, stretch the skin until it is as taut as possible. Hold the razor at a 30 degree angle to the surface of your skin and shave your first even stroke in the direction of hair growth. The “angle of the dangle” is your key to error-free shaving. Fewer than 30 degrees and you’ll rip the hair out by its root. More than 30 degrees and you’ll very likely slice yourself to ribbons. The only areas for which this rule doesn’t apply are the chin and upper lip. For these two trouble spots only, angle the back of the blade a little closer to your skin and proceed with caution.

Step 3: Squint into mirror.

Thanks to James Whittal, President of MensEssentials and author of “Miter Saws Are for Pussies”