How to use a Straight Razor

Here's a manly way to start your day: with a touch of hot steel across your grizzled face. December 2002 The first rule: Take your time. Done right, shaving with a straight razor should take about ten minutes. So use it only when you have time to spare. For your regular morning shave, stick with your state-of-the-art razor. You'll need a strop, strop paste and a shaving brush. Warm the blade by running it along the linen side of the strop for thirty seconds, then give the blade another thirty seconds on the strop's leather side for sharpening. Run a towel under hot water and press it against your face for two minutes. Load the brush with shaving cream and rub it with a circular motion onto your face. This drives the lather into the skin and makes your whiskers stand up. Shave with the direction of your beard's growth, pausing frequently to rinse the blade. Hold the razor and handle together so the handle doesn't dangle while you're stroking the steel across your skin. Keep the blade at a ninety-degree angle to the direction of your strokes. Ignore this rule and you'll greet the woman in your life with a fresh cut on your face. Finish the job with lotion or aftershave. She'll thank you for it.