Straight razor
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Straight razor is the name given to a reusable knife blade used for shaving hair. They are also called cut throat razors, particularly in the UK and Australia: this is a slight misnomer, because it requires skill and determination to cut a throat with a razor, especially one's own. A man is exceedingly unlikely to cut anything vital (like the trachea, carotid arteries, or jugular veins) while shaving himself. This is because shaving is done with the blade almost flat against the skin; a deep incision requires the blade to be nearly perpendicular to the skin.
Although straight razors were once the principal method of manual shaving, they have been largely overshadowed by double-edge or cheap cartridge razors that use disposable blades, by disposable razors, and by electric razors of various types.
Nevertheless, some men prefer to use straight razors, which are still produced in Europe and Pakistan. Both new and antique razors are also considered collectibles.
Straight razors require considerable skill to hone, strop, and use correctly. The required skills were once a major portion of the curriculum in barber colleges.
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[edit] History
Various forms of razors were used in antiquity, which are different in appearance but similar in use to modern straight razors.The great and powerful had servants to shave them and perform other personal hygeine acts. Other people shaved themselves, although not necessarily daily. Some people never shaved. The custom of most men's shaving themselves daily is a 20th-century innovation, originating in the U.S.A..
Straight razors were the most common form of shaving before the 20th century and remained that common in many countries until the 1950s. Barbers were specially trained to give customers a thorough and quick shave, and a collection of straight razors ready for use was a common sight in most barbershops. Barbers still have them, but they use them less often.
In the 19th century, cuttlers in Sheffield, England and Solingen, Germany produced a variety of razors. A gentleman could purchase matched, numbered sets of two to seven razors, so that one's valet could sharpen the razors ahead of time, before shaving him each day. Such sets are also convenient for those who shave themselves, but less so.
Straight razors eventually fell out of fashion. Their first true challenger was manufactured by King Gillette: a double-edged safety razor with replaceable blades. Gillette's genius was the use of the "loss leader" concept, in which the razors were sold at a loss, but the replacement blades earned a high margin and provided continuous sales. They provided a less effective shave, yet were immensely successful due to advertising campaigns and slogans denigrating the straight razor's effectiveness and calling into question its safety.
These new safety razors did not require any real instruction or tutelage to use. It was extremely difficult to sharpen the blades, which were designed to be thrown away after one use and rusted quickly if not discarded. Thus they did not require any maintenance, merely continual replacement of blades. The safety razor also required a smaller initial investment, yet had (and have) a higher total cost over time. The quality straight razor and its superior shave were seen less and less frequently. As they became less popular, the demand for barbers providing straight razor shaves decreased.
Around 1960, stainless steel blades became available, which could be used more than once, thus reducing the nuisance of daily replacement and sometimes reducing the annual cost. The first such blades were made by the Wilkinson firm, famous maker of ceremonial swords, in Sheffield. Soon, Gillette, Schick, and other manufacturers were making stainless-steel blades in a variety of styles.
These were followed by multiple-blade cartridges and disposable razors. For each type of replaceable blade, there is generally a disposable razor.
Some time in the 1930s, electric razors became available. These are available in a variety of styles and prices, which can rival the cost of a good straight razor, although the whole straight-razor shaving kit can exceed the cost of an expensive electric razor.
[edit] Construction
Straight razors consist of a semi or full hollow-ground blade sharpened on one edge. The blade can be made of either stainless steel, which is slow to hone and strop but dulls more slowly, or high-carbon steel, which hones and strops quickly but requires it more often, and will rust if neglected. At present, stainless-steel razors are easy to find but expensive; carbon-steel razors are nearly as expensive but quite difficult to find. Fancy cutlery shops in shopping malls will often tell a customer that carbon-steel razors are no longer made. They are still available, at least on the Internet.
The blade rotates on a pin through its tang between two protective pieces called scales: when folded into the scales, the blade is protected from accidental damage, and the user is protected from accidental injury. Handle scales are made of various materials, including mother-of-pearl, celluloid, bone, plastic and wood. They were once made of ivory, but this has been discontinued, though fossil ivory is still sometimes used, and antique razors with ivory scales are occasionally found (it is illegal to kill elephants for their ivory, but it is legal to buy a razor made in 1850).
[edit] Method of Use
To be most effective, a cut throat razor must be kept extremely sharp. The edge is delicate, and inexpert use may bend or fold over the razor's edge. To unfold and straighten the microscopic sharp edge, one must strop the blade on a leather razor strop before every use. The blade must also be sharpened periodically by honing with a razor hone. Strops prepared with pastes containing fine grit are also used for honing but are not recommended for the inexperienced user as they can easily rake off the edge. Some strops have a linen or canvas back embedded with a fine abrasive used to maintain a sharp edge before final polishing with the leather side. A face's worth of thick hair may require multiple stroppings for one shave, but a blade is usually honed only two or three times a year. Occasional regrinding by a professional may be required to restore a badly worn or damaged edge.
Experienced straight razor aficionados often advocate stropping after each shave and allowing the blade to recover its edge for several days before reuse.[citation needed] Historically this necessitated a collection of several razors sometimes sold in a sets for a week's use.[citation needed] Shaving soap in a cup is traditionally lathered and applied using a rotating in-and-out motion of a badger-bristle brush.[citation needed] The shave is completed using as few strokes as possible, honing sparingly if at all. A second shave with another razor in an alternate direction against the beard yields an extremely close shave, at the risk of producing ingrown hairs. Rinsing with cold water constricts minor abrasions or cuts, followed by patting dry (not rubbing) and an astringent or aftershave lotion. More serious nicks can be attended with direct pressure for perhaps a minute with a styptic pencil. A light steady touch is most effective at providing a close shave, preserving the edge and avoiding cuts.
In the heyday of cut throat razor shaving, wealthy users maintained a weekly "rotation" of seven razors to reduce wear on any one piece. Straight razors were often sold in special boxes of seven labeled for the days of the week. However, many users owned only one razor.
[edit] Modern use
Straight razors are still manufactured. DOVO, of Solingen, Germany, and Thiers-Issard of France are two of the most well-known European manufacturers. Feather Safety Razor Co. Ltd. of Osaka, Japan makes a razor with the same form as a traditional straight, but featuring a disposable blade.
Modern straight razor users are known to favor them for a variety of reasons. Some (e.g. young fogeys) are attracted to the nostalgia of using old and traditional methods of shaving. It is a masculine ritual comparable to pipe smoking. Others profess an interest in reducing the waste of disposable blades. Still others agree that straight razors provide a superior shave through a sharper blade and greater control of the blade angle. Others simply like the good results and the satisfaction of maintaining the blade themselves. For all these reasons, devotees of the straight razor make for an active market.
Many barbers who provide straight-razor shaving now must use a version that employs a disposable blade system, as required by law in some areas. This eliminates the need for sharpening and provides greater assurance of good hygiene. (It is possible for a blade to pass infection if it cuts two customers in a row, but this is unlikely: a good barber rarely cuts a customer.) Still other jurisdictions ban the use of all straight razors and barbers use modern triple blade razors instead.
[edit] Razor collecting
There is also an active market for antique razors in many countries, especially those in Europe and North America. Some collectors use their antique razors for shaving, but many simply collect them as memorabilia.
[edit] Use as a weapon
The typical straight razor's extreme sharpness, portability, and ease of concealment has led to it being used as an illegal weapon. As a straight razor has a slashing action and not a stabbing one, it is often used to disfigure the victim of the assault. Slitting the victim's face from the corner of the mouth to the ear is called a Chelsea smile, as this was said to be a method of punishment dispensed by criminal gangs in the Chelsea area of London. The prevalence of attacks involving knives in Glasgow (Glasgow's "knife culture"), has also led to the term Glasgow smile being adopted for the same injury. Here, the colloquial name for the weapon is a malky (local rhyming slang, Malky [Malcolm] Fraser = razor), thus by extension any edged weapon so used. Slitting the skin between the corners of the jaw and then pulling the tongue out is called a "Sicillian Necktie." The "Jester's Smile" is the term used for when a straight razor is used to unhinge the jaw and then the throat is slit. As massive blood loss occurs from such wounds, these injuries can prove fatal. If they do not, a distinctive scar is formed. Straight razors have featured in some films as both weapons and torture implements.
Stories circulate as to how gangster Al Capone got his nickname Scarface: attributing it to an irate barber, who allegedly cut him with a razor; another story says he fared poorly in a knife-fight.
In Quentin Tarantino's film Reservoir Dogs Michael Madsen's character, Mr. Blonde slices off the ear (off camera) of kidnapped LAPD Officer Marvin Nash in the scene's most memorable scene.
It should be added that the razor in itself is a very ineffective weapon, as it (obviously) is made for shaving and not fighting.
