Straight razor

(1569 — 1081 BC) Various forms of razors were used throughout history, which are different in appearance but similar in use to modern straight razors. In prehistoric times clam shells, shark's teeth, and flint were sharpened and used for shaving. Drawings of such blades were found in prehistoric caves. Some tribes still use blades made of flint to this day. Excavations in Egypt have unearthed solid gold and copper razors in tombs dating back to the 4th millennium BC. The Roman historian Livy reported that the razor was introduced in ancient Rome in the 6th century BC by legendary king Lucius Tarquinius Priscus. Priscus was ahead of his time because razors did not come to general use until a century later. The first narrow-bladed folding straight razors were listed by a Sheffield, England manufacturer in 1680. By the late 1680s, early 1690s, razors with silver-covered handles along with other Sheffield-made products known as "Sheffield wares" were being exported by John Spencer (1655–1729) of Cannon Hall, a wealthy landowner and industrialist, to ports in the Gulf of Finland, approximately 1200 miles (1931 km) from Sheffield. From there, these goods were probably sent to Finland and even Russia. Straight razors eventually fell out of fashion. Their first challenger was manufactured by King C. Gillette: a double-edged safety razor with replaceable blades. These new safety razors did not require any serious tutelage to use. Despite its long-term advantages, the straight razor lost significant market share. As shaving became less intimidating and men began to shave themselves more, the demand for barbers providing straight razor shaves decreased. Blades are usually categorised by grind, size, and blade shape. Sizing of a standard straight razor is usually close to 3 inches of blade length, but this does vary. Blades are described by the depth from spine to edge, measured in eights of an inch. 3/8 is a very narrow razor mostly used for detail work, with 5/8 and 6/8 being the most commonly seen sizes. It is very rare to see old razors bigger than 8/8 however there are some out there at 10/8 or larger. The other major factor is the point shape. The most common is the round or Dutch point, with the French point being fairly common. The square point is also known as an American point, and is more common on razors from the USA. There is also the Spanish point, Spike point, and Barber's Notch. Inexperienced users should use either the round point, or a razor with a muted toe (the very tip of the edge rounded slightly) as an unmuted square or spike is prone to nicking the skin of an Inexperienced shaver. The "handle" on a straight razor is not a handle at all, but a protector to prevent the delicate edge being damaged when not in use, and to prevent accidental cuts from the sharp blade. Construction is in the form of two scales, held by the pivot pin through the tang, and pinned through a wedge at the other end. Scales are thin, as they must be flexible. Typical scales are 2–3mm thick and usually made from some form of synthetic (nowadays usually acrylic, but on older razors celluloid, Bakelite, xylonite, and others are common), bone, horn, or ivory on older razors. Some cheaper razors had compressed leather scales, and a few are found with thin metal scales or wooden scales. The blade material is usually a high carbon steel or a stainless steel. Traditionally, carbon steel was used, but stainless steels are popular in modern times due to the ease of maintenance. ==Parts description==

The parts of a straight razor and their function are described as follows: the narrow end of the blade rotates on a pin called the pivot, between two protective pieces called the scales or handle. The upward curved metal end of the narrow part of the blade beyond the pivot is called the tang and acts as a lever to help raise the blade from the handle. One or two fingers resting on the tang also help stabilize the blade while shaving. The narrow support piece between the tang and the main blade is called the shank, The point where the shoulder joins the cutting edge is called the heel. single, or can be absent in some razor models. The first stabiliser is usually very narrow and thicker and runs at the shank-to-blade junction, covering the shank and just spilling over to the shoulder. The second stabiliser can be distinguished since it is considerably wider, thinner, and longer, appearing after the first stabiliser and running lower toward the heel. There are usually two, but sometimes three, pins in the handle. The middle pin, if present, is plastic coated and is called the centre plug. Its function is to stabilise the sides of the handle so that they cannot be squeezed in the middle and acts as a bridge between them. When folded into the scales, the blade is protected from accidental damage, and the user is protected from accidental injury. During folding, the back of the blade, being thick and normally with a curved cross-section, acts as a natural stopper and prevents further rotation of the blade out of the handle from the other side. The frictional force between the scales and the tang applied about the pivot is called the tension and it determines how freely the blade rotates about the point of rotation. A proper amount of tension should be present, for safety reasons, to ensure that the blade does not spin freely when opening or closing. ==Construction==

Straight razors consist of a blade sharpened on one edge and a handle attached to the blade through a pin. The blade can then rotate in and out of the handle. The blade can be made of either stainless steel, which is resistant to rust but can be more difficult to hone, or high-carbon steel, which is much easier to hone and obtains a sharper edge, but will rust more easily than stainless steel if neglected. Cheap stainless steel straight razors from Asia and more expensive stainless steel and carbon steel razors from Europe are available. A razor blade starts as a shape called the blank supplied by the steel manufacturer. Nickel-plated blades are very difficult to hone repeatedly and are made for mainly aesthetic reasons though lacking functionality. ==Handle materials and their properties==

Handle scales are made of various materials, including mother-of-pearl, Bakelite, celluloid, bone, plastic, wood, horn, acrylic, ivory and tortoise shell. Celluloid can spontaneously combust at elevated temperatures. Buffalo horn tends to deform with time and it possesses form memory so it tends to warp. Mother of pearl is a brittle material and can exhibit cracks after some use. is also suitable for long term and intensive use. The mechanical properties of bone make it a good handle material. ==Blade geometry and characteristics==

The geometry of the blade can be categorised according to three factors: the blade width and weight, the shape of the profile of the point of the razor, and the type of grinding method used for the blade (as grinding method determines the degree of and therefore hollowness, or of the sides of the cross section of the blade). • Square, spike or sharp point, so-called because the blade profile is straight and terminates at a very sharp point at the toe, perpendicular to the cutting edge of the razor. This type of blade is used for precise shaving in small areas but, at the risk of pinching the skin, it requires some experience in handling. Spike point differs from square point as the angle at the edge of the blade is less than 90 degrees. resulting in a blade profile which appears slanted backwards at the toe. The spike end point of the profile at the toe may be ground by the user to make it rounder, but that may indicate a lack of skill in handling the razor. The second category refers to the type of grinding method used and, since it affects the curvature of the blade cross section, includes the following two main types of blade grinds: • Hollow grind, indicating that the sides of the blade cross section are concave. • Flat or straight grind, indicating that the sides of the blade cross section are linear. This cross section most closely resembles a wedge and therefore this blade is sometimes called the wedge. Hollow-ground blades are preferred by most barbers and some high-end razor manufacturers limit their production exclusively to hollow ground razors. Blade width File:The several sizes of blades.jpg|thumb|Four common width sizes of blades. The sizes vary from up to , rarely . ==Length, stability, and balance==

The degree of hollowness and thus the cross sectional area (thickness) of the blade vary depending on the grinding method used. Higher degree of hollowness in the blade implies a thinner cross section and this affects the stability (bending or buckling properties) of the blade; the thinner the blade the more flexible it is. The length and weight of the blade and handle and their relation to each other determines the balance of the straight razor. Its manufacturing process is so demanding that a full 25% of the blades get rejected as not meeting standards. Stability and sharpness There is a tradeoff between stability and long term blade sharpness. A full hollow ground () blade can keep a very sharp edge even after a great number of honing cycles because of its high degree of hollowness but it is more susceptible to torsional bending because it is thinner. A partially hollow blade ( or for example) cannot sustain the same degree of sharpness for as long, because as the cutting edge erodes it can eventually reach the stabilising ridge faster where there is more material and thus the cutting-edge bevel cannot be maintained without excessive honing of the stabilising ridge to remove the additional material, which could also destabilise the rest of the blade. However, the partially hollow blade is more stable because its additional material makes it stiffer, and thus more resistant to deformation. In addition a flat ground blade, since by definition is not hollow (curved) at all, is the most stable of the blades but because its cross sectional area is the largest it also feels heavier than hollow ground and this can affect the feel and balance of the razor. Balance A razor is well balanced if when opened it balances about its pivot pin, indicating that the torques about the pivot point, caused by the corresponding weight distributions of the blade and the handle about the pivot pin, counterbalance each other. A well-balanced razor is both safer to handle when open and easier to shave with. Effects of blade geometry on performance The characteristics of each blade type determine the type of recommended uses for each blade as well as their performance and maintenance routines. Each type has its own strengths and weaknesses depending on the requirements of use. Extra hollow blades such as singing blades are the thinnest and therefore they provide the best possible shave from all the other types. However they are also very flexible and therefore not suitable for tasks requiring increased pressure to the blade such as heavy beard growth etc. Care should also be taken when stropping so that the thin blade will not be overly stressed, since it cannot withstand abuse as well as lower grades. Flat ground razors are very stable and as such they can handle tough shaving jobs since they do not easily deform under pressure and they can take rough handling such as heavy stropping and honing. Although a wider blade is not as manoeuvreable as a narrower one, especially in tight spots, it is better to purchase a wider blade, since honing eventually reduces the width of the blade with use, a fact that can shorten the life of a straight razor with a narrow blade. On the other hand, the width of the blade is proportional to the blade distortion that can occur due to temperature fluctuations; this can lead to more frequent stropping and honing, because blade deformation due to thermal stress can lead to loss of cutting edge sharpness. ==Usage==

The stropping process involves sliding the razor blade flat on the strop; upon reaching the end of the cloth or leather near the suspension ring, the blade is turned about its back (clockwise for a right-handed barber; counter-clockwise for a left-handed one) until the cutting edge touches the strop. It is then pulled toward the rectangular handle of the strop with back and cutting edge flat on the strop as before. The blade is moved in a slightly diagonal direction so to give every point of the edge a chance to touch the strop, without applying too much pressure. This process aligns the cutting edge properly with the back of the blade, avoiding "bumps" on the cutting edge. Rotating the blade on the strop about the cutting edge can damage it because such use will impact the micro-alignment of the edge. Depending on use and condition, the blade can be sharpened occasionally by using 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 if they apply the wrong amount or exert too much pressure. Some strops have a linen or canvas back. Shaving soap in a cup is traditionally lathered and applied using a rotating in-and-out motion of a shaving brush, usually made of boar or badger bristles. In the heyday of straight 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 labelled for the days of the week. ==Modern use==

. Modern straight-razor users are known to favor them for a variety of reasons. Some are attracted to the nostalgia of using old and traditional methods of shaving. Others wish to avoid the waste of disposable blades. Still others argue that straight razors provide a superior shave through a larger blade and greater control of the blade, including the blade angle. Straight razors cover a much greater area per shaving stroke, because their cutting edge is much longer than any of the multi-blade razors. They also do not have to be rinsed as often, because their blade acts like a scoop and carries the lather on it during multiple shaving strokes, while the multi-blade razors are not nearly as efficient at such a task because of their considerably smaller blade geometry. In addition, multi-edge razors can irritate the skin due to their multi-blade action, and this can lead to a condition known as pseudofolliculitis barbae, colloquially known as razor bumps. One of the recommended actions for those so affected is to switch to single blade use. Others simply like the good results and the satisfaction of maintaining the blade themselves. For all of these reasons, devotees of the straight razor make for an active market. Owing to health concerns, some areas require barbers who provide straight-razor shaving to use a version that employs a disposable or changeable blade system, called a shavette. In this type of straight razor the razor blade is changed and disposed of after each service. Various jurisdictions in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Turkey and the United States, however, permit the professional use of straight razors. The 2012 James Bond film, Skyfall, has renewed interest in straight razors due to a scene when the agent shaves with one and his co-star Naomie Harris helps him finish shaving while remarking that “sometimes the old ways are the best”. Online straight razor retailers have reported increased sales ranging from 50% to over 400% due to the exposure generated by the film. The increase in sales is part of an overall growth in demand for straight razors, since about 2008, which has also seen an increase in the number of barbers offering straight razor shaves. The phenomenon seems to be driven by renewed nostalgia for things retro such as the straight razor which evokes simpler notions of the past such as the "macho" image associated with its use and also the skill required to shave with it which can be a source of pride. ==Cost==

As compared to the disposable and cartridge razors, straight razors are more economical, despite a higher initial cost, because if properly cared for, no additional cost is incurred, as compared to disposable razors where new cartridges must be periodically procured. ==Environment==

Straight razors are more environmentally friendly than other types of razors since the latter come with packaging that may have to be thrown away along with the razors, and, in the case of electric razors, batteries that are typically disposed of after they expire. Straight razors produce no waste and they require only a strop for honing. ==Handling and honing==

The various straight razor honing and stropping directions and handling techniques are illustrated by the drawings below. File:Razor honing from page 21 of Essay on barbers' razors, razor honing.jpg|Razor honing directions on a whetstone Image from page 20 of "Essay on barbers' razors, razor hones, razor strops and razor honing .." (1895) (14581592817).jpg|Razor honing directions on a whetstone diagonally File:Image from page 30 of "Essay on barbers' razors, razor hones, razor strops and razor honing .." (1895) (14765706624).jpg|Razor handling technique File:Testing edge after honing.jpg|Testing edge after honing by pushing the cutting edge on a moist nail to test its grip File:Stropping technique.jpg|Stropping technique on a hanging strop File:Testing edge after stropping.jpg|Testing edge after stropping by touching the cutting edge with a finger File:Zur Kunst sich zu rasiren.png|Representation of shaving with a straight razor from a book about the art of shaving from 1846 File:Rasoir à rabot de Perret.jpg|Paris ca. 1760, the first safety straight razor invented by French master cutler Jean-Jacques Perret From 1760, the first safety 'straight razor' appeared for men to safely shave their beard, invented by the French master cutler in Paris and author of ''La pogonotomie, ou L'art d'apprendre à se raser soi-même'' (Pogonotomy, or The Art of Learning to Shave Oneself). ==References==