DE vs Straight-not the dilemma you're thinking of.

I own both DEs and straights. Until now it has been wonderful to go into the bathroom and choose which one I use.
I absolutely love the feel of a straight against my face, and the difference in technique, the beauty of the razor itself, etc.
With the DE it is familiar territory, since it's what I started on in the '70s. I also like to try different blades, and have been playing around with that for the last few days, and having loads of fun and learning a lot, too.
But I miss the straight. But I really want to continue with the DE, the blades, etc.
Hence my dilemma. If I choose the DE, I'll be jonesing to use the straight. If I choose the straight, I'll be itching to go scrounging around in my cabinet, choosing DE blades and razor.
Oh the humanity! I need a twin growing out of the side of my neck or something.

I feel your "pain" i´m in the same dilemma since i got two straight razors. I have not used a straight for almost 20 years and i´m just remembering how great it is to shave with them.

I see your dilemma, but with Artisan soaps. I have several I like to use, and can't hardly pick between these let alone which scent to use. Now I have more coming in which will make the daily decision even tougher.

Use the straight Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday.

Use the DE Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday.

Or just walk into the bathroom and flip a coin. Heads for straight, tails for DE.

A straight shave takes longer for me so I normally save them for weekends or when I have more time. I will use the DE when I am feeling pressed for time.
Sometimes I also go through phases of favoring one over the other
Win win!

(05-29-2014, 09:04 AM)Johnny Wrote: Use the straight Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday.

Use the DE Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday.

Or just walk into the bathroom and flip a coin. Heads for straight, tails for DE.

Or use both. Because of time and needing to get to my office early in the morning, yet wanting to use my straights, I've been doing a first pass with my straights, and a quick second pass with my Cobra. On weekends, it's just straights. If I'm really rushed, it's just the Cobra.

I have the same "problem" with DE and SE razors. I don't know from one day to the next what I'll use. Not so long ago I used SE razors exclusively for almost a month.

I wouldn't feel any anxiety over it, just use what you want to on any given day.

WIN WIN for me is this:

I just recently bought 2 Feather Artist Club straights, one Japanese style handle and one classic style handle.

It only took me 5-6 shaves to get pretty well dialed in, but I used a Feather DX straight last year, so I already got a bit of practice.

But I just found that I get a very nice slow, great shave when I use my Feather AC Sraight for the first pass, then use one of my 40+ DE razors for the second pass and final touch up's. This is when I have patience, lots of time and can ease into a ZEN state of mind and focus on the quality of my shave and not focus on the time at all.

When in a hurry, I use either my Edwin Jagger Bulbous or Chatsworth Fusion 5-bladed monster for a fast smooth 6 minutes one pass + touch up shave (sometimes with a brush, sometimes with Proraso canned goo) and get a fine shave out of it.

DE on the left side, SR on the right?

I choose based on time, since a straight razor shave takes longer. On weekends it's usually the straight. On weekdays it's usually the DE because I have to get to work. However, on those weekday mornings when I have the time I'll use the straight.