Why it lasts longer
A cartridge razor has three to five blades stacked behind each other. The first pulls the hair slightly out of the follicle, the ones behind cut it, and it retracts below the surface of the skin. That is why a cartridge shave feels closer for about six hours and why some men get ingrown hairs from it every single time.
A straight razor is one blade at one angle cutting the hair at the surface. Less close on the first morning, still smooth on the third, and nothing has been cut below the skin line to grow back into it. Two passes done properly get you there without ever going under.
“Against the grain” is not the goal
You will read that a proper barber shave finishes against the grain. Some do. We do not, on most faces, because the marginal closeness costs more in irritation than it returns in smoothness, and on necks it is how you produce a week of razor bumps.
If your beard is fine and lies flat and you want it, ask, and Joe will tell you honestly whether your face is one that takes it.
Who should not have one
Anyone with active acne or a cold sore in the area, which we will notice and mention quietly. Anyone on isotretinoin, where the skin is fragile enough that a straight razor is a genuinely bad idea. And anyone who cannot sit still for thirty-five minutes, which is not a joke.