Originally Posted by
Bart
I don't really see your point, other than just playing around with some challenge.
Beard prep: I always wash my face with hot water and soap, massage the coarse spots a bit, rinse with more hot water and then lather up. I strop while the lather hydrates the hairs. I rework the lather with some additional hot water before I start shaving.
Adding anything to that routine (a shower, a nice hot towel, a sauna, running an hour through the woods), doesn't change the shaving experience and results one single bit for me.
On the other hand, removing something out of that routine, does have immediate repercussions on the results.
About stropping: a razor will shave without it. But it will shave better when stropped, just like your whiskers will be more easily shaved with decent prep.
If you want to find out when the shave starts to become unacceptable for you, be my guest, but I thought straight razor shaving was all about maximizing the shaving results and experience.
"Zen" is not synonym of "brief".
Best regards,
Bart.