Shaving with only a kettle of water & handheld mirror. No pressurised tap water.

Hello. It has been a year since I posted here, and I have found it difficult to maintain my interest in shaving because of the disincentives of my current household situation. I come to you asking for help in these dire straits.

• I am a DE shaver and love the shaving ritual. I have only been DE shaving for about 1-2 years and I am quite slow (30 mins for WTG, 45 mins for WTG+ATG).

• I have trouble getting even 1 shave per week in my house, because I can't access the bathroom in the morning due to living with 3 high maintenance women.

• I am thinking of switching from DE razor > Straight razor, due to less reliance on pressured running water. Pressured running water to unclog soap and hair from the blade. I have tried jiggling the DE razor in an ice cream tub of water but it doesn't really come out clean.

Can I get some opinions on whether any forum members have shaved with just a small handheld mirror, a tub and a kettle of hot water? (DE or straight)

I would appreciate any suggestions as my hobby is slowly dying...
I prefer DE over straight razors because I do not know how to hone or strop, but I'm so desperate now I will do ANYTHING (including abandoning my DE) just to feel the nice warm lather being peeled off my cheek by a sharp blade.


P.S. The original idea to switch from DE > straight, came from the 2007 musical-movie Sweeney Todd starring Johnny Depp. I saw the excess lather on the blade just get rubbed off on a cloth. Does this really work? Can you just rub the lather and hair off the blade cleanly? Then just pack up and go about your 8-hour day without any kind of rusting or deterioration of the blade?

There are lots of straight users that only use a towel and no running water to rinse the blade. It can be done. And stropping isn't as difficult as it seems.

First thing that comes to mind, get rid of the woman......... just kidding............really, shave in the evening. Problem solved. LOL
I think maybe and this is just my opinion that you should stick with a DE. If you're at 30 min for one pass, a straight is going to take you an hour. I'm not poking fun but I shave my head with a DE and when time restrictions prevent me from using a straight razor I shave my beard with a DE too. So within 10-12 minutes I shave my head and beard, 2 passes with a third in some spots.

And your reference to wiping the lather off on a cloth from a straight would be correct, just one of many ways it could be done. As far as the upkeep of the razor it's bit more involved compared to a DE. The razor needs to be dried thoroughly or it will rust, stropping the razor is a must, and as far as keeping it sharp (if all ready) I would think a barber hone would keep you going for some time before the edge would need attention from someone who has the hones.

Hope that helps?

I know that one of the members (Carl) here I believe does Sunday shaves with an old setup. A stand, bowl of water and mirror.

I am fairly water wise I think
As I fill up the sink about 2 inches to heat a flannel, my brush and bowl,
use a sponge to wipe my straight clean as I go
And the flannel is under my bowl in the sink as a bash barrier while it stay warm & to wipe my face with the flannel
Usually do 3 passes and all stays warm
then clean my blade with the flannel to clean followed by T.P.
Can clean it all down with the water etc

if I do a 2 pass I am done in about 20 minutes max

For sport last fall I took along my Wade and Butcher, a stainless steel bowl (from a flea market) and a polished up 12''X 12'' X 3/16 piece of stainless steel up camping. I left on a Wednesday so i figured buy Saturday morning I would be ready for that shave. Saturday morning I awoke from the tent to 13 degrees F and did not feel like shaving that cold so I went to the spring, cleared off the ice and filled the stainless steel bowl to let it warm. Around noon, the air had warmed to a balmy 40 degrees, so I striped off my shirt, prepped my face and shaved. I taped the stainless plate to my canopy cover of the truck and used the tailgate as a bench/table, using a washcloth to wipe the blade. surprisingly, it was a pretty good shave. When I do it next time I will take a brush( used Palmolive and my hand to build a lather) and some other small items, might even try heating the water up to. So in short, you can do it with little or nothing.

My advice would be to continue shaving with your DE but also to start learning straight shaving. Get an inexpensive but shave ready straight razor from Whipped Dog or SRP's Classifieds, a cheap strop, some chromium oxide, watch some straight shaving videos and start learning SR shaving, don't delay, stop procrastinating, start today. Watch several of Lynn's SR shaving videos where he advises to start slowly on easy areas of your face like cheeks.

When you come to a fork in the road, take it. In other words, make a decision and start the journey. You will find what's right for you as you go on your journey.

You can use a sink full of warm water and a sponge for either your DE or SR. Swish the razor around in the water then if needed, wipe it across the wet sponge. Running water is not required to have a good shave.

I started by dumping my cartridge razors into the garbage, then used DE razors for awhile, then used a SR with final pass with DE, then finally I use mostly SR's now. So I went thru a learning process. Make your own journey and enjoy the trip. It's your shave. Use any combo of razors that you like. Once you learn straights, your hobby widens out to more possibilities because there's such a variety of SRs that you'll find something that you really enjoy.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Trimmy72

I think maybe and this is just my opinion that you should stick with a DE. If you're at 30 min for one pass, a straight is going to take you an hour. I'm not poking fun but I shave my head with a DE and when time restrictions prevent me from using a straight razor I shave my beard with a DE too. So within 10-12 minutes I shave my head and beard, 2 passes with a third in some spots.

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That would be my thoughts also. If you are having trouble clearing the lather off you DE it may be due to your lather being too dry and thick especially if you lather your whole face and take that long to do a pass. You could try just lathering a small part of your face at a time so the lather stays moist and comes off the razor easily. I use cold water to shave and the soap comes off the DE easily if it has not dried out too much or I made it too dry in the first place.

Bob

Quote:

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Originally Posted by scotishcavalir

For sport last fall I took along my Wade and Butcher, a stainless steel bowl (from a flea market) and a polished up 12''X 12'' X 3/16 piece of stainless steel up camping. I left on a Wednesday so i figured buy Saturday morning I would be ready for that shave. Saturday morning I awoke from the tent to 13 degrees F and did not feel like shaving that cold so I went to the spring, cleared off the ice and filled the stainless steel bowl to let it warm. Around noon, the air had warmed to a balmy 40 degrees, so I striped off my shirt, prepped my face and shaved. I taped the stainless plate to my canopy cover of the truck and used the tailgate as a bench/table, using a washcloth to wipe the blade. surprisingly, it was a pretty good shave. When I do it next time I will take a brush( used Palmolive and my hand to build a lather) and some other small items, might even try heating the water up to. So in short, you can do it with little or nothing.

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Wow, that is hardcore.

Atomicnewbie, I agree with a previous reply, shave in the evening.

From what I've seen Carl even shaves outdoors ,, he is a real man,s ,man!!! So yes you can manage. Great advice from everyone. Tc

Thanks for the replies everyone. Lots of good ideas and I will try them all

What great misdeed did you commit to have the gods condemn you to live with 3 high maintenance women?

As noted, why complicate things with a kettle? Wash, rinse your face, lather and swish a DE with cold water; or wipe a straight blade clean with a damp washcloth.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Splashone

What great misdeed did you commit to have the gods condemn you to live with 3 high maintenance women?

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This makes me laugh also as I have a mate who can't quite blow stalks either with 4 Daughters & the Bride he is screwed.
hes lucky to see the vote let alone get 1,
& they wonder why he has a big shed LOL

On vacation I take my Feather Straight with Proguard blades. Can get a very good shave with only 2 passes and a minimum amount of lather. Very clean, very fast.
You might want to try it.
(When in a real rush I use a Gillette '04. I can manage with one pass and only water!)

I started to feel sorry for ya until i saw the cause :rofl2:
However, living in what i would think a pretty nice weather region, +1 to shaving outdoors with a straight!
You really dont need much water to shave once your lather is made
Good Luck,
Mike

I was just having a sinilar problem.
Untill last week, i shaved with my high-tech no-good Gillette razor, so hot water was not so much necessery. Whwe starting to shave with a SR, it seemed like hot water was a necessity. Now, living in Israel, where water is not to be wasted, i cant leave the tap running in order to keep the water hot.
Long story short, i remembered my dad shaving with the sink half-full with hot water, washing his safty razor in it after tapping it on the edge of the sink. So i tried in my last shave dipping my SR in water i filled the sink with, ans wiping it with a clean cloth.
It worked :)
Now, i don't know if it damages the blade in any way, but this is my practice razor and i got it for experimenting :)
About your morning problem: one of the great things i found out about SR shaving is that your face remains shaved for longer period. My beard (and hair in general) grow extremely fast, and my whiskers remain taimed for about 20 hours :)

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Originally Posted by atomicnewbie

I have trouble getting even 1 shave per week in my house, because I can't access the bathroom in the morning due to living with 3 high maintenance women.

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I'd start by waking up a few minutes earlier than them and doing your morning "business" in there.

I mean, really get down to "business".

Once it's good and ripe, I doubt any of them will want to set foot in there for 35-45 minutes. Plenty of time to knock out a shave.

Lots of good advice here!

I'd suggest definitely trying shaving at night. Many of us actually prefer that as it offers a nice, relaxed time to just enjoy the process without having to worry about getting to work, others needing the bathroom, etc.

As for clearing lather off the blade, there are many ways to do this, and much digital ink spilled here on those questions! Many wipe on a cloth, many on a wet sponge, and many rinse under running water. Just be mindful of the tap if you do that - it's easy to ding the blade.

Back to your original question, yes, you can certainly enjoy a straight shave with a minimal setup. When camping I'll sometimes take along a straight just for the heck of it. I have no reason whatsoever to do this in terms of any need to shave. After all as a dirtbag camper in the middle of nowhere it's not like I'm heading to a meeting or a fancy restaurant. I do it just because the enjoyable process of shaving with a straight becomes a fantastically enjoyable experience shaving with a straight outdoors. And of course hot water is optional. Search for cold water shaving on the site here and you'll see there are many who enjoy it. Favourite time is autumn with the changing colours, geese flying overhead, maybe some deer wandering around by the camp... But I'm getting sidetracked. :)

So FWIW, I'd suggest indulging your curiosity and trying out a straight while at the same time not abandoning your DE. Work the straight in as and when you can, and do try it at night. You might like it.

Good luck!