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What is the typical amount of time an experienced straight razor user needs to shave?
I strop;
I make the lather;
I make 1 pass - WTG;
I strop again;
I make another pass - XG.
I clean myself and put a cream.
All of this takes a lot of time. Yesterday before dinner I rushed into the bathroom for a quick shower and then for a shave. I took 40 minutes and I shaved in a hurry - there were people waiting for me to dinner. I was the worst shave I had. :cry:
I never rush a shave, but if I have not much time, I simply lather up, strop, lather again, do a single WTG pass and that's it.
I can do that in under 10 minutes. I am not BBS that way, but that is not an issue.
Normally I shave slower, and I do ATG and/or XTG.
That takes me a good 30 minutes in total.
Strop before the shave, do one side of the face and neck WTG, XTG, and a little bit of ATG. Do the other side the same way. Then chin and upper lip WTG and a little bit of XTG. Then neck ATG. Finish with really cold water and Trumpers Skin Food. All done and BBS pretty much all over. Never in a rush, and never hurry. If I need to get done sooner, then I just skip a little bit of the ATG passes. More often than not, the usual time for the full set is 25 minutes (not including stropping), fewer steps brings it down to about 15 minutes.
I have no real idea how long I take; I never use a straight when I am in a hurry. I'd guess at 30-45 minutes, though.
My son, who has only recently started, takes somewhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours :-). 2 hours was his first shave, and he's trimmed it down a little since then, but I'd say 1 hour to one and a half is typical.
10-15 minutes. It goes faster with experience. My first shaves were around 20-25 minutes.
This is all newfangled to me and I am really enjoying every minute of the shaving experience. It almost seems a shame to time it but I guess I spend about 45 minutes but I really stretch the pre-shave beard conditioning effort.
If you're in a hurry you can bypass the WTG pass except under the sideburns ---go straight to XTG pass ---that's usually good enough for me. I can usually go straight to ATG pass under chin and neck but will get more irritation for sure. Usually 15 to 20 minutes for complete shave --- combine it with a shower for prep and you're good to go.
Justin
I usually have people waiting for the bathroom as well, so I've settled on just washing my face with mild soap and hot water, lathering, shaving cheeks, upper and lower lip, and neck, WTG only; then re-lathering the chin, on which I probably spend more time than on the rest of my face, since I shave the area WTG once, and then put on more lather in order to go over the "trouble-spots" at various angles, until I'm satisfied with the smoothness. That's not BBS, by the way, but it's quite good enough for me. The process probably takes a good 20 minutes. Lately I have only been using my Feather DX Artist Club, since all my other razors are too dull to use and I'm still learning to hone.
About 15-20 minutes for me. I strop the night before.
Lather up.
Shave WTG.
Lather up again.
Shave ATG.
Ernest
About 10-15 for two passes, stropping/cleanup included.
20 minutes WTG & XTG during the week, 30 minutes on the weekend WTG/XTG/ATG + some extra steps to the routine.
About 15 minutes.
stropping,
lathering,
shave with the grain,
lather,
shave against the grain,
rinse and cleanup,
done!!
Half an hour to 40 minutes if you include the shower.
by the way, "The Professional" is one of my favorite movies !!
Mark
I was beginning to wonder if my 45 minutes was the result of being new to using a straight or the result of impaired hand-eye coordination. (I could never hit a good curve ball, either.) Glad to see I'm not the only one taking a long time.
I suspect I'll improve with time, but the 15-minute shave will happen on the day I run a 4-minute mile--or grow a beard!
Larry
When I first started 45 minutes was standard!Quote:
Originally Posted by LarryK
Depends a lot on how OCD I am that morning. :D
- Scott
I'm still new to using a straight. Because of the time factor, at first I only used the straight on weekends. Then, to give myself more practice and work on technique, I started shaving before bed. I'm now to the point that I can do a two pass shave with the straight in the morning. Normally takes me 40 minutes from filling the mug with hot water to soak the brush while I shower until I'm dressed and out the door walking to the truck. You really will become faster, and better. At first I never thought I would be able to use a straight during the week. Speed will come, but work on technique and get that down first.
I run about 15 min for a shave, not including shower time. I only save my cheeks though, so if I were doing a full shave probably would be about 20 or 30 minutes. Don't get in a big hurry tho, they can and do sneak up and bite.
I take 15 minuets. 1 pass across the grain on the face and one pass with the grain on the neck. I use this baby.
Mason
About 30 minutes including a shower. My normal routine (some would say ritual) is:
Shower, including washing my face
Hot towel
Lather
Strop 30/30
Re-lather
One Full face pass WTG
Rinse
Second pass XTG on jaw line and chin (difficult areas for me)
When I'm taking my time, about 10 minutes start to finish. If I'm in a big hurry, under 5 with a once-over. Then another minute to make sure my face is still attached :w
Scott
Epiphany follows:
What we need is a face bra. That as yet uninvented device that will hold the hot towel to one's face whist stropping the razor and brushing up a lather. This could easily and comfortably cut shaving time in half by cradling the hot, wet, whisker softening towel against the shaver's face and leaving his hands free for other tasks - to be done simultaneously with the toweling!:tu
You're welcome, any time,
Bruce
5 minutes?? Congrats, if this was a race you'd be the winner ...Quote:
Originally Posted by honedright
Yes, at times like that the only race I'm in is the one with the clock and I just hope to win :).
Scott
I've had that thought too. Maybe it could resemble a surgeon's mask, instead of a bra... Shouldn't be too hard for someone to prototype (and then make a killing on SRP!)Quote:
Originally Posted by Bruce
The race begins! :roflmao
- Scott
My my! Look at that razor. Does that razor work good for you Ruckeriii? I found a seller on ebay and it seems that Sanguine sells both disposibles and resharpen razors. I wonder if it's worth trying one out?Quote:
Originally Posted by Ruckeriii
Ernest
Ahem that would be face broQuote:
What we need is a face bra
I have to admit I have been looking at my ski mask with a critical eye lately. I have one of those wrap around felt and neoprene jobs. What the heck I might just give it a go.
I've been shaving with a straight now for about 6 months (thanks to SRP and it's members), and my shower and shave routine has come down from over an hour to under 30 minutes including prep.
My happy 'medium' is spending around 3/4 of an hour for a shower and shave though, and if that means I have to get up a bit earlier to enjoy it and not feel rushed, then so be it.
Sometimes on a Sunday, I will brew up some coffee, have a cooked breakfast, and set into a shower and shave that may last well over an hour.
Take as long as you like and enjoy the art in my opinion :)
That is a replaceable blade straight razor that takes 1/2 DE Blades. it holds the blades very securely and leaves just enough of the blade exposed to shave with. You get the benefits of a cheap very sharp blades and it over comes the drawbacks of the overly thin blades. I use seizers to cut the blade in half breaking them will not work in this razor. a little shaving oil holds the blade still when you close the razor and keeps the scum out of the razor. These blades are VARY sharp and you need a delicate touch to shave with it. The other razor in my daily use rotation is a TI 5/8 Damascus. If you look at my avatar you will see what kind of razors I go for. The fact that this is one of two razors I use as a daily shaver tells you what I think of it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Big_E
Mason
Takes about 45 minutes for me--from stropping to applying the styptic.
Somebody invented one - there was a link to it on SMF last summer sometime, but I can't find it for the life of me - SMF reorganized their forums in the meantime and I have no idea where it wound up...Quote:
Originally Posted by Bruce
Edit: Found it, though the all-important ebay link is dead...http://www.shavemyface.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8959
30 minutes from soaking the brush through rinsing the lather bowl and brush after the third pass, alum and/or witch hazel. Naturally, if i shower first the soaking the brush in a mug of hot water occurs while i shower, that cuts the shave time down to 20 minutes or so.
Here is my routine
1. Strop razor and get set up
2. Shower
3. Create lather
4. Brush on lather and apply hot towel
5. Brush on lather and make first pass with the grain
6. Re-lather and make the 2nd pass across the grain
7. Apply HydroLast Cutting Balm - Sandalwood then relather
8. Shave against the grain
9. Splash of warm water
10. Use a Alum Block on entire face
11. Splash with cold water
12. Put on Coral Skin Food
13. Apply hot towel
14. Splash with after shave
Done
Takes me 23 minutes to accomplish. If I rush this I may finish in 15 minutes but spend the rest of the time patching the holes.