Set Aside Ego

The other day hi_bud_gl had a post that basically challenged the notion that one must go ATG to get a really close shave. Here is the post:

http://straightrazorpalace.com/shavi...g-shaving.html

The point was basically: get a properly sharpened razor and use correct technique and you should be able to get a great shave without the need to go ATG. My initial response came right from my ego. How dare he! He doesn't know how my whiskers grow or the very unique challenges I face in the quest for a great shave. He doesn't know that I MUST go ATG to get BBS. Later as I thought about this and gave this much more experienced member credit for acting with positive intent and a sincere desire to help less experienced members I decided to take his advice. Today I shaved only WTG and really, really focused on skin stretching and good technique throughout the shave. I did two complete passes in this manner. Now the results weren't ultimate BBS but they were pretty darn good and my face felt great with none of the rawness that can be the price us newbies pay for BBS. I guess my point is that we will be better served by humbling ourselves and listening to our more experiened peers here and always assuming positive intent on their part. Thanks hi_bud_gl.

Some people like to hone their razors way to much to get what they think is the ultimate sharpness and all they are really doing is removing alot of metal from their blades and over time it will matter. Likewise if you shave properly and conservatively you can get a great shave. Sometimes people do way too many passes in a quest for that ultimate shave and of course the more passes you do the more irritation you can get depending of course on your individual skin and beard. For me personally, I've found the formula to get a great shave and I don't worry about getting a 100% BBS. Frankly, it ain't important to me. When I started it was but not anymore.

That was a really nice thing to say. You are a true gentleman.

A well-said display of humility. Your words are words to live by... bravo.

Hello, Lazarus:

Words well said.

Regards,
Obie

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Originally Posted by thebigspendur

... Likewise if you shave properly and conservatively you can get a great shave. Sometimes people do way too many passes in a quest for that ultimate shave and of course the more passes you do the more irritation you can get depending of course on your individual skin and beard. For me personally, I've found the formula to get a great shave and I don't worry about getting a 100% BBS. ...

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Great point. Thanks for weighing in and reminding us not to let the quest for the perfect become the enemy of the good.

Patience, young Jedi. All good things will come in time. Technique, technique, technique (both in shaving and stropping) are the keys. :beer1:

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Originally Posted by dward

Patience, young Jedi. All good things will come in time. Technique, technique, technique (both in shaving and stropping) are the keys.

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Thanks you for the encouragment and gentle reminder Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Lazarus,

My friend, you are maturing. I don't see any difference between this art and listening to your Sensei while studying a martial art. It is a metaphor for how you live your life. With humility and respect, or with ego and disregard for those that are trying to help you.

All of these kinds of artsdo this for people. Try smoking a pipe and learning to pack properly and treat your pipes well. Try deciding that you are going to keep your shoes military polishished and getting good technique. Try deciding that you will only speak kindly of others and have somebody cut you off on the road. These are things that will fill you with humility at their difficulty, and help you live your life as a gentleman and how God intended. Like a shave that goes astray once in a while - so do we. But tomorrow is another day. With another chance at a perfect shave, and another chance to live your life better.

It is all related.

David

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Originally Posted by Alembic

Lazarus,
... Try deciding that you will only speak kindly of others and have somebody cut you off on the road. These are things that will fill you with humility at their difficulty...

It is all related.

David

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Thank you for the skillful teaching David. I recently spent a weekend focusing on my speech. Before saying anything I first asked myself these questions: Is it true, is it necessary, is it helpful, is this the right time to say it? It was a very quiet weekend.

What you said was true, but, the best is your very refreshing attitude...ego/pride usually results in unnecessary difficultlies and bantering that can destroy otherwise good exchanges of information, if not friendships. I wish everyone would drop by to read your post!

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Originally Posted by Lazarus

Thank you for the skillful teaching David. I recently spent a weekend focusing on my speech. Before saying anything I first asked myself these questions: Is it true, is it necessary, is it helpful, is this the right time to say it? It was a very quiet weekend.

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LOL - odd isn't it? When you decide to focus on something, you find all of the mediocrity you have been living with relative to that thing.


David

I think that attitude is a very important thing to be successful, not only in shaving, but in life in general. Being humble and willing to experiment at any step is essential for learning. We should always keep our minds open. The other aspect of this thread that caught my attention is the importance of using approaches that fit your own needs and meet your own expectations. I hardly ever use more than 2 passes when I shave. I am able to get excellent shaves using the 1 1/2 pass shave that relies on identifying the direction in which the hair grows in my face to maximize the closeness of the shave while decreasing the irritation and other problems that could be associated with multiple passes. Having said this, I can also understand that others prefer a multipass approach in their shaves. There is often more than one path to accomplish something in life and usually only the individual needs of a situation determine what should be used in each case.

Al raz.

+1 Alraz,

I agree with that. There are some things that require following the recipe. For instance mixing a lather of a certain consistancy.

But then there are the things that you just follow guidlines. And then you have to adapt to the terrain. Like golf and str8 shaving.

But even in the first case, without curiosity and somebody to ask "can the recipe get better", there is no innovation. I think the intellectually lazy stop at the recipe and nothing more. No experimentation, nothing. Even with the discipline of a martial art, there arent' so many styles for no reason. Somebody, most likely a master's student, found a way to improve the existing.

But there should always be humility and respect for the original. Those people that blazed trails and fought odds to generate something nobody had ever seen before. JMHO - :)

David

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Originally Posted by Alraz

I think that attitude is a very important thing to be successful, not only in shaving, but in life in general.
Al raz.

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True. The only thing always subject to our control is our attitude/thoughts, and nobody can control them but us. Or as Buddha put it:
We are what we think.
All that we are arises with our thoughts.

BTW, nice looking pup!

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Originally Posted by hardblues

BTW, nice looking pup!

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Thanks. He is an American Bulldog runt of the litter that wasn't supposed to live. 95 lbs and could jump a 6 foot fence before his knee replacement. Your dog is a looker as well. Thank you for the link to the good folks at badrap. Those dogs deserve a loving home.