Thread: I was thinking

Originally Posted by MinATX

Seriously don't see how making lather or rinsing out the cup afterwards will deplete the water stores. But, I don't understand when people turn the faucet on full blast and let it run continuously 30 minutes during a shave. At the very least, I think you have to admit that's a serious drain on your utility bill.

Interesting thread topic. When i was watching Lynn's 'Straight Razor Shaving' DVD, i couldn't help but notice the tap was running continuously during the shave demonstration. It really bugged me!

I just half fill my basin with water... that seems to do the trick.

i do think some people go overkill on the water usage when shaving.. there is no need to keep the faucet running while you shave.. i personally have started wiping my blade on a sponge.. i'm not sure if it helps tons.. but i'm sure it makes a difference.

Originally Posted by Pops!

i do think some people go overkill on the water usage when shaving.. there is no need to keep the faucet running while you shave.. i personally have started wiping my blade on a sponge.. i'm not sure if it helps tons.. but i'm sure it makes a difference.

Yeah, I don't use all that much water since switching to straights. During the shave I wipe the blade on a damp washcloth folded over the edge of the basin. I do rinse the blade with hot water at the end of the shave. Otherwise just cold water to make lather and wet/rinse my face.

Grow a beard and bathe once a week by standing in a shallow tub of tepid water. Walk to work in you shed, eat stuff grown in your own garden, composte the vegetable peelings, and fertilize the garden with chicken and pig poop. Till the garden with horse drawn implements and milk the cow by hand. Read the month old paper by the light of the sun.

Sounds a lot like going back to the early 1800's, doesn't it? As much as the current nay-sayers like to endorse living green, there is no way we are going to get billions of us city folk back on the farm.

By the way for shaving, I turn on the warm water, rinse, turn it off, shake the excess water off the razor, and resume the shave. I could wipe the used lather off on newspaper like grandpa did, but I'm modern and have running water and take advantage of about 100 years of progress. Oh, and grandma carried water to her garden - 20 gallons at a time. If I had to go green it would kill me.

And it's off and on with the water when I brush my teeth. Showering is another matter: when I'm in it, the warm water is blissfully running.

Originally Posted by senoreme

have you ever noticed how much water is used during all of the straight/safety razor videos/clips on youtube..com, etc?

No; in fact, I am appalled at how little water is used in those videos. Many mornings, when the weather allows, I go to the streetcorner with nothing but a towel and a hydrant wrench and let 1500 gpm blast the beard off my face. My face is my most precious natural resource, no matter what you've heard otherwise

Wow.

Really wow.

Are some people sensitive about their water usage?

I noticed the water usage in a lot of the vids too and in the back of my mind I kept thinking "shut off the dang faucet!" Though to be honest that's the miser in me that also turns off the lights every time I leave a room, watches TV/Reads SRP articles in the dark, turns down the heater in the winter, and turns up or turns off the A/C in the summer and opens windows (living in Kansas A/C needed, living in SoDak A/C's a joke). I just hate spending money on that stuff.

To be realistic for me personally, I fill the sink 1/3 with hot water to soak my soap and lather cups. I wipe the blade with my finger and rinse in the sink (my sink's too small to turn on and not fill my lather cup with water anyway). I probably use a half gallon or less of water per straight shave. When I used cartridges I shaved in the shower and had the same problem others had with rinsing the things out.

I think it's good to be mindful of our use of resources like water, electricity, etc. It's good stewardship of what we have. But I don't think the shaving video industry is going to make an impact in the global resource pool. Heheh. What a day that would be.

During the shave, I only turn the faucet on long enough to rinse off the blade. I use more water Pre and Post Shave than anything else. Pre consists of filling a mug with water to soak my bush. Post Shave consists of me rinsing my brush out.