Thread: Gladwell and Straight Razor Shaving

There's a book called Blink written by Malcolm Gladwell, the premise is when you're an expert at something, you know in a blink if something is right or wrong. You don't have to intellectualize at that point. This is a lot like great straight razor shaving. Now that I'm becoming more proficient and consistently getting great shaves, I know in an instant if my soap is too dry, the razor not sharp enough, angles off, etc. And I can now make adjustments to correct. I've gotten to this level by isolating variables. For example, I shave with the soap a bit dry, then add water, then shave again. I change the angle of the blade on the ATG stroke, holding everything else constant, etc. It is interesting how these variables interplay and trick many beginners into thinking one thing is the problem, when it is not. I suggest to all beginners, experiment, but only one variable at a time!

Thanks for sharing your experience. I read Gladwell's books and thankfully, it doesn't take 10,000 shaves to get consistent BBS shaves and perhaps SRP may be the beginnning of a tipping point.

Pabster