Yes, I know. Airy-fairy psycho-babble, but it is something I have always noticed is important when I do anything and shaving with a straight, or stropping, or honing, is no different.
Confidence is important. I don't mean stupid unfounded confidence, but a solid quiet confidence that you know what you are about to do and how you are about to do it. I am certainly not talking about expertise - I've been at this straight razor caper for a while now and I would in no way claim any kind of "expertise". However, repeated application of razor to face, razor to strop, and razor to hone has lead me to a point where I know what to expect, when to expect it, and how to detect and avoid some of the more common mishaps.
But I remember when I started out with straights. I had visualised the technique I wanted to use. I knew beforehand what my hand was going to do, where the blade would begin and where it would lift off the face for each stroke. I was an armchair shaver, shaving in my mind. And I swear it helped. I thought a lot about what I would have to do to cut myself and what kind of stroke was needed to avoid that. I thought about the different parts of my face, how I would need to hold the razor, which hand to use, where to stretch and so on.
And as I got some shaves under my belt, I used that data to re-evaluate the approaches I had developed in my mind. And the next time I shaved, those thoughts were put into practice and assessed for their efficacy. Good ones were kept, bad ones were discarded, but both good and bad techniques were always evaluated - why was it good?, why was it bad? Could they be improved or modified, or were they just useless?
Anyway, I think it is an approach that has helped me over the years to continually improve in all aspects of life actually, not just with straight razors. And I still do it all the time. I've been known to walk down the hallowed halls of academe on the way to a lecture gently gesticulating air-razor shaves as I figure out how some new idea might work. I've even been caught out at it several times - quite embarrassing to explain :).
And just to bring it back to the start, you develop confidence because you have visualised yourself successfully implementing a technique. It is a very common thing in sports, so why not in shaving? Both are "physical" activities after all. And the thing with confidence is that it builds on itself and when shaving with straights that can equate to better shaves and less nicks and cuts.
So if you don't already, I'd encourage you to give thought shaving a go. Crack out the old "air razor" and shave those imaginary whiskers in your mind. It might help. But perhaps do it in private. :)
James.
