Thread: minimalism

I didn't know what to call this thread, so the title probably isn't very good.

I've been shaving with a straight razor for about 40 years - my grandfather taught me when I was in my teens, and, though I had some periods of lapsing back to disposables, mostly I've kept up the tradition because I like having to pay attention. Also, I found that I tend to cut myself a lot less using a straight razor than with a disposable - I have no explanation for that.

Anyway, I've been reading with interest the instructions on razor maintenance and upkeep, and I was very surprised to learn that I've been doing it wrong for 40 years...

I've described my sharpening regime in another thread a couple of months ago - I use a "razor stone", but I don't always have the edge lead - I do it the same way I sharpen my chisels, knives and plane irons - I alternated the direction of the strokes. I follow that honing process with a powered strop charged with "Yellowstone" and then a buffing wheel - the same routine I use with my carving tools. I do this when the razors need it, which is about every 3-6 months. (I have a partial beard nowadays - I'd probably have to sharpen more frequently if I were totally clean shaven.)

My daily blade preparation is stropping on an "Imperial Russia" hanging strop that I've been using for at least 30 years. I charge that with Yellowstone once every few months. I don't strop 50 times in each direction, that's for sure - maybe 10-20 times.

I keep the strop taught, and I put most of the pressure on the spine of the razor. I start lifting the edge before the end of the stropping stroke (to avoid dubbing the edge), and flip it on it's spine, never letting the spine lose contact with the strop. I DO use my wrist (along with my fingers) to flip the razor, but I've never experienced any kind of pain. I rarely if ever use the canvas.

I'm traveling on business right now, and when I travel, I use a disposable razor - I hate to check baggage, and the TSA would probably have a field day with me if I tried to carry on a straight razor. :-) The reason I mention this is that I started reading some of the threads where a much more rigorous daily maintenance regime is described, and I wondered "Have I been doing this wrong for 40 years? Am I getting a terrible shave, and just not noticing it?"

But I just shaved with the disposable, and I can fairly say that the shave I got with it was no better than what I get with my low-maintenance straights every day. Smooth is smooth.

Has anyone looked at how little you can get away with in terms of stropping, etc, without losing quality? Remember - our grandfathers used these things every day, and they were busy men. They didn't devote 30 minutes to shaving - it was more like the 3-5 minutes it takes me.

I think the key is learning how to use the equipment. I remember using the styptic almost every day when I was first learning, and creating gashes that not even tissue paper could handle. My latest styptic is about 15 years old, at least.

Just a thought.