Skills and Personal Attributes

I was thinking this morning as I was shaving that we have a lot of discussions about acquiring skills that relate to technique. Such as honing, stropping, building lather, shaving, etc.

But then I was thinking about the personal attributes that would make a person successful at this art. I thought it might be interesting to know what people think is important personally. I thought of a bunch, but I will only list a couple of them to get this thread started. I'd like to know other people's perspectives on this.

So here goes:

1. Good Manual Dexterity - I think a musician, a craftsman like a wood carver or other previous hobbies like these would help here.
2. Perseverance - A person who does not give up easily is necessary. I have not been here long, but in the short time I have, I have witnessed people very enthusiastically purchase equipment, post the results of a couple of shaves and then disappear.

I would say a person who has an interest in the past, such as nostalgia for lost arts/skills. For example, I've noticed many members here who are pipe smokers; I am among them.

That's not to say this type of person necessarily rejects modern notions; he strives to reconnect with a time when men were gentlemen.

I agree with all of the above so far. I would also say, someone who is easily addicted to learning sonething new.


Mick

Randy told me early on that patience and persistence were requisites for becoming proficient with honing. I think that is true. I have always drawn pictures since I can remember and worked with my hands all of my adult life. The first half at manual labor and the next half in art. Always with the hands though. Perhaps that experience has been helpful for a transference of skills ?

Patience, perseverance and the ability to inflict pain on yourself and endure said pain until you get it right.

I think the ability to work by touch - to perceive and understand feedback, and then to react/adapt/respond to it - is very important. Also a willingness to learn and keep an open mind. Those, along with what has been mentioned above.

For me it is about the skill that needs to be learned to be proficient. I enjoy challenges and this is a big one.

Along with the challenging aspect, I enjoy quality things. And the time to enjoy them. I feel that if I take 30 min to shave (I'm new), that I feel better than if I were to watch 30 min of TV.

I'd say curiosity, stupidity, imagination and money.

I also think there is a certain OCD component to this hobby in getting the skills down, as well as a bit of a hoarding/ AD element. We like our toys! :D

I'd also like to add that the ability to focus and concentrate is imperative.

Damaged strops, ruined edges and blood are all the results of a wandering mind.

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Originally Posted by JMS

Patience, perseverance and the ability to inflict pain on yourself and endure said pain until you get it right.

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I was going to say this too - Patience. Calm. Coolness.

Take it easy. Don't rush things. Enjoy yourself.

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Originally Posted by Frankenstein

I'd say curiosity, stupidity, imagination and money.

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Thx Franky. The levity helps when frustrated.

As I told my boss once - persistence or stupidity (not knowing when to quit): both work fairly well.

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Originally Posted by Ryan82

I would say a person who has an interest in the past, such as nostalgia for lost arts/skills. . . That's not to say this type of person necessarily rejects modern notions; he strives to reconnect with a time when men were gentlemen.

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That's definitely a large part of what drew me to this, though the immediate cause was finally getting fed up with scraping that strip of gooey crap off of twin-blade cartridges, and finding out that there were folks who shave with straight razors.

I really enjoy things that give me a tangible sense of connection with the past--acquiring the skill to do things the ways they were traditionally done. For a number of years, I brewed my own beer, using lower-tech methods rather than all the thermometers, hygrometers, etc. that would ensure that every batch I made would likely taste almost exactly like other batches made from that same recipe. I was brewing pretty much the way it was done 200, 300 years ago (except for the sanitation--THAT was modern!--and some of the equipment--glass carboys instead of wooden barrels). I liked playing around with the recipes and I liked not knowing exactly what I would get, but knowing that it would be good beer. And it always was.

Recently I was in Asheville, NC on business, and stopped in at Jack in the Wood one evening for a pint. I had their Green Man ESB, and in the first sip knew I had a beer with something that is sadly lacking in almost every beer, craft or not, commercially made in this country: I could really taste the barley. I knew I was drinking something that probably tasted exactly like what my ancestors would have had--and that made it an even more pleasurable experience for me.

And to bring this back to shaving: I was talking with my mother a couple of weeks ago, telling her that I had taken up straight shaving, and she told me that she has either her grandfather's (or great-grandfather's, she's not sure) razor and strop, and that they're mine the next time I go to see her. No idea what make they are or their condition, but I'm eager to find out. How cool would that be, to be shaving with the razor my GGF or GGGF had used?

Nice post, DP. I'm looking forward to the pics of your family razor.

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Originally Posted by holli4pirating

I think the ability to work by touch - to perceive and understand feedback, and then to react/adapt/respond to it - is very important. Also a willingness to learn and keep an open mind. Those, along with what has been mentioned above.

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I really like these points.

Here's my take:

Detail Oriented - Being able to spot that 2mm where the bevel is not set, or where it is not popping arm hair easily. Lots of people who don't like details would say "Well, most of the razor pops arm hairs, so thats good enough"...ummmm no...I don't think so.

Perfectionism - The hardest thing for me to learn was the "no wrist movement" at the flip, when stropping. It drove me insane practising slowly, with a butterknife, then a dull razor, then a sharp razor. However, it was something that I had to learn. Now it feels completely natural. Very similar to shaving ambidextrously.

I say this, because I spent two hours honing this morning. I was very detail oriented. And I am going to be rewarded this afternoon from a Boker King Cutter. (That's me, patting myself on the back). :)

Cheers all,
Maxi

I want to be careful to tell the newbs and potential newbs that read this thread that just because you don't have these skills and behaviors, that is no reason not to try this art.

In a lot of cases, straight razor shaving can help develop these skills and behaviors.

So these can certainly make the path easier, but should not be a go/no go for you.

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Originally Posted by Frankenstein

Nice post, DP. I'm looking forward to the pics of your family razor.

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Thanks, Franky! It may be a while before I can get there--I live in NC, and she's in Mississippi. But I plan to go see her before the end of the year.

I'd say courage/temerity. Lot's of senior gentleman (i'm 25) told me i'd love to shave with a straight razor but sticking such a sharp blade to my face is too scary.

And also, being a beginner, i must say each time i loose eyes contact with the blade (especially around the ear) the little voice inside me gets crazy and i feel a kind of pinch to my heart (yes..that's fear..).

No special skills required, average manual dexterity and body control are all you really need.

Patience is always helpful when learning something new, as is the willingness to fail in the initial attempt.

A certain degree of induvidualism is probably what brings most people to aquire any skill where easier and more widely used alternatives are available.

For some, the need to stand out in some way was probably a motivator, for others, not so much.

1. Cool factor. Yes it does have a strong appeal.
2. Desire to reconnect with history. I wanted to learn an old skill that I could teach to my sons that would hopefully better their lives and teach them to appreciate traditions and family more.

Seems to me it would be important to have a face with no curves and hair that grows only in one direction. I have neither of these traits.

DurhamPiper. 'Nice post. I think you're on to something there. 'Likely deeper than just shaving, but important just the same. The connection w/ the past, especially if there's some person that we remember that did likewise amongst ancestors, is a strong pull, and restores a sense of roots & belonging. It's completely opposed to the wall street domination of telling us if it's not new/improved, it's no good. One friend of Winston Churchill's (C.S. Lewis) wrote about this in an essay called men without chests. He described the loss of men being gentlemen, and the loss made us less masculine, less whole. There's something important to that connection with our own personal pasts that makes us better men (an similarly the women staying connected to what which is noble amongst their ancestors too). 'Can't claim to have it wired, but really support you to stick with that hunger or itch to be part of what's good in your past. There's something important there. 'Don't care if it's connected to great shaving. Thank you for posting.

Pinklather: Oh yeah, it's waaay deeper than just shaving. In my profile here, I describe myself as a Luddite and an antiquarian--partly tongue-in-cheek, but with an underlying seriousness. I do have a reverence and affection for certain aspects of the past, the old ways of doing things, the old songs, old things. It's part of why I persevered with the uilleann pipes. A love of Irish traditional music got me into that, but it's not the easiest instrument in the world to master. As another example, consider this: in 1983, I was a brand-new 2LT in the field artillery, stationed in Germany. I was driving across post one day, listening to the Armed Forces Radio Network, when I heard the story about IBM's announcing that they were going to start producing a line of home computers. Here was my response, word for word, and I'm not making this up: "Oh, come one. Nobody needs a computer in their house!"

Well, of course we have a computer in our house now, but I've never been one to rush out and buy the newest technology. I have to see whether or not it's really useful to me. I didn't get a cell phone, for instance, until I was in consulting and travelling quite a lot--until then, it didn't make sense for me to have one, you know? But being on the road a lot made it necessary for ease of keeping in touch with my family and peace of mind. But I doubt that I will ever own an iPhone. I carry a Blackberry because my employer requires me to, but it's not something I'd have otherwise.

And I agree with you: just because it's new, doesn't mean it's better. I used to tell clients that if the new thing didn't make their jobs easier/more efficient/more streamlined, it wasn't progress.