Flick, Swipe & Scythe - Knock Me Over With A Feather

If, a month ago, anyone told me that putting lather on my face and shaving with a straight would be be one of the nice parts of my day... d'oh - I'd a said they were crazy. Seriously. Then I saw this cool razor at a flea market. And the lurking began.

10 days and 10 SR shaves down the road I have to admit a morning shave is a very nice, peaceful, thoughtful, relaxing 20- or 30-minutes. It didn't take much to figure out stropping and two-handed shaving. Getting cozy with two-handed work seemed a bit of a stretch at first but was not that hard. After a week it's no surprise to shave in two (or maybe two and a half) directions and find large BBS patches when I'm rinsing off. And after 10 days the "Flick, Swipe & Scythe" is coming together.

After wearing a beard most of my life and, in general, hating to shave, I've found that what little I knew about shaving was wrong and that irritated skin is not a post-shave requirement. Thanks for sharing so much information here. I am glad I found The SRP and learned how to shave right, old school.

Scythe on my brothers.

Good for you, MisterMoo.

The pleasures of this hobby are unique and specific to each user. The quiet time alone, letting a grandson watch, obtaining, maintaining and using a tool from the 1800s. The list goes on and I will let the more eloquent members describe their path to inner peace.

Dave

Welcome to the club. It is actually a very common story around here.

You're a much faster learner than I was, but the things you enjoy about the shave are the same. Isn't it a kick to actually enjoy shaving?

Welcome to the brotherhood. I shave when I get home from work but start thinking about the shave a few hours before. Looking forward to "my time" just makes the actual shave better. It just gets better.

Bravo Moo. Like the Cajun said, you picked it up alot faster than I did. FWIW, years later - I still love that relaxing 20-30 min. Its a wonderful start to a day. May your shaves continue to put many smiles on your face.

Fast learner? Not so much. Slow learner, probably. But I did my homework; I am, first and foremost, an actual Old Fart who is both wary of, and attracted to, hobbies with potentially lethal outcomes. I was well prepared before my first sport parachute jump and my first open water dive. I actually did a fair amount of pre-first-shave lurking, video shave watching, butterknife practicing and (maybe most important) visualization. First shave was a one-directional breeze.

I also had a decade working in packinghouses (selling my own brand of commercial cutlery); I have dry shaved my arm about 11-teen thousand times. Funny, though, about that leap of faith which allows you to swipe your face and throat with a str8 for the first time; nothing really prepares you for doing it except doing it.

You're doing it right, Moo. I remember my first few months very fondly. I had no idea what I was doing, but I sure enjoyed it. You sound like you've taken to it very well!

Ha, you sound as deliberate and meticulous as I am; however, I still ended up with razor burn only to be rivaled by my worst suburn for the first three days. Welcome and good luck. The extra 20 minutes a day is worth it to me. It occupies my mind and forces me to wake up, setting the tone for the rest of the day.

Welcome to the brotherhood. I was also a lifelong beard wearer due to the irritation and disgust at modern shaving until I found traditional wet shaving and eventually straight razor shaving. Loving it. Plus it's just plain cool.

Welcome to the 'Place'
What is this "flick" thing you do before swipe & scythe. ? Sounds dangerous. :p

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Originally Posted by onimaru55

Welcome to the 'Place'
What is this "flick" thing you do before swipe & scythe. ? Sounds dangerous. :p

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Danger is my middle name. :D

The flick? This is the sideburn-downstroke opening move. The swipe, of course, is an any-direction clean stroke on the large real estate areas like cheek or neck; and the scythe speaks for itself. This morning I fired up the Dubl Duck Dwarf for the first time. I was more focused on the point than the rest of the blade but it's a pip - very easy shave, that one. I guess I'll take a month or two and slowly explore stropping, lathering, ATG and focus techniques. I'm liking the straight razor experience and keeping away from the Cut of the Day thread. :)

Keep that concentration Moo, I didn't and should have been on the COTD but didn't have camera handy, 4 days later still hasn't closed up. I do know what you mean by enjoying and looking forward to shaving now.

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Originally Posted by RVShave

Keep that concentration Moo, I didn't and should have been on the COTD...

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I hate that, R'ave. I guess that's a reason to keep some Neosporin and a few butterflys around the medicine cabinet. Or Crazy Glue - that closes them up, too, they say. i think Neosporin is the scar-minimization way to go, though. :(

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Originally Posted by K37

...The extra 20 minutes a day is worth it to me. It occupies my mind and forces me to wake up, setting the tone for the rest of the day.

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The Zen of shaving - total concentration, absorption of the moment? Kevin Costner's pitching mantra in "For Love of the Game" was "clear the mechanism." This is a good pre-shave mantra.

Time almost stops when I shave. Concentration without tension isn't so normal in everyday tasks but this is what a str8 asks of me. Focus, concentrate, think, relax, develop muscle memory (but don't rely on it). Every moment with a razor in my hand should whisper release from all other thoughts. Reaching for a towel to wipe the edge, changing hands, approaching a strop - they're all opportunities to think about something else. It appears thinking about something else is a bad fit; I trained myself to think 20% about shaving and 80% about anything else while using an electric or a Schick Hydro. I really need to turn that around to 100% shaving focus. This has to be as important as keeping the edge sharp and moving. Or so I think.