I've been straight shaving for nearly two years and greatly enjoy the whole process each morning. It does normally take quite a while, 20-25 minutes. As I didn't get much sleep last night, I stayed in bed half an hour longer thinking I'd shave tomorrow. But no, I couldn't resist and hurried my shave, and...


it was brilliant! Used Geo Trumper Spanish Leather cream to save on lathering time, cold water to save on heating time, just splashed and lathered, did lightning-fast stropping, relathered and increased the speed of my passes.

I was very surprised to find that faster shaving is more comfortable on my skin, which is of course the result of bad technique when going slow. My guess is that when I go slow, I want to make the strokes too perfect and precise and hence use too much pressure, whereas when going fast I feel like I'm sloppier but actually get a very good shave. Two little weepers that stopped weeping after a few minutes, no irritation, finished in 10-15 minutes.

I think I'll be practising speed from now on, despite the fact that it seems like bad advice. I'm curious to hear your thoughts and experiences!