Thread: The best part of straight shaving

Straight razor shaving is lot of small parts put together. If we forget honing and just concentrate on shaving there is choosing razor and soap, preparing your face, organize your stuff for shave, making lather, lathering your face, stropping, shaving and after treatments. I guess I am still forgetting something.

My best part of shaving is definitely making lather. I like different fragrances and scents floating around bathroom. I have to sniff lather bowl or brush time to time. It is kind of aroma therapy for me I bought Col. Conk's Bayrum shaving soap and that moment when I first time made lather of it I just couldn't stop sniffing lather bowl. Same happened with Fitjar's Fjellheim shaving soap.

Straight razor shaving is a carousel of small parts or options for a joyful ride. Concentrate on any one and you can get lost in the fun of it. Just like all the beings that make up a carousel so are all of the parts of the SR world. And don't forget the seat if you don't feel like getting motion sickness. Sometimes just sit and look at your gear, your razors, your aftershave, soaps, scuttle, bowl, creams, strop, the stack of hones from man and nature.....just sit on the bench and marvel at what the hell happened.

Originally Posted by WW243

...just sit on the bench and marvel at what the hell happened.

Sums up life in general IMO... ;-)

The best part is enjoying something I hated doing for 40 years. My face feels good and not irritated. The quality of shave is first class. Of course it took 2-3 years to achieve the results almost every time, but in context of 40 years well worth the investment.

For me it's the satisfaction of achieving a BBS shave with a razor that I restored and then sharpened on a natural hunk of rock.

For me it is the peace and quiet of the shave, I have my wife convinced that I can do serious damage if she talks to me. The other day it payed off as we were visiting my mother who started to talk to me whilst shaving. SWOMBO came up to her with a serious look on her face and said "please don't talk to him whilst he is shaving, he has a sharp knife and might cut himself". I almost did because I was trying to suppress a laugh.

I think that straight razor shaving has disappeared for the simple reason that has ruined many things from our history - convenience. When I began shaving, it was with a can of Gillette goop and whatever razor. I thought that razor bumps, ingrown hairs, razor burn, and general pain-in-the-assery was just part of life. After 26 years I finally discover straight shaving, and i'll never look back.

Take a look at payphones. You don't see 'em anywhere anymore,because they've been replaced by cell phones. But, cell phones (in my area, at least), have horrible signal, always drop calls, and rarely even work. Payphones worked great, but cell phones are more "convenient".

But it is interesting when goo shavers are introduced and tried wet shaving then most of them wont go back to gillette and goo. I preferred growing beard than shaving with gillette or electric razor. Problem was that my beard was real mess so I had to shave already time to time. But it was not unusual not to shave for 3-5 months for me.

I guess internet has done it's own part making available knowledge of straight shaving to all and through forums you can ask and learn this art of shaving.

Concentration, tools, history , freshness ... yes I like it , and the hunt for special knives.

Straight Razor shaving has a definite Zen aspect to it for me. Quiet the mind be in the moment, focus on every stroke, experience the fragrance of the lather. You must not be angry or thinking about life's problems, they must be shed along with your whiskers and when the task is successful, Nirvana! Then of course your bummed out because you cant do it again until tomorrow.