TWO QUESTIONS THaT GO TOGETHER

Earlier in the week I posted two questions, kinda taking my own little survey. One was, Ow may many menbers use a third pass and the other was - How much time do you spend on Prep.

Most respones came out to be a little time on prep a and 2 1/2 passes with the razor. Or faces may feel smooth but they must be made of leather. Think about it.

Most guys said little time on prep because they had no time but they have time to relather and shave again and then do touch up.

Why don't we try a little experiment. I'm thinking of the 1800's when the men had to shave with a straight.. Correct me if I'm wrong but a lot of prep, steaming towels, lather, another towel. ONE PASS and a touch up.

Try it for a week. I guess ll really have to concentrate on the first pass and not say I'm going to do another pass anyway.

Let me know.

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Originally Posted by vincebell

Correct me if I'm wrong but a lot of prep, steaming towels, lather, another towel. ONE PASS and a touch up.

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You are wrong.

1800's: Cold water (still), poor lather (cold too), dull razor (by todays standards), one pass (painfull), slap of moonshine, kick the cat, and ready for church...


cheers,
Nenad

...enjoying all comforts of today, not including multiblade razors :p

If people in the 1800s enjoyed shaving and honing and stropping the way we do and got the kind of shaves we do and had all the luxury paraphanelia we do do you think Mr Gillette could have ever been so successful with his new invention?

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Originally Posted by thebigspendur

If people in the 1800s enjoyed shaving and honing and stropping the way we do and got the kind of shaves we do and had all the luxury paraphanelia we do do you think Mr Gillette could have ever been so successful with his new invention?

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I think so. For one reason. Convenience. Think about it. Instant rice. T.V. dinners. Remote control television. We are a society based on convenience and laziness. I sell a van that has three doors that open with the touch of a button, and has a navigation system to tell you how to get to your destination. Today, we want the latest and greatest. It is just the intelligent few who choose to go the path that we walk.

RT

Ah, but 100 years ago, 80 years ago, even 50 years ago what we could afford had more to do with what we had than wanting the latest and the greatest. Henry Ford sold the Model T for $595.... it was Still WAY more than most people could afford so most people didn't have cars.

Conveiniance is a driving factor, as is innovation but cost and perceived cost have a heavy hand.

Think about how many men simply didn't shave or got a shave once or twice a year in the 1800's.... look at old photos.
I would wager that shaving was a luxurious endeviour for those well to do no matter what the era until recently and the skills for caring and maintaining a razor were not that much more commonplace in the 1800's any more than they are today.

I would also wager alot of our collective memory and interpritation of grooming habits from generations past are colored by today's standards. for example- We make movies of events that happened in the past. Real events, but we have no definitive exact record of what exactly happened, so we make it up based on what we think would have happened useing our knowledge and views. We assume there would have been daily dialog and happenings, so we create the scenes. We cast actors to pretend to be these historical figures and weave a great tale, yet we want themovie to be a success and forcing Mel Gibson, George Clooney, Brad Pitt, or countless others who make our ladies weak in the knees to be unshaven and unkept for the sake of accuracy in a role would likely lead to diminished returns because the "modern beauty" of these actors is...tarnished by their appearences.
Movies are a link to our collective memory.

That's excatly what I'm trying to find out. Am I wrong? Yes, we have every conveince for shaving that we can think of but did the guys back in the old days get a better shave than we do now?

George Washington, was shaved every morning by his barber. Look at the paintings. Washington is about as clean shaving as they come. We know about the history of shaving but I'm trying to find out the history of how they shaved. I wonder if we have any old time barbers who are members that were trained with a straight razor. Not a Shavette.

Reallizing the classes in the old days, the poor and the elite, yes, cold water, no lather. dull razor for the normal. But what about the Washington's? How sharp was his razor? Why are ther no more good stones left, not only Belgium's but also Japanese Natural Stones. A samuri sword was pretty sharp. How sharp was the razor?

I do something like what you describe...

1. wake up
2. put the kettle on
3. bring kettle to bathroom, pour into sink, mix with cold water
4. splash, lather, shave (one pass)
5. touch-up if needed, otherwise rinse and towel
6. get dressed, eat breakfast and go to work

I've also done this by the light of an oil lamp when our power was out, and it was still a better shave than I ever managed with my electric.

I don't think we give the old-timers enough credit. Why should we automatically assume that they shaved with no lather and dull razors?

I have to agree with the last post.
Just look at what has been left from the past and it was all done with basic tools and ingenuity and remember the saying "A bad workman blames his tools" most of these saying come from real truths, although not always true today. Most good workmen today, would be lost without their tools.
We seem to have lost the ingenuity to make do with whats available.
I suppose its not surprising with all that convenience floating around.

p.s. With the exception of present company of course.

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Originally Posted by Justme-

I would wager that shaving was a luxurious endeviour for those well to do no matter what the era until recently and the skills for caring and maintaining a razor were not that much more commonplace in the 1800's any more than they are today.

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Actually, shaving came in and out of fashion from culture to culture throughout history. You might be right about it being a privileged habit.

I thought the point of the suggestion was to see if we could get better shaves with more prep and fewer passes regardless of the historical fineries.

X

Both, Less passes through the use of the better tools we have than 100 or 200 years ago, or do we?

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Originally Posted by xman

I thought the point of the suggestion was to see if we could get better shaves with more prep and fewer passes regardless of the historical fineries.

X

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Who wants to do less passes and why? I love shaving with a str8 and want to do more passes.:roflmao

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Originally Posted by RichZ

Who wants to do less passes and why? I love shaving with a str8 and want to do more passes.:roflmao

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I think part of the joy in straight shaving is, believe it or not, shaving. If you're in a hurry then it's going to either be done in a less-than-perfect manner or with another tool. It's never a bad idea to keep the old 5-blade razor in the medicine cabinet in case you do run into such a problem.

Prep-work is important, but there's something to taking your time and doing things right and thoroughly. With enough prep I'm sure you could do it in 1 good clean pass, but that just seems to take the joy out of it for me. If you enjoy the prep work more than the shave, then go for it!

I got a call from my wife that the in laws were coming over, just as I was getting into the shower so my shave got put off for a few hours. Well, I just tried a multi lather prep shave and it was great, one of the best. My current conclusion ... shaving out of the shower is a real time saver and still gets you a great shave. Hot towel treatments and multi latherings are truly luxurious moments that really should be taken when you can get them.

X

I want to do that every day, The smells, the sounds, The feel to me that's what this is all about. If you want to be in a rush the majority of the time, why do all of this. I think that this is truly an ART form, and I hope a few people like this group can keep this form alive, and well for a very long time.
Phil

I love to take my time shaving on the weekends, but for me, there is also great satisfaction in being able to get a quality and expedient straight shave in the morning before work. Being able to work quickly with a familiar tool is a good feeling as well.

I'm not talking about rushing or saying there is a right way and a wrong way. I think we all enjoy shaving with a straight razor, that's why we're here. All I'm saying is a softer beard equals a better shave.

It just so happens on my beard that the more time I put into prep the better the shave.

Try it. Take a properly honed straight, lather up. and shave, as many passes as you want.

Take the same razor 2 days later, strop it up. Wash your face with soap, doesn't make a difference. Wipe the soap off with a hot towel, put a preshave on and then another hot towel, lather and another hot towel, lather and shave.

Let me know if you need the same number of passes as the first shave and was there a difference in comfort, smoothness, and closeness, if that's a word.